GREENFIELD — It wasn’t easy but the Greenfield Grizzlies are marching on in the 14U Suburban League playoffs.
The fourth-seeded Grizzlies built an early lead and held on tightly. Pitcher Gianna Conte induced a ground out to first baseman Hannah Marchefka for the final out, stranding runners at second and third and lifting Greenfield to a 9-8 victory over the fifth-seeded Agawam Warriors in the quarterfinals of the 14U postseason Monday night at Murphy Park.
The victory sends Greenfield through to the semifinals and a likely matchup with the top-seeded Turners Falls Invaders tonight.
The Grizzlies quickly erased a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning against Agawam. Marchefka doubled to lead off, and Conte followed with a walk. With one out, catcher Kelsey Richardson unloaded on a pitch from Agawam starter Sarah Ross, depositing it over the fence in right-center field for a three-run homer to stake the hosts to a 3-2 advantage.
With the game tied 3-3 in the second inning, the Grizzlies offense again got to work. Hayley Pelletier singled to lead off, and Olivia Stafford’s bunt was thrown away on a play that wound up with two errors. Pelletier scored and Stafford later scored on a wild pitch to make it 5-3.
After belting a three-run bomb in her first at-bat, Richardson nearly put another one out in the bottom of the second. With Marchefka and Alexis Farrick on base by walks, Richardson smacked another deep fly that just landed in front of the center-field fence. Both runners scored on her double, extending the advantage to 7-3.
“She’s just gotten really hot over the last couple of weeks,” offered Greenfield coach Gary Conte of Richardson. “We had the Valley Storm Tournament this weekend, a 16U tournament with our 14U team in there and she hit (a home run) to the same spot.”
While Agawam cut into the deficit with a pair in the third, Greenfield never trailed the rest of the way. The hosts tacked on an insurance run in the third when Pelletier scored on a Marchefka RBI single. In the fourth, Richardson roped a double, her third hit of the night, and later scored on an RBI single from Riley Carol to extend the advantage to 9-6.
Agawam didn’t go away quietly, however, as the Warriors pushed across a pair in the top of the sixth on two errors to pull within 9-8. But Conte escaped further damage, thanks to back-to-back strikeouts to keep the hosts ahead entering the final stanza.
In the top of the seventh, Agawam’s Lauren Plakias walked to lead off. After a strikeout, Ainslee Stevens singled, putting a pair on base. But a nice play from Pelletier on a ground ball saw her force out Stevens at second. After a stolen base put runners on second and third, Conte got Ross, Agawam’s No. 3 hitter, to ground out to Marchefka at first base and seal the deal, sending the Grizzlies into the semifinals.
Conte, who got stronger as the outing went along, finished the night with eight strikeouts in the complete-game effort in the pitching circle. Richardson finished 3-for-4 with a home run and five RBI to pace the offense, while Marchefka was 2-for-2 with two runs scored an an RBI.
• In 12U quarterfinal action on Monday, Jillian Apanell’s single in the bottom of the seventh inning plated the game-winning run to lift Frontier Blue to a 7-6 win over Frontier Red at Merritt Field in Sunderland.
Fourth-seeded Frontier Blue advanced to the 12U semifinals against the winner of top-seeded Southwick and No. 8 West Springfield. That quarterfinal was postponed due to rain on Monday.
Trailing 5-0 after one inning, Frontier Blue chipped away with one run in the second, one in the third, two in the fifth and one in the sixth. Trailing 6-5 in the seventh, Blue scored twice to pull off the comecback and secure the victory.
Julia Hioe struck out six batters for fifth-seeded Frontier Red in a complete-game effort. Georgia Sackrey led the Frontier Red offense with three singles.
Apanell came on in relief during the first inning and wound up striking out 10 batters to pick up the win for Frontier Blue. Apanell had two singles while Megan Jolly, Maria Konieczny, Taylor Barry, Daisy Venditti, Kaelyn Zakaitis and Avery Mayer each added a hit.
• Elsewhere, Kameryn Dearborn and Brie Widelo combined in the pitching circle for a shutout as the third-seeded Greenfield Grizzlies 12U team blanked Agawam No. 1, 9-0, at Veterans Memorial Field on Monday.
Dearborn struck out eight batters in four innings and added a hit and two RBI at the plate, while Widelo contributed six strikeouts in her three innings of action.
Julia Kovalsick smacked two hits and drove in two runs, while Sofia Holden and Alysia Knapp also had hits in the victory.
Greenfield advanced to Wednesday night’s 7 o’clock semifinal at Veterans Memorial Field in Greenfield against a to-be-determined foe.