Olivia Whittier was 4-for-5 with a home run and also earned the win in the pitching circle as the Turners Falls Invaders picked up a 24-7 victory over Frontier in a 14U Suburban League fast-pitch softball game Tuesday night at Zabek Field in South Deerfield.
Whittier struck out four in the circle to nail down the five-inning, mercy-rule win.
Taryn Thayer was 3-for-5 with three RBI, while Keira Stevens added a hit and drove in two runs for the Invaders.
Two pitchers combined for five strikeouts in the circle for Frontier.
Turners travels to West Springfield tonight at 6.
Frontier 12U
Jillian Apanell struck out nine batters in five innings, and Frontier Blue breezed to a 16-6 win over Agawam No. 1 in a 12U Suburban League fast-pitch softball game Tuesday night at Merritt Field in Sunderland.
Kylie Laford and Izzy Palmisano both tripled and added a pair of singles in the win for Frontier, while Delaney Fifield, Kaelyn Zakaitis and Lucy Howard all had two hits. Daisy Venditti, Taylor Barry, Maria Konieczny and Megan Jolly each added a hit.
Avery Mayer struck out one batter in relief.
Frontier hosts Greenfield at Merritt Field tonight at 6 p.m.
U.S. Am qualifier
A pair of low scores led the way, as 6-under 138 was the number necessary to punch a ticket to the U.S. Amateur Championship on Tuesday.
The local contingent of golfers had a busy day, playing almost all of the 36 holes of the qualifying event at Crestview Country Club after Monday’s action was postponed 24 hours due to rain.
Billy Walthouse of Longmeadow and David Kocher of Charlotte, N.C., tied for first at 6-under, and they snatched the two available spots to next month’s U.S. Amateur in California.
Cody Booska of Turners Falls finished in a tie for 12th place on Tuesday, as he went 75-73—148 to finish 4-over for his two rounds.
South Deerfield’s Jonathan Elkins was close behind in a tie for 16th overall. He carded rounds of 74 and 76 for a total of 150 (plus-6).
Right behind was Deerfield’s Jacob Zaranek, who tied for 18th place at Crestview with rounds of 76 and 75 (151, plus-7).
Rounding out the locals was Conway’s Nathan Patterson, who finished 37th on the day with a total of 82-79—161 (plus-17).
CCG 18 Hole League
Phyllis Canon’s 86 put her atop the leaderboard to claim first place in the Country Club of Greenfield’s 18 Hole League’s Low Gross-Low Net Tournament on Tuesday.
Margo Worden (68) was the low net winner in the A Division to join Canon.
In B Division action, Irene Woods took low gross with a 103, while Sue McDonald was the low net winner with a 68.
Matt’s Men’s League
Matt Betsold snagged the low gross with a 39, leading the way at the Matt’s Men’s League on Tuesday at Thomas Memorial Golf & Country Club in Turners Falls.
Jeff Bryant took home low-net honors with a 27, while George Handschuh was closest to the pin on No. 7 (11 feet, 3 inches) and Jon Snow was closest on No. 9 (3-0).
Bryant and Bob Wilson tied for the most points on the night with seven apiece.
Through 10 weeks, Betsold and Shawn Hubert lead the league with 11 points. Bryan and Wilson are tied for second with Mark Letourneau and Al Ghiz (9 points each).
Edge Hill Men’s League
Lewis Goodnow’s 38 was good enough for low-gross honors in the A Division at Tuesday night’s Edge Hill Men’s League in Shelburne Falls.
Riley Jones had a big night as well, posting the low net (31), top point quota in the A Division (plus-5) and closest to the pin on No. 10 (8-10).
Paul Champigny’s 44 was the low gross in the B Division, while Jeff Carantit had low net (32) and tied for top point quota with Jon Sonntag (plus-4).
Erving League
John Hodgman and Trevor Blake won a match of cards, capturing the low gross with a 37 at the Erving League two-man best-ball competition Tuesday at Northfield Golf Course.
Peter Blake and Frank Ribeiro combined for the low net with a score of 28 after falling in the match of cards.
Dave Mooney was closest to the pin on No. 6 (11-10) and No. 7 (2-11), while Hodgman was the match medalist with a score of 39.
Mark K. Memorial
Fred Llewelyn, John Boguslawski, Bob Zukowski and Robert Lapointe teamed for a 63, putting them atop the leaderboard on Monday at the Mark K. Memorial Mixed League at Oak Ridge Golf Club in Gill.
Greenfield Co-Rec
Three players collected four hits each, as Smitty’s Pub won a low-scoring, 6-5, contest over Main Street Bar & Grille No. 1 in Greenfield Co-Rec Adult Softball League play Tuesday at Hillside Park.
Tim Momaney, Ray Mailloux and Mykayla Coburn all had four hits in the win for Smitty’s Pub.
Donny Mailloux paced Main Street No. 1 with three hits, while Marshall Sisson added a pair of hits.
• Elsewhere, Luis Melendez was 3-for-4 with three doubles as Beck’s Auto slugged past the Spirit Shoppe, 15-9, at Green River Park.
Sunny Lucas was 2-for-2 with a home run for Beck’s, while Kelly Sadler and Jenessa Murphy each went 3-for-4.
PV Women’s League
Nelly Wilkins was 4-for-4 with a home run and three RBI, and Conway edged Shelburne Falls, 10-7, in a Pioneer Valley Women’s Softball League game Tuesday night at Mohawk Trail Regional High School in Buckland.
Leslie Wickline was also a perfect 4-for-4 in the win for Conway.
Dena Briggs paced Shelburne Falls with four hits, while Samantha Roberts added three hits on the night.
• In other action, Carolyn Bach’s two hits and an RBI helped Ashfield to a tight 3-1 victory over Ashfield in a game played in Ashfield on Tuesday.
Sarah Crowell and Meg Burrington each had a hit and an RBI to help Ashfield to the big win.
Whitney Roberts tripled for Goshen, while Fawn Mougin registered two hits and drove in the lone run for her side.
Beacon Clay Court Classic
Brian Fournier eeked out a wild 7-6 (8-6), 2-6, 7-6 (8-6) victory over Gary Gronkowski to highlight opening-round action at Tuesday night’s Beacon Clay Court Classic in Greenfield.
Steve Stone also won a three-set match on the night, edging Mike Bassett, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 to advance to today’s semifinals.
Also claiming victories on Tuesday night were Brian Lamore (6-1, 6-3 over Kyle Maroni) and Tim Prevost (6-1, 6-0 over Paul Beaulieu).
The semifinals are set for tonight at 5:30 at the Beacon courts, as Lamore will meet Fournier and Prevost tangles with Stone.
Bridge of Flowers
Registrations continue for the 39th annual Bridge of Flowers 10K Classic and 3K Charity Race on Aug. 12 in downtown Shelburne Falls.
To register visit: www.shelburnefalls.com.
DRIVE playoffs
Kalen Evans scored 16 points, while Ben Litskoski added 13 to send Frontier to a 59-51 victory over Keene in the DRIVE boys’ varsity basketball playoffs at Pioneer Valley Regional School.
John Hughes scored a game-high 28 points to aid Keene in defeat.
• Elsewhere, Michael Menard registered 15 points and Garrett Cote was right behind with 14 as Pioneer clipped Turners Falls, 57-45.
Jimmy Vaughn’s eight points were tops for Turners.
• In other action, Henry Doherty (26 points) sent Noho No. 1 to a 60-53 win over Belchertown.
Mitch Medina had 18 points for Belchertown.
• Finally, Elliot Willis scored 18 as Noho No. 2 also advanced with a 59-58 win over Easthampton.
Ish Ankur’s 33 points paced Easthampton.
Montague youth program
Registration for the Montague Parks & Recreation Department’s youth soccer program begins on Aug. 1.
The program includes Start Smart Squirts Soccer for children in grades K-2. Squirt soccer is held Saturday mornings (Sept. 9-Oct. 21) from 10-11 a.m. The fee is $30 for Montague residents and $35 for non-residents.
Junior travel team is available for grades 3 and 4, with the cost $45 for Montague residents and $50 for non-residents. Senior travel team is available for grades 5 and 6 at a cost of $55 for Montague residents and $60 for non-residents.
The travel teams compete in the Tri-County Youth Soccer League, and games are scheduled for Saturday mornings. Practices begin in early September. For more information, please call 863-3216 or visit www.montague.net.