Tyler Townsley made an early lead stand up as he scattered four hits and two walks over seven innings to lead Greenfield High School to a 4-1 Hampshire League baseball win over Pioneer Valley Regional School Thursday afternoon in Northfield.
The Green Wave (1-1) scored twice in the first inning and once more in the third to give Townsley an early lead. The senior pitcher, who saw very little time on the bump last season and was making his 2017 debut, pitched well to hold it, striking out three and walking two. He gave up one run in the fourth inning.
“For his first outing and not having many innings of experience last year, he settled in and pitched well,” Green Wave skipper Tom Suchanek said. “He got into a rythym, he threw strikes, and we played good defense.”
Greenfield got on the board in the first inning when Arlo Larange worked a leadoff walk and Townsley was hit by a pitch. Colin Cloutier knocked in the game’s first run with an RBI single, and Tyler Miner plated the second on a sacrifice fly. In the third, Miner reached on a one-out error and scored on a two-out RBI single by Nate Haselton.
Pioneer (0-2) cut the deficit to 3-1 in the fourth as Eliot Mousseau walked and later scored on a sacrifice fly by Jared Ackerman, but Greenfield regained the three-run cushion in the sixth inning when Tyler Boissonneault singled and scored on a balk. Pioneer assistant coach Max Richman said he saw improvement out of his team in its second game of the season.
“Defensively, we looked pretty sharp,” he explained. “Townsley threw really well. He had good zip on his fastball and he had good command. We didn’t strike out much and made good contact.”
Cody Letourneau suffered the loss, striking out one and walking one in three innings. Peyton Doherty had two strikeouts and one walk in relief.
Athol 3, Hopkins 1 — Mark Ferrari pitched five scoreless innings of relief and Athol High School improved to 2-0 on the young season with a 3-1 win over Hopkins Academy in an HL crossover game Thurday in Athol.
The Red Raiders have now defeated Frontier and Hopkins to start the season, two teams expected to compete for the HL West title.
Hopkins led 1-0 after scoring once in the second inning as Noah Scanlon-Dean (two hits) hit an RBI fielder’s choice with the bases loaded. Hopkins squandered a chance to score more runs when Caleb Graves was thrown out at the plate trying to score on a wild pitch. That was a common theme for Hopkins, which stranded two runners in the fifth and then left the bases loaded in the seventh.
Athol, which had just three hits, tied the game in the fourth when Tyler Lutz walked, stole second and scored on Kris Selanis’ single to center. Athol then took the lead in the sixth and again it started with a Lutz walk and steal of second. He scored when Gage Wood reached on an error by the Hopkins second-baseman, and Wood scored on a two-out double by Jared Cormier.
Ferrari came on in relief of starter James Laford, who left after two innings due to a minor injury. Ferrari struck out two and walked three to earn the win.
Trevor Fil struck out eight and walked four in six innings in the loss.
Frontier 7, Smith Academy 6 — Just a freshman, Connor Waitkus has already made his mark on the Frontier Regional School baseball team.
That was indeed the case on Thursday, as his third-inning grand slam propelled the visiting Red Hawks to a 7-6 victory over Smith Academy in a Hampshire League contest in Hatfield.
Frontier (2-1, 2-1) led 2-0 in the top of the third before Waitkus moved to the plate. With the sacks packed, the third baseman unloaded, rounding the bags for an inside-the-park grand slam to put the Hawks on top 6-0.
“I was really happy for him,” said Frontier coach Chris Williams. “He’s someone who has really impressed myself, the rest of the coaching staff and his teammates. And it turned out, we needed every single one of those runs.”
Smith Academy (1-2, 1-2) didn’t go away. The Falcons clawed back with three runs in the fourth and three in the seventh, but Frontier’s Seth Gewanter shut the door to pick up his first career save.
“We were definitely complacent after we took that early lead,” admitted Williams. “Smith jumped on us and made us pay for it. But I was impressed with (Gewanter’s) ability to come in and hammer the strike zone to finish it.”
Bryce Jordan and Kiernan Freeman had two hits each in the win for Frontier, which rebounded from a one-run loss to Athol in its previous outing. Freeman drove in a pair of runs, while Kade Gewanter added an RBI.
Ben Arnold earned the victory for the Hawks, as he tossed five innings while striking out six and walking three. Bryce Jordan and Seth Gewanter finished things out.
Mohawk 11, Belchertown 4 — Senior Adam Hallenbeck battled through some first-inning wildness, giving host Mohawk Trail Regional High School seven strong frames in an 11-4 Hampshire League victory over Belchertown High School on Thursday in a game played at Veterans Field in Greenfield.
Hallenbeck struggled with his control in the top of the first, as the visiting Orioles (2-1, 1-1) jumped out to a 3-0 lead. He rebounded from there, finishing with a line of four strikeouts and three walks in the complete-game outing.
“Adam struggled with his control in that first (inning) but he found his groove from there,” offered Mohawk coach Bill Buck.
The Warriors (1-1, 1-1) chipped away at the early deficit before taking the lead in the bottom of the fourth, 5-4. They pushed across three runs in both the fifth and sixth innings while keeping Belchertown off the board over the final four frames.
Lead-off hitter Daniel Szafran had a big day setting the table for Mohawk. The senior had three hits, scored five runs, walked twice, stole a base and drove in a run to fill up the box score.
Luke Viens also had three hits and added three RBI for Mohawk, while Ian Eckler registered a pair of hits to aid the offense. Hallenbeck totaled three RBI in addition to his victory on the mound.
Mohawk is right back at it this afternoon, when the Warriors are slated to return to Buckland and play on their home field for the first time in an independent game against Berkshire foe Drury High School.
Easthampton 4, Turners 1 — Host Easthampton High School scored three runs in the bottom of the sixth, breaking a 1-1 tie and lifting the Eagles to a 4-1 Hampshire League victory on Thursday.
Quinn Doyle pitched well in defeat for Turners (2-1, 2-1 HL), which lost for the first time this season. The left-hander went all seven innings, striking out five and walking just one.
The Powertown scored its only run in the top of the first, as senior Tionne Brown reached and scored to stake the visitors to a 1-0 advantage.
Easthampton (1-2, 1-2) tied the game with a run in the home half of the first, and the teams matched zeroes until the sixth.
Turners managed just two hits on the day against Easthampton starter Dawson Wolcott. Kyle Bergmann and Riley Watroba finished with singles against Wolcott, who struck out seven in the complete-game victory.
Next up for Turners is a Tuesday trip to the Berkshires when the squad travels to Mount Greylock Regional School.
South Hadley 8, Mahar 1 — Evan Levrault struck out 10 and walked three in five innings to lead South Hadley High School to a 8-1 win over Mahar Regional School Thursday in Orange.
The Tigers (2-0) scored four times in the first inning off Mahar starter Sam Paul, who struck out two and walked one in four innings in the loss. Teddy Doyle slugged a solo home run as part of a two-hit, two-RBI performance in the win, while Levrault and Nate Poirier each had two hits and one RBI.
Paul hit an RBI triple in the loss.
FC Tech 9, Westfield Tech 5, (8) — Jay Fritz’ two-run single highlighted a four-run eighth inning for Franklin County Technical School and the Eagles defeated Westfield Technical Academy, 9-5, in a Tri-County League baseball game Thursday in Westfield.
Westfield Tech scored twice in the fifth to tie the game at 5-5 and it stayed that way into the eighth when Connor Powers walked and later scored on passed ball. Sam Bobala also worked a bases-loaded walk in the frame, before Fritz hit his two-run single. Bobala also had a big play in the seventh when he picked off a base-runner at first base following a failed bunt attempt.
Caileb Milton added two hits in the win, while Powers stole six bases. Fritz earned the win in relief, striking out one and walking five in four innings. Damion Willor made his debut and struck out three and walked one in four innings.
“I’m really proud of our guys, they showed a lot of character,” Tech coach Brian Winslow said. “They are a young group, but I’m really proud of how they held themselves today. This was a complete-team win.”