The Hampshire-Franklin IAABO Board 28 basketball officials will host their 20th annual All-Star Games Friday night at Frontier Regional School.
The games will feature the senior basketball stars from all Hampshire and Franklin County schools playing in an exciting and fun-filled evening. Both teams are chalk-full of local senior standouts, as the girls’ game will tip off at 6 with the boys’ game to follow at approximately 7:30.
The girls’ Hampshire-Franklin East squad includes: Athol High School’s Hope Parker and Julia Carey; Franklin County Technical School’s Michelle Leh; and Mahar Regional School’s Kadie Jillson, Jordan Martin, Kenzie Tenney and Cassie Verheyen. The team will be coached by Mahar’s Larry Fisher and Granby High School’s Tom Burke.
The East side will meet a West team that includes: Frontier Regional School’s Helena Diaz and Lisa Portier; Greenfield High School’s Molley Duclos; Mohawk Trail Regional High School’s Hayley Lowell; and Pioneer Valley Regional School’s Brianna Jobst, Caroline Merkle, and Jess Scoville. Mohawk’s Larissa Miner and South Hadley High School’s Paul Dubuc will coach the East team.
On the boys’ side, the East All-Stars roster features locals Colin Gould (FC Tech), Bryce Cleveland (Mahar), Gabe O’Lari (Mahar), and Tionne Brown (Turners Falls). FC Tech’s Matt Llewelyn and Amherst Regional High School’s Jim Matuszko will serve as coaches for the East team.
The West team, coached by Frontier’s Ben Barshefsky and Pioneer’s Scott Thayer, includes Recorder-area seniors Ben Lowe (Frontier), Connor Joy (Greenfield), Kevin Mendez (Greenfield), Torsten Sloan-Anderson (Mohawk), Tucker Llewelyn (Pioneer) and Tyler Martin (Pioneer).
Admission is $5 for adults, $3 for seniors and students, and free to all active and reserve military with valid ID. Proceeds from this event will benefit the William F. Casey Scholarships. Since 1982, this scholarship program has provided over $84,000 to area seniors for college.
The officials of IAABO Board 28 will be honoring Greenfield High School with the Jack Leaman Sportsmanship Award, given to the school whose players, coaches and athletic department staff display outstanding sportsmanship during the year. Also being honored at the games will be IAABO Board 28 Member Gary Stacy with the Tom Cove Award for his long-lasting contributions to the game of basketball in Hampshire and FranklinCounties.
Any questions or inquiries about the game can be directed to IAABO Board 28 Secretary Mike Churchill at 625- 6112 or by email at iaabo28@gmail.com.
Montague Parks & Rec
The Montague Parks & Recreation Department is taking registrations for several upcoming programs.
• Tee-ball is being offered for children ages 4-6 from April 22 through June 3, and the child MUST be at least 4 years of age before the start date of the program. Proof of age will be required at the time of registration. The program will run Saturday mornings from 10:30 a.m. until 11:30 a.m.
Early Bird registration runs through March 25, and rates are $35 for Montague residents and $40 for non-residents. Regular fee after March 25 will be $40 for Montague residents and $45 for non-residents.
• Rookie League baseball for children ages 7-9 will run from April 22 through June 3 at Unity Park. Practices/scrimmages are slated for Saturday mornings from 9 a.m. until 10:30 a.m. The fee for residents is $40 and $45 for non-residents. MPRD recommends kindergarten players start with tee-ball before playing rookie ball. This is a coach-pitch program. The deadline for registration is April 1 or until the roster is full.
• Nipper League softball for girls ages 7-9 will run from early April through mid-June, and practices will take place on weekdays with times TBD. League games will vary between weeknights and weekends, and action will be played at either Unity Park, Highland Park or Murphy Park in Greenfield.
The fee for Montague residents is $50 and non-residents is $55. MPRD recommends that kindergarten players start with tee-ball before playing Nipper League. This is a coach-pitch league. Registration deadline is March 30 or until the roster is full.
• Senior League softball for girls ages 10-12 will run from early April until mid-June, with all games taking place at Murphy Park in Greenfield. Practices will be held weekdays at a time TBD, and games vary between weeknights and weekends. The fee for Montague residents is $70 and non-residents is $75. Registration runs through March 30 or until the roster is full.
For more information on any of the offerings, and to receive a spring programs brochure with complete program listings, call MRPD at 863-3216 or log onto www.montague.net.
UMass baseball falls
UMass scored twice in the top of the first inning but couldn’t muster any offense the rest of the way in an 8-2 loss to Harvard in a game played in Port Charlotte, Florida on Wednesday afternoon.
The Minutemen (3-5) put up a pair of runs in the first thanks to a sacrifice fly from Mike Geannelis and an RBI single by Cooper Mrowka.
But Harvard scored the final 8 runs of the game, tying with a pair in the bottom of the third and taking a 5-2 lead with three runs in the fourth. The Crimson improved to 7-3 with the victory, snapping UMass’ modest three-game winning streak in the process.
Sophomore Connor Donahue started on the mound for UMass and took the loss, allowing five runs, three earned, on five hits with three walks and seven strikeouts over four innings. Harvard starter Hunter Bigge picked up the win, limiting the Minutemen to two runs on five hits over six innings with one walk and three strikeouts.
UMass is back in action today (3 p.m.), when it opens a three-game series against Bucknell in Port Charlotte.
Men’s lax edges UM-Lowell
Trailing 8-6 in the fourth quarter, the UMass men’s lacrosse team scored the final 4 goals of the game en route to a much-needed 10-8 victory over UMass-Lowell at Garber Field on Wednesday.
Tyler Bogart scored a game-high 5 points via 4 goals and an assist, while Dan Muller added a hat trick for the Minutemen (2-4). Muller tallied the eventual game-winner on a feed from Bogarty with 1:37 remaining in regulation.
D.J. Smith recorded 12 saves in net for UMass, while Noah Rak won 12 of his 21 faceoffs and scooped up four groundballs in the win.
UMass trailed 7-4 early in the third quarter before closing out the contest on a 6-1 run to come back and grab win No. 2 on the season.
Eaglebrook School Camps
Eaglebrook School in Deerfield will hold its co-ed, family-oriented Eaglebrook Soccer Camp July 31 through Aug. 4 for children aged 6 to 16. For more information, contact Alex Edwards at aedwards@eaglebrook.org.
The school will also host a tennis camp June 26-30 for children aged 6-16. Half-day and full-day options are available.