Rangers top Devil Rays to win 'Major' silver division crown

The Rangers defeated the Devil Rays, 7-5, to win the Amherst Girls Softball League's "Major" Silver Division crown. Members of the team, pictured from left, are: kneeling - Mary Kate Comer, Kelly Farrell, Courtney Kramer, Delia Hurley, Alyssa Candino; standing - assistant coach Bill Collins, Jett Chestnut, Paige Burkard, Danielle Gaulin, Lydia Wishman, Emma O'Connor, Jordan Wishman, Julia Collins and coach Ron Burkard.

Riding a combination of airtight defense, excellent defense and timely hitting, the Rangers defeated the Devil Rays, 7-5, to win the Amherst Girls Softball League "Major" Silver division championship.

Only seven Devil Ray runners reached base over the course of the seven-inning game as manager Ron Burkard's squad improved to 10-4.

Mary Kate Comer stepped in as the last-minute starting pitcher in place of Rangers' all-star Emma O'Connor, who sprained an ankle in pre-game warm-ups and couldn't go. Conner put the Devil Rays down in order in three of the four innings she pitched and allowed one run on no hits. Catcher Paige Burkhard and Comer then switched roles and Burkard pitched the last three frames, putting the Devil Rays down in order in the seventh for the championship.

The Rangers' infield went into lockdown mode right from the first batter as Kelly Farrell, Julia Collins, Courtney Kramer and Jett Chestnut recorded 12 groundball outs and four pop-ups. Shortstop Collins may have had the fielding gem of the season, grabbing a ricochet off third baseman Farrell and rifling a throw to first to nip the runner. Chestnut was outstanding at first base, handling all 12 putouts flawlessly in her first game at the position all season.

The Rangers jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first on the strength of singles by Burkard, Kramer, Chestnut and Danielle Gaulin and a sacrifice fly by Collins, who plated an alert Kramer on the tag up.

The Rangers went up 5-1 in the third when Collins, with Kramer on base, drove a home run into right field. A few rare fielding miscues, a few walks and a hit enabled the Devil Rays to tie the game at 5-5 in the sixth but the Rangers answered with two in the bottom of the inning by RBI singles from Farrell and Gaulin.

Additional members of the Rangers included Delia Hurley, Jordan Wishman, Lydia Wishman, Holly Kaiser, Emily Ludwig and Alyssa Candino. Coaches Bill Collins and John Wishman were assistants to manager Burkard.