GREENFIELD — After a standout regular season that included yet another Franklin County League championship, Turners Falls High School will again be the team to beat in the Western Mass. Division III Softball Tournament.
Thanks to a season-finale victory over Newton North High School, the Powertown secured the No. 1 seed in the upcoming D-III draw. The draws and brackets were announced at Tuesday night’s softball seed meeting held at Greenfield High School.
Turners (18-2) edged Mount Everett Regional School (18-2) for the No. 1 seed. The Powertown earned the only bye in the preliminary round, as 15 teams qualified for the D-III Tournament. The team will open its title defense with a home quarterfinal game on Sunday at the Bourdeau Fields Complex against the winner of No. 8 McCann Technical School (13-7) and No. 9 Putnam Vocational Technical Academy (14-6). Those two teams will meet in a prelim on Thursday.
While Turners sits in prime positioning atop the seedings, FCL runner-up Greenfield earned the No. 4 seed in the D-III field. The Green Wave, which finished 16-2 overall, were hurt by a strength of schedule that was not the same level as the other top teams, according to the Walker System used to determine seeds. Greenfield will open its quest for a WMass title with a preliminary game Thursday night under the lights at Veterans Memorial Field at 6 against fellow local squad Franklin County Technical School, the 13th-seeded team in the field.
“It’s a little lower than I expected but I’m fine with it,” Greenfield coach Rian Lovett offered of the 4-seed. “Ultimately the seeds don’t really matter. You just have to win games and advance.”
Greenfield is staring a potential third game of the season against Athol High School in the face should both teams reach the quarterfinals. The fifth-seeded Red Raiders, one of just two teams to knock off Greenfield this season along with Turners, open their postseason run with a preliminary game against No. 12 Hoosac Valley High School (9-10) Thursday. Athol (14-6) split with Greenfield during the regular-season. Should both sides advance, they would meet again on Monday in the quarterfinal round at Vets.
One of the top surprises of the FCL season, Mohawk Trail Regional High School, earned the No. 11 seed in the D-III field. The Warriors (14-6), which tied for third in the standings with Athol, will kick off their postseason with a road trip to No. 6 Mount Greylock Regional School (10-10) in the preliminary round on Thursday. The Mounties had the best strength of schedule in D-III, playing Berkshire North Division foes Pittsfield High School and Taconic High School, both Division I schools, in the regular season.
Rounding out the local sides in the D-III field was No. 14 Pioneer Valley Regional School. The Panthers, which qualified right on the nose with a 10-10 record, is scheduled to meet No. 3 Monson High School (14-5) in a preliminary contest on the road Saturday.
Quarterfinal games are set for Sunday and Monday at the site of the higher remaining seed, while semifinals will be played either June 6, 7 or 8 at Sortino Field on the campus of UMass. The WMass finals will be held on June 10, also at UMass.
“The teams in our path, we’re familiar with for the most part,” Lovett explained. “Really, we just have to focus on the game in front of us. These girls know that, they understand that. You can’t assume anything but all in all, it’s not a bad road to try and get to UMass.”
The rest of the seeded teams in Division III are No. 7 Granby High School (11-9), No. 10 Smith Vocational & Agricultural High School (14-6) and No. 15 High School of Commerce (12-8). Hampshire Regional High School (15-5), which Turners beat twice in the regular season, earned the No. 1 seed in the Division II field, while Minnechaug Regional High School (20-0) was the top seed in D-I