Kyle Johnson pitched a complete-game three-hitter and also collected two hits and two RBIs to lead Franklin County Technical School to a 9-1 win over Westfield Technical Academy in a Tri-County League baseball game Monday afternoon in Turners Falls.
Johnson was looking to bounce back from a tough start on Thursday, when he got tagged for 10 runs in a 10-2 loss to Pathinder Regional Vocational-Technical School. The senior was able to do just that, and was only tagged for a run in the sixth inning when Alex Sparks hit an RBI double to break up the shutout bid. Johnson wound up with the one-run victory, finishing with three strikeouts and two walks.
“I told him that the difference between today and Thursday was that he threw strikes today and we played strong defensively behind him,” Franklin Tech coach Brian Winslow said. “We try to pitch to contact, and when he does that, we should be able to make the plays behind him. Kyle is a gamer. I think he was really frustrated with how he pitched Thursday and wanted to prove something. It was a big bounce-back for him.”
Eagles’ shortstop Nate Crocker led the defense with stellar plays to help his pitcher.
The Eagles got two runs in the second inning and then turned the game into a rout with seven runs combined in the fifth and sixth innings. In the second, Max Charest singled and later scored on a passed ball, and Austin Burdick also scored a run on Ben Sherman’s RBI single.
Sherman had a big day for the Eagles with two hits and three stolen bases. His steals highlighted a nice baserunning effort by the hosts, who stole 10 bases, something Winslow is looking for from his squad.
“If we are aggressive, good things will generally happen,” the coach said. “I’m not opposed to having a mistake on the bases if it’s because of us being aggressive. I want other teams to have to make plays to get us out, and I really feel that, athletically, we are as good as any team in the league.”
The Eagles put up two runs in the fifth when C.J. Daignault walked and moved to third when Crocker got a bunt hit that resulted in an error. Michael Grover plated Daignault on a sacrifice fly and Johnson pushed home Crocker with an RBI single. Things really opened up in the bottom of the sixth inning when the Eagles scored four times. Charest led off with a triple and scored on a Burdick sac fly. Later in the inning, Sherman stole home as part of a double steal with Dan Chabott, who got a pinch-hit single. Grover then hit an RBI single, and Johnson ripped an RBI double.
Andrew Daniels was tagged with the loss, striking out three and walking four in 5 innings.
The Eagles (2-1) host cross-town rival Turners Falls High School today at 4.
Greenfield 12, Palmer 10 — Axel Vasquez legged out an inside-the-park three-run home run and Greenfield High School outslugged Palmer High School, 12-10, in an independent baseball game Monday afternoon at Veterans Memorial Field in Greenfield.
Both teams scored twice in the first inning but the Green Wave took a commanding lead with eight runs in the second inning. Resilient Palmer, undeterred by the 10-2 deficit, scored four runs in the top of the third to get right back into it. Vasquez came on in relief of starter Ben Poirier and pitched well enough to hold the Palmer offense from overtaking the Green Wave, and Owen Schilling came on to get the final two outs in the seventh inning with a pair of runners on to nail down the save.
“We were lucky we scored so many runs early,” Greenfield coach Tom Suchanek said. “That was a combination of some walks and timely hitting in the second inning. We only made one error, so defensively we played well, and we only walked two guys. We just had difficulty locating pitches when we were ahead in the count today. Credit Palmer, they didn’t fold tent. They kept battling back.”
Vazquez finished with two hits and four RBIs, including his three-run second-inning shot down the left-field line that he legged out for the rare home run at Vets Field. Tyler Townsley had three hits, including a pair of triples, and Andrew Toritto finished with four hits and one RBI. Schilling singled and drove in a run, and Josiah McBarry had one hit and one RBI. Vasquez struck out five and walked one in 3 innings of relief to earn the win, and Schilling fanned the final two batters of the game to save it. Poirier struck out two and walked one in three innings to earn a no-decision.
Cam Walsh paced the Palmer offense with four hits and three RBIs, and Matt Remmilard and Trevor Blackburn each had three hits and one RBI.
Greenfield (4-0) travels to Athol High School on Wednesday.
Mohawk 5, Smith Voke 3 — Justin Ward pitched seven strong innings Monday afternoon and Mohawk Trail Regional High School beat Smith Vocational & Agricultural High School, 5-3, in an independent baseball game in Buckland.
Ward struck out three and allowed three walks and six hits to earn the complete-game victory.
Mohawk (3-1) spread the offense around, with five players driving in one run. Mohawk scored once in the first and plated two runs in the fourth and fifth innings. Smith Voke scored once in the fourth and twice in the sixth.
Torsten Sloan-Anderson led the offense with a double, triple, RBI and two runs scored. Ward had two hits and a run scored, and Levin DuPree had two hits. Julian Diamond doubled, drove in a run and scored once, and Gabe Seaver, Bruin Pratt and Taylor McCloud each had one hit and one RBI.
Matt Hewes struck out seven and allowed 12 hits and two walks in six innings in the loss. Ryan York doubled and drove in a run for the Vikings (2-3), and Stone Mitchell added an RBI.
St. Mary 14, Mahar 2 — St. Mary’s High School used a 17-hit attack to score 14 runs and knocked off Mahar Regional School, 14-2, in an independent baseball game Monday afternoon in Westfield.
The Saints scored four times in the second inning and then blew the game open with six in the fourth. Shaun Gezotis finished with three hits, three RBIs and three runs to lead the St. Mary attack. Drew Collins finished with two hits, two RBIs and a pair of runs scored. Matthew Hannoush had two hits and two RBIs, and Billy Lamirande added a hit and two RBIs.
John Daley earned the win, striking out seven in six innings while allowing four hits and two walks.
Jake LaCasse suffered the loss, allowing four runs (three earned) in three innings on two hits and four walks, striking out one. Chris Pace was roughed up in relief, allowing six earned runs on eight hits and two walks in innings.
Jed Richardson finished with two hits for the Senators (2-3). Sam Paul and Tyreece Younger each added a hit and an RBI.
FC Tech 25, Smith Voke 8 (5) — Ashlee Townsley had four hits including a home run and drove in six runs to pace Franklin Tech to 25-8 mercy-rule-shortened, five-inning softball victory Monday over Smith Voke in a Tri-County League game in Northampton.
The Eagles (2-1) worked 21 walks against Vikings’ pitching, and even when the Smith Voke pitchers were able to locate their pitches, the Eagles’ hitters didn’t miss many, recording 15 hits. Ashlee Townsley had a memorable day with four hits, including a home run, with six RBIs. Shayla Demers also had a monster day at the dish with three hits, including a triple, and five RBIs. Sam Macomber singled and doubled and drove in three runs, and Emily Sullivan finished with four hits.
Rachel Shearer struck out seven and walked three in five innings.
Allie Kowalczyk belted a home run for the Vikings. Samantha Von Haugg suffered the loss.
Monson 8, Frontier 1 — Carly Zielinski struck out 10 and allowed just one run on five hits and a walk to lead Monson High School to a 8-1 win over Frontier Regional School in an independent softball game Monday afternoon in Monson.
Monson scored seven times in the first three innings. Madi DiSanti belted a two-run home run in the first inning, while Emily Garon and Hannah Colling each had two hits and an RBI.
Emma Wesoloski suffered the loss, striking out three and walking six in three innings.
Frontier did not score until the sixth inning when Lexa Boyden drove in a run. Sarah Meunier led the Red Hawks’ offense with two hits, while Kenzie Patterson, Mindy Esposito and Hanna LaClaire each added one.
Belchertown 5, Turners Falls 0 — Meghan Bernard defeated Alysha Wozniak, 6-0, 6-0, at first singles and Belchertown High School knocked off Turners Falls High School, 5-0, in an independent girls’ tennis match Monday in Belchertown.
Jordyn Paul bested Kortney Thurber, 6-1, 6-0 at second singles, and Julia Tan defeated Kaili Lynch, 6-0, 6-2 at third singles.