DALTON, Mass. – The only force stronger than the Berkshire Force on Sunday was Mother Nature.

 

The Pittsfield-based travel softball program won two age-division titles and was on its way to a third before a mid-afternoon storm caused a premature end to the 14-and-under division final at Pine Grove Park.

 

The Berkshire Force 12U squad finished a 4-0 weekend at the three-day tournament by beating the Greylock Thunder, 10-5, in the finale.

 

The Force 10Us went 3-0 in their three-team division, knocking off the Adams-Cheshire-Savoy Swat, 16-1, in the championship game.

 

Berkshire’s 14U team scored five runs in the bottom of the sixth for a 12-11, walkoff win over the Greylock Thunder in the semi-finals, and was leading the South Troy Dodgers, 8-5, midway through the fourth when the clouds opened up, leaving the field unplayable.

 

Although the game did not meet the tournament minimum requirement for a completed game (five at bats for the trailing team), the tournament director opted to give the title trophy to the Force because it was ahead, 6-5, at the end of the third.

 

 

South Troy dominated its first three games in the tournament – beating Dalton and the Force by a combined 34-3 in pool play on Saturday and eliminating Dalton by a 15-3 score on Sunday morning.

 

But Berkshire set a different tone in the title game rematch.

 

Alliah DiPietro led off the top of the first with a double to left, and Ava McMahon followed with a triple to left to make it 1-0 after two batters.

 

McMahon then scored on Mollie Crawford’s RBI groundout to give the Force a 2-0 lead.

 

The Dodgers came back right away, getting a two-run inside-the-park home run from Jada Bernacet to tie it. And South Troy went ahead with a two-run second that saw Lila Ratigan hit an RBI double.

 

But DiPietro came up big a second time in the third inning, leading off with a double to ignite a four-run rally for the Force.

 

McMahon and Amelia Polidoro each doubled, and Crawford singled and scored a run in the inning, which gave Berkshire a 6-4 lead.

 

The Dodgers got one of those runs back in the bottom of the third, which ended with a brief delay as the umpires waited for lightning activity on the radar to clear the area.

 

When it was deemed safe to resume play, Arianna Perkins got the Force going with a leadoff single. Lexi Spratling replaced her on the basepaths on a fielder’s choice, and DiPietro reached on an error.

 

With two out, Crawford tripled to right to drive in Spratling and DiPietro and give her team an 8-5 lead.

 

The Dodgers got a line drive out to end the half inning, and, moments later, the rain ended the game.

 

Afterward, the tournament director gave the Force players gold medals for their performance in the suspended game.

 

 

The Berkshire Force scored four times in the top of the seventh to break open a one-run game and went on to a 10-5 win over the Greylock Thunder.

 

Victoria Blanchard went 4-for-5 with a home run, and Olivia Archeambeault went the distance in the circle, striking out five in the win.

 

“Libby pitched two games in a row, she pitched really great – gave up, maybe, I think three walks or four walks in two games,” Force coach Michael Lodwoski said. “She was on fire. We had her throwing everything – curves, changes, keeping them off balance, fastballs inside.

 

“The Greylock Thunder was just improved 100 percent.”

 

When the teams met about a month ago in the finals of the Force’s travel tournament at the Doyle Complex, Berkshire came away with a 14-0 win over the Thunder.

 

This time, the teams battled back-and-forth for six innings.

 

The Force took an early 1-0 and never trailed, but Greylock hung tough, tying the game at one point and scoring runs in the fifth and sixth innings to pull within a run.

 

Joey Nocher went 2-for-4 with a double, and Alexyss Gancarz came off the bench to go 2-for-2 with a triple to lead a seven-hit attack for the Thunder.

 

Berkshire used three infield singles to score the game’s first run in the top of the second and got a bases-loaded walk from Josie Schilling (1-for-2, three walks, two RBIs) to go ahead, 2-0, in the top of the third.

 

Nocher doubled and scored a run for Greylock in the bottom of the third, and, down 3-1 in the fourth, the Thunder scored twice, thanks, in part, to Gancarz’ RBI triple to help make it 3-3..

 

The Force scored three times in the top of the fifth, which started with Layla Soules’ leadoff single and included a Daisy Caron sac fly to help make it 6-3.

 

But, again the Thunder answered. This time, Sophie Emerson led off with a single and eventually scored on Liana Steiner’s RBI groundout to make it 6-4. And in the bottom of the sixth, Marie Fanchini worked a leadoff walk and eventually scored on an error to get Greylock within a run.

 

The Force put the game away with its bats in the top of the seventh.

 

Caron led off with a solo home run. And after Harper Bialas singled down the left field line, Blanchard hit a rocket to center and chased Bialas around the basepaths, scoring to make it 9-5. Kaylana Altman then walked, stole second and third and scored on Soules’ RBI triple to give Berkshire a five-run cushion.

 

That was more than enough for Archambeault, who got two ground balls to the left side and a strikeout to retire the side in order in the bottom of the seventh.

 

“We told them at the end, they have to finish this game up, and they did,” Lodowski said. “They played strong. Our first baseman, Stella Matthews, did an awesome job out there. Kaylana Altman in center field was snagging balls. Harper [Bialas] is great. We’ve got some really key players on this team who did great.”

 

For the Thunder, Tenley Biros and Evlynn Richardson split time in the circle, combining to strike out eight.

 

 

The Force returned to the final at the CRA Invitational after a second-place finish in 2024.,

 

“We did come up short last year, but most of the girls from last year were able to stay at this level and continue to compete this year," Berkshire Force coach Thomas DiPietro said.

 

“We had faced this team prior to today in the leading rounds so we had an idea of what was to come but the girls had a lot of fun and made the summer enjoyable to all.”

 

The 10u Force team showed great discipline at the plate against the ACS Swat, earning 14 walks. 

 

That discipline paid off to the tune of nine first-inning runs.

 

Following the red hot first inning, Berkshire got its bats going in the second, knocking out four hits to score seven more runs.

 

Berkshire Force's McKinley Bushika held the circle for all three innings, recording multiple strikeouts and showing a great display of accuracy in her pitching. She finished the game with nine Ks.

 

Bushika also recorded an RBI triple for her team in the late second inning to make the total score 16-1.

 

As for the Swat, it generated offense with base-running, collecting numerous stolen bases.

 

ACS earned its berth in the final with an 15-8 win over Dalton on Sunday morning.

 

"You guys played a heck of a tournament," Tournament Director Kyle Lyman said in awarding the ACS players their second-place medals. "You came from behind a couple of times. You guys hit the ball well, fielded the ball well.

 

The weather played a key role in the ending of the game being called in the third inning due to a combination of run rule and lightning in the area.

 

Team ACS Swat and Berkshire Force 10u’s were awarded their prizes, including Berkshire Force's plaque for winning the tournament.

 

Despite the result, both teams kept the energy high and the jerseys dirty with fun moments fans are sure to remember for a long time as the players move up their age groups.