Four errors in the top of the seventh inning doomed Mohawk Trail Regional High School on Friday. In a scoreless game, the Warriors struggled to make plays in crunch time, and visiting Smith Academy scored all the offense it would need to pick up a 3-1 victory in a Hampshire League East game played in Buckland.
Smith Academy (5-8, 3-3 HL) scored all three of its runs in the top of the seventh, taking advantage of several miscues by Mohawk. The Falcons needed just one hit to score their runs, with Colin Ferrara driving in a run with a single. The other two runs scored on a pair of wild throws to first base, staking Smith to a 3-0 advantage.
Mohawk (11-4, 4-2) tried to claw back in its final at-bat in the seventh. Ian Eckler singled to lead off, stole second and eventually scored on a two-out, RBI single by Seth Donovan to cut the deficit to 3-1. But that would be all the Warriors could muster, as Smith starter John Ferrara induced a ground out to end the game. Ferrara struck out nine and allowed just five hits and two walks in the complete-game victory.
Adam Hallenback took the tough-luck loss for Mohawk. The right-hander struck out 10, walked two and allowed just three hits — all singles — before the defensive miscues doomed the home team in the seventh.
Wyatt Bandy-Page had the lone extra base hit in the game, a double, for Mohawk, while Daniel Szafran, Luke Viens, Donovan, and Eckler had singles.
Mohawk travels to Easthampton High School for an HL East game on Monday.
So. Hadley 5, Frontier 4 (8) — Kyle Gemme’s single drove in Nate Poirier with the game-winning run, as Poirier slid in just ahead of the tag at the plate in the bottom of the eighth inning to give South Hadley High School a 5-4 victory over Frontier Regional School in a Hampshire League West game between the top two teams in the division Friday afternoon in South Hadley.
South Hadley (9-4, 5-1 HL) jumped out to a 4-1 lead with a four-spot in the bottom of the first inning, but the Red Hawks didn’t go away, posting single runs in the second, fourth and fifth innings to pull even. In the top of the fifth, Kade Gewanter scored on a passed ball to pull the visitors even, 4-4.
“I was really impressed with our guys,” Frontier coach Chris Williams offered. “They didn’t hang their heads after that tough first inning. They stayed optimisitc, chipped away with aggressive base running and some timely hits.”
The opportunities continued for Frontier (9-4, 4-2), as the team put runners in scoring position every inning except the eighth. But the Hawks were unable to cash in, and South Hadley eventually scored the game-winning run to hop into sole possession of first place in the HL West.
Kade Gewanter had a team-high three hits and an RBI in the loss. Frontier swiped nine bases on the afternoon.
Dylan Apanell and Ben Arnold combined to strike out eight batters in the loss for the Red Hawks.
Belchertown 15, Greenfield 9 —Visiting Belchertown High School stormed out of the gates to take an 11-0 lead after three innings, and despite some late noise from Greenfield High School, the Orioles were able to pick up their first Hampshire League West victory with a 15-9 win Friday night at Veterans Memorial Field.
Belchertown (5-9, 1-5) led 2-0 in the third before pushing nine runs across in the frame. The Orioles pounded out 17 hits in the win with Tanner Clark and Victor Camerota registering four each. Camerota drove in four runs, and two of his four hits were triples.
Despite the early hole, Greenfield (8-6, 2-4) slowly climbed back to get within 11-4. Belchertown tacked on four in the top of the seventh, putting things out of reach despite the Wave scoring five times in their final at-bat thanks to four walks and a few hits sandwiched between.
Hunter Campbell and Zack Avery paced the Wave offense with two hits apiece. Colin Cloutier tripled and drove in a pair of runs, while Owen Phelps had a hit and a pair of RBI.
Belchertown’s Hayden Bennis picked up the win, striking out four and walking four in 6⅓ innings of work..
PV Christian 9, FC Tech 5 — Despite jumping out to an early 5-1 lead after one inning, Franklin County Technical School was unable to keep pace on Friday afternoon. Visiting Pioneer Valley Christian School took the lead with a five-spot in the third and tacked on two late insurance runs, pulling away for a 9-5 win in a Tri-County League baseball game in Turners Falls.
PV Christian (2-6, 1-6 TCL) received a complete-game performance from Noah Connor, who overcame the first-inning struggles to strike out 12 and walk just one over seven innings.
Tech (6-8, 4-6) stormed out to the 5-1 lead on the strength of first-inning RBI from Nate Pelletier (two), Seth Aldrich and Caileb Milton. PV Christian wound up outhitting the Eagles, 12-5, however.