After opening the season with a pair of crossover losses, the Mahar Regional School baseball team began its Hampshire League East slate in winning fashion on Saturday afternoon.
The host Senators picked up their first victory of 2017, powering past rival Athol High School for an 18-3 win in the first HL East contest for each team in Orange.
Tied 2-2 in the bottom of the third, Mahar (1-2, 1-0 HL) exploded offensively, pushing across six runs in the third, five in the fourth and five in the fifth to end things early in the run-rule-shortened victory.
The Senators took advantage of 16 walks from Athol (2-1, 0-1) pitching. The Red Raiders also committed four errors and managed just four hits.
Mahar starter Jacob Berry earned the mound win, going all five innings while striking out seven and walking three. The sophomore allowed three runs (two earned) on four hits, throwing 48 of his 85 pitches for strikes.
The Mahar offense was led by senior Miller Richardson, who finished 2-for-4 with a pair of RBIs and a walk. Senior Jake Lacasse also had two hits, an RBI and a pair of walks, while Sam Paul tossed in a pair of hits. Zack Geyster walked three times and scored a pair of runs, while Zach Duguay walked and scored three times.
Athol was led by freshman Nick Bousquet’s two hits and an RBI. Sean Fisher also drove in a run for the Raiders.
UM women’s lax rolls
A quick start led the UMass women’s lacrosse team to a 19-5 win at St. Bonaventure on Saturday afternoon, marking the team’s 10th straight win this season and NCAA-record 51st consecutive against an Atlantic 10 foe.
Just 75 seconds into the start of the game, the Minutewomen jumped out to a 3-0 lead, which extended to 8-0 over the first 14 minutes of play.
The win moves UMass to 11-3 overall this season and 6-0 in A-10 play, while the Bonnies fall to 3-0 overall and 1-4 in league play. The Minutewomen will close out their home schedule next weekend with a pair of games at Garber Field against George Washington on Friday and George Mason on Sunday.
Walk-off UM baseball win
Down to its final strike, the University of Massachusetts rallied for back-to-back RBI singles to take the series finale against Saint Louis, 5-4 on Saturday afternoon at Earl Lorden Field. With the win, the Minutemen improve to 8-20 on the season, 3-6 in the Atlantic 10, while the Billikens fall to 21-11 and 5-5 in conference play.
With the game tied 4-4 in the bottom of the ninth, UMass freshman Nolan Kessinger knocked a single up the middle to bring in Dylan Robinson for the winning run.
Senior Mike Geannelis threw a complete game to pick up the win, allowing four runs, three earned, on seven hits with two walks and six strikeouts.
Six Minutemen had multi-hit days at the plate as the team finished with 13 in the contest. Robinson and Cooper Mrowka registered two RBI apiece.
UMass will return to action on Tuesday when the squad travels to UConn.
UM men’s lax wins
Tyler Bogart netted his fourth hat trick of the season with three goals on only five shots as the UMass men’s lacrosse team moved within a game of .500 thanks to a 12-8 victory over Fairfield on Saturday at Garber Field in Amherst.
UMass (5-6, 2-1 CAA) also received five points from Jeff Trainor, who had two goals and three assists. Four more Minutemen had at least two points: Buddy Carr (one goal, two assists), Dan Muller (one goal, two assists), Jesse Leung (two goals) and Ben Spencer (one goal, one assist).
D.J. Smith finished with 13 saves, including two in the first, three in the second and four each during the third and fourth quarters. It was his eighth game on the season with at least 10 saves.
UMass softball splits
Junior Meg Colleran pitched the UMass softball team to a split in Saturday’s doubleheader with Fordham at Sortino Field in Amherst.
Colleran tossed six innings in the team’s Game 1 win, striking out five in a 12-4 victory. Visiting Fordham rebounded with a 7-4 win in Game 2, as the Minutewomen saw their record move to 19-18 overall (8-3 Atlantic 10).
UMass will play road games at Connecticut on Tuesday and Boston College on Wednesday.
DA secures winning day
It was another solid day for the Deerfield Academy athletic program on Saturday, as the Big Green went 7-7 overall and 4-1 against rival Choate Rosemary Hall.
The varsity softball team led the way with a huge 22-0 win over Choate. South Deerfield’s Kathryn Hioe, Conway’s Suzy Mazur and Ireland Miessau combined for 10 of DA’s 18 hits in the win, as the Green have now outscored their past four opponents by a whopping 57-9 margin. The squad improved to 4-1 overall on the season.
• Elsewhere, freshman David Thomas came up big with the bat in a 4-for-4 outing to power the varsity baseball team to a 9-7 win over NMH on Saturday.
Dylan Presnal had two doubles and a triple for DA, while Owen MacPhee delivered in the clutch as well with a sacrifice fly and a double. Chris Camelio contributed two hits.
• The DA lacrosse teams went a combined 3-1 against Choate on Saturday. The boys’ varsity team was big 17-4 winner, while the JV squad nearly matched the same result with a 17-5 win.
On the girls’ side, DA dropped a tight 13-11 decision to Choate, while the JV squad grabbed an 11-3 win over the rivals.
• The girls’ varsity water polo team lost an overtime thriller, 11-10, on Saturday, while Hadley’s Levi Constant pitched the JV baseball team to an 8-2 win over Williston Northampton School.
• The tennis teams dropped decisions to Taft School on Saturday. The girls’ varsity team lost a 5-4 decision, while the boys’ varsity squad went down via a 6-1 final. The JV girls’ team was edged 4-3, while the boys’ JV squad was knocked off, 5-2.
• Finally, the varsity golf team earned a convincing 9-1 win over Phillips Exeter Academy on Saturday. The JV team was knocked off by Eaglebrook School, 5-0.
NMH tennis falls
The Berkshire School won all three doubles matches to power past Northfield Mount Hermon School in varsity boys’ tennis action over the weekend. The Hoggers won fifth and sixth singles in the 5-2 defeat.
NMH volleyball edged
Despite 18 kills from Erich Roman, the NMH boys’ volleyball team was unable to knock off Phillips Andover Academy in a 22-25, 25-17, 25-22, 21-25, 15-11 loss on Saturday in Andover.
NMH, 4 Rivers 3rd, 4th
While Longmeadow High School knocked off Montpelier High School of Vermont for the title, both the Northfield Mount Hermon and Four Rivers Charter School boys’ varsity ultimate teams performed well at Saturday’s NMH Tournament.
Four Rivers finished fourth out of eight teams in the boys’ bracket. The squad opened its tourney with a 13-2 win over Northampton High School before dropping a tight 12-10 decision to eventual champion Longmeadow. In that game, Four Rivers fell behind 10-2 before storming back to make things interesting.
The team responded with a 13-3 win over Pioneer Valley School for the Performing Arts, putting Four Rivers into the third-place game against host NMH. The Hoggers captured that win, grabbing third in their own event with a 13-8 victory.
Four Rivers head coach Terry Plotkin lauded the play of Josh Gibson and Barnabus Yu, as the pair helped the team to its solid performance at the day-long event.
K of C league practice
The Knights of Columbus Golf League will hold an optional practice night on April 26 beginning at 3 at Thomas Memorial Golf & Country Club.
League play begins on May 3, and players of all abilities are welcome to join. For more information or to join, contact Ed Kerswig Jr. at 774-3440 or email karp1701@hotmail.com.
Junior Golf League back
For the second season, Country Club of Greenfield is offering PGA Junior League Golf to boys and girls age 13 of all abilities, and registration is now open. Parents can visit PGAJLG.com to learn more. Registration will close May 1.
Teams play in a two-person scramble format for competition, which reinforces the team concept and allows captains to substitute players to ensure everyone on the team can participate. Parents are encouraged to play an active role as volunteers, spectators or coaches, making it a fun activity for the whole family.
“We are thrilled to once again host PGA Junior League Golf here at CC of Greenfield ” said Kevin Piecuch, PGA Golf Professional. “PGA Junior League Golf has proven to be a fantastic opportunity for kids of all skill levels to learn and enjoy the game as a team. We look forward to welcoming families to CC of Greenfield for another fun season.”
Cost is $150 and includes a team jersey, bag tag, T-shirt, six practices and six matches. Boys and girls of all abilities, ages 7 through 13, are invited to register. No prior golf experience is necessary to participate.
The season is slated to begin on May 1. For more information, contact Kevin Piecuch or Patrick Maddock at the Country Club (413-773-7530) or ccgreenfield@crocker.com.
Tech Trivia Night
The Franklin County Technical School athletic department is holding a Trivia Night fundraiser on May 12 at 7 p.m. at St. Kazimierz Society in Turners Falls.
Teams can consist of up to eight people with a $10 entry fee per person. There will be a range of cash and bar prizes.
For more information and to register contact Dan Prasol at dprasol@fcts.org.
Post 81 tryouts
The Greenfield Post 81 American Legion Baseball program will hold tryouts for its Senior and Junior Division teams on four upcoming days at Veterans Memorial Field in Greenfield.
Tryouts will take place on April 30 and then on May 6, 7 and 13. Senior Division players (ages 19 and under as of Dec. 31, 2017) will meet at 1 p.m. each day, while Junior Division players (ages 17 and under as of Dec. 31, 2017) will meet at 3 p.m. All players will meet at 3 p.m. on May 13 (no 1 p.m. tryouts) and the teams will be selected and players notified that evening.
Players from all Franklin County schools are eligible to try out and should bring glove, cleats and birth certificate. Players from previous a Post 81 roster must attend tryouts to be eligible and players should make as many tryouts as possible.
For more information, contact Bill Phelps 774-3954, Kyle Phelps 522-7317 or Tom Bresciano 522-1995 or email kylephelps83@gmail.com.
Race to End Child Abuse 5K
The Race to End Child Abuse 5K run/walk will take place on Saturday at The Children’s Advocacy Center at 56 Wisdom Way in Greenfield. Registration is at 8 a.m. and the race starts at 9 a.m.
There is no registration for the race but donations for the Children’s Advocacy Center will be accepted. The race will be officially timed, with homemade cookies and water waiting for you at the end. Come take a tour, run a race and support the community program. For further information, email info@cacfranklinnq.org or call Irene Woods at 508-843-7306.
Franklin County Technical School baseball player Tim Fritz was incorrectly named as Jay Fritz in the recap of the Eagles’ game against Westfield Technical Academy in Thursday’s edition of The Recorder. We apologize for that error.