Freshman Hailey Bigwood picked up her first varsity victory, going the distance in the circle in helping host Athol High School to a 5-3 victory over Pioneer Valley Regional School in a Franklin County League softball game Thursday afternoon in Athol.
Bigwood went all seven innings, striking out eight, walking six and allowing just three hits. The Raiders improved to 8-5 overall, 6-4 in the FCL.
“We went with Hailey thinking we’d get a few innings before going to Jess (Soucie) because Jess has had a sore arm but Hailey pitched well,” Athol coach Sharon Chauvette.
Athol jumped out to a 5-0 lead thanks to four runs in the third inning. Bigwood singled home Abby Leadbetter, and Brej Geise followed with a two-run home run. Angelica Baptista added an RBI single to put the Raiders up 5-0.
Pioneer (5-8, 4-6) cut into the lead with a run in the fourth and two in the fifth, as Alexus Vergobbe had two RBI and Sophia Peduzzi drove in another. But Bigwood danced out of trouble, stranding two runners on base in the fifth to keep Athol on top.
Destiny Ricko and Baptista had two hits each for Athol, which returns to action Tuesday against Mahar Regional School.
“We’re two wins away from getting into the tournament, so hopefully we can keep it going,” said Chauvette.
Pioneer, which received a solid complete-game outing from Lizzie Fuller in the circle, hosts Smith Vocational & Agricultural High School Monday night.
• In the JV game, Pioneer edged Athol, 3-2. Chloe Cutting picked up the win in the circle, while Tayla Sadlowski had two hits for Pioneer, including the go-ahead RBI that plated Jazmine Terounzo in the top of the seventh inning.
Turners 11, Mahar 0 — Peyton Emery struck out five and allowed just one walk and three hits to send host Turners Falls High School to an 11-0 shutout against Mahar Regional School in FCL action Thursday night at the Bourdeau Fields Complex.
Emery’s effort was backed up by plenty of offense. Turners jumped out to a 3-0 lead after one inning and tacked on six more in the third inning. The six-run frame was highlighted by a pair of home runs, as Gabby Arzuaga (three-run) and Cassidhe Wozniak (solo) went deep.
Aly Murphy and Abby Loynd had two hits each for Turners (10-2, 8-1), which qualified for the postseason with the victory. Loynd stroked a pair of doubles to go with two RBI.
Mahar (5-8, 2-6) received two hits, including a double, from freshman slugger Skylar Dodge. Megan Rich, who tossed a complete-game in the circle, had the other hit for the Senators.
Turners gets back to action Monday with a night game against Ludlow High School.
Mohawk 8, Hopkins 5 — A late offensive surge enabled Mohawk Trail Regional High School to continue its winning ways Thursday.
The visiting Warriors scored two runs in the sixth and seventh innings, breaking a 4-4 tie and ultimately securing an 8-5 victory over Hopkins Academy in FCL action in Hadley.
Mohawk (9-3, 6-3) took a 6-4 lead in the sixth before Hopkins cut the lead to 6-5. The Warriors tacked on a pair of insurance runs in the seventh.
Rebecca Scranton paced the offense with four hits, including a double and a triple, and an RBI. Shelby Sinistore clubbed three hits, while Ashley Reynolds had a pair of doubles and Hayley Lowell contributed two hits. Morgan Roccio and Olivia Dubrule had a hit and two RBI apiece.
The offense made a winner out of Emily Page, who tossed five innings while striking out five and walking two, before Lilly Lesieur finished up with a pair of innings (two strikeouts).
Mohawk hosts Mount Greylock Regional High School in an independent game today.
Smith Voke 4, FC Tech 3 — After rolling through the early Tri-County League season, back-to-back foes were able to sneak past Franklin County Technical School.
For the second day in a row, the Eagles dropped a tight, one-run game Thursday afternoon. Visiting Smith Vocational & Agricultural High School denied the potential tying run at third base in the seventh inning, holding on for a 4-3 win in a TCL contest in Turners Falls.
“It’s frustrating, yeah, we didn’t get the outcome we wanted, but these games are better preparing us for tournament and our vocational tournament,” offered Tech coach Amber Crochiere. “We’re learning we can’t have silly mental errors and that every play is important.”
Tech (8-6, 8-2 TCL), which lost to Putnam Vocational Technical Academy, 5-4, Wednesday, jumped out to a 2-0 lead with a pair of second-inning runs as Jocelyn Crowningshield drove in Shayla Demers and Shannon Kurkulonis to stake the home side to the early advantage.
But Smith Voke (9-3, 9-1) tied the game with two in the fourth and went ahead with a pair in the sixth for a 4-2 advantage.
Tech scored one in the bottom of the seventh to pull within 4-3, but the Eagles couldn’t get the tying run in from third base as Smith Voke’s Samantha Von Haugg recorded a strikeout for the game’s final out.
Senior Rachel Shearer went all seven innings for the Eagles, striking out eight and walking no one. Tech managed just four hits, with Crowningshield, Cassie Harris, Kurkulonis and Shearer smacking singles. Ashlee Townsley drove in a run.
Tech travels to Greenfield High School for a 6:30 Monday-night contest at Vets Field.
Pioneer 11, Easthampton 2 — One day removed from a disappointing loss to Smith Academy, Pioneer Valley Regional School used a monster fourth inning Thursday to right the ship and return to the win column.
The host Panthers blew open a 1-0 game with seven runs in the fourth, pulling away from Easthampton High School in a Hampshire League East contest in Northfield.
“Their pitcher started off throwing well and we weren’t super comfortable with a 1-0 lead, so once that fourth inning rolled around, it was time to get the guys motivated,” explained Pioneer coach Jordan Branson. “Everyone hit that inning.”
Pioneer (8-5, 5-1 HL East) pounded out 14 hits, with Bryce Dobosz leading the charge with a 4-for-4 day that featured a double and an RBI.
“He was on fire,” lauded Branson. “His last hit, that double, was a towering bomb that fell about 20 feet short of the woods.”
Jared Ackerman, Jacob Hubbard and Jordan Loughman had two hits apiece, with Ackerman driving in three runs to go with his two doubles. Loughman and Jake Loud drove in two runs each for Pioneer, which stole 11 bags in a busy afternoon on the bases.
Hubbard picked up the win, tossing five innings before Cody Letourneau finished up the final two innings.
Athol 9, Belchertown 4 (9) — A five-run top of the ninth inning broke the gates open as visiting Athol High School picked up its second win in as many days thanks to a 9-4 extra-inning win over Belchertown High School in an HL crossover game Thursday in Belchertown.
The Red Raiders took a 5-4 lead when Robbie Nelson was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded and no outs in the ninth, and Joey Lehtomaki came through with the big blow, a two-run double one batter later. Jared Cormier would add a sacrifice fly later in the frame, while Nelson scored on a wild pitch in Athol’s 9-4 win.
Gage Wood came on to get the final three outs in relief, nailing down a win for starter Mark Ferrari. The freshman went eight-plus innings, striking out six and walking six in a strong outing.
Fellow freshman Nick Bousquet had four of Athol’s five hits, all singles.
The Raiders improved to 5-9 overall with their second straight win. The team hosts Pioneer Tuesday.
Mohawk 14, Hopkins 9 — For three innings Thursday, things looked bleak for Mohawk Trail Regional High School. Trailing 7-0 in the top of the fourth however, the Warriors offense exploded for another key win.
Mohawk scored 14 consecutive runs over the next four innings, thrashing its way to a 14-9 win over Hopkins Academy in a Hamsphire League crossover game in Hadley.
Torsten Sloan-Anderson had two doubles and drove in three runs in the win for Mohawk (11-3), while Ian Eckler had a hit and added three RBI. Chris Graves also registered a pair of hits, including a triple, and an RBI.
The Warriors cut the deficit to 7-2 in the fourth and pulled within 7-6 after five innings before taking an 8-7 lead after six. They added six big insurance runs in the top of the seventh before the Hawks pushed two across in the home half of the seventh.
Bruin Pratt worked four innings of relief to earn the victory for Mohawk. He struck out one and walked four while settling Hopkins (5-7) at the plate by allowing just the two runs in the seventh.
Mahar 2, Commerce 1 — Junior Sam Paul tossed a gem, outdueling High School of Commerce pitcher Elian Almanzar to lift host Mahar Regional School to a 2-1 independent baseball victory Thursday in Orange.
Paul allowed just one hit over seven innings, striking out 10 and walking four as Commerce (6-6) managed a run in the top of the seventh to avoid getting shutout. Paul also drove in one of his team’s two runs in the victory.
The outing was badly-needed as loser Almanzar also pitched quite. He struck out seven and walked three while allowing just two hits and two runs, both coming in the bottom of the third. Zack Geyster had both of his team’s hits, both singles, in the pitchers’ duel.
The win propelled Mahar back to .500 (7-7), as Senators stay on course for a potential postseason berth. Next up is a return game to Commerce on Monday.