TURNERS FALLS — Be it a hotly-contested western Massachusetts semifinal at UMass or a 14-and-under Suburban League playoff game in the dog days of August, any softball game between Turners Falls and Greenfield takes center stage.
That was again the case Tuesday night, as a big crowd gravitated to the Bourdeau Fields Complex in Turners Falls to watch the two towns battle for a spot in the Suburban League championship game. The contest didn’t disappoint. Jade Tyler drew a bases-loaded walk in the bottom of the seventh inning to give the host Turners Falls Invaders a walk-off 6-5 victory over the Greenfield Grizzlies in 14U semifinal action.
The win puts top-seeded Turners into tonight’s championship game against No. 2 Westfield, a 10-9 winner over No. 3 West Springfield in the other semifinal on Tuesday. The title tilt will be played back in the Powertown at 7 p.m.
It was a back-and-forth affair, as Turners held a 5-3 advantage before Greenfield clawed back with two runs in the top of the sixth inning. Gianna Conte drove in a run, while a Turners error made it a 5-5 game.
Not surprisingly between the two rivals, the final outcome came down to the last at-bat. Tyler, who earned the win in the pitching circle, drew the walk that lifted her team into the championship with Catie Reynolds waltzing home from third with the game-winning run and the 6-5 victory.
Greenfield stormed out to a quick 2-0 lead in the top of the first inning, thanks in large part to four walks issued by Tyler. Hannah Marchefka and Conte walked to lead off for the Grizzlies, and the pair eventually scored with two outs. On a dropped third-strike, the ball was eventually thrown away into right field, allowing Marchefka to scamper all the way from second to stake the visitors to a 1-0 lead. Two pitches later, Conte made it 2-0 when she crossed on a wild pitch.
The lead grew to 3-0 in the top of the third inning. Conte was hit by a pitch on the elbow with one out, and moved up to second on a pitch in the dirt. Greenfield catcher Kelsey Richardson, who entered the night red-hot, came through with an RBI single up the middle.
The host Invaders finally got on the board in the home half of the third. Taryn Thayer reached on an infield single to open the frame, and Caitlyn Patenaude reached on an error to put a pair of runners on base. With two outs, shortstop Taylor Murphy laced a ground ball through the right-side of the infield for a base hit that plated Thayer and cut the lead to 3-1. On the play, however, Greenfield committed a pair of errors, and heads-up baserunning enabled both Patenaude and Murphy to score on a wild play that brought the Invaders even, 3-3.
Turners took its first lead of the game with a run in the fifth, and held a 5-3 advantage before Greenfield tied things up and forced the final outcome down to the seventh.
Tyler finished with a whopping 18 strikeouts to earn the win, offsetting an uncharacteristic nine walks. Conte also pitched well for Greenfield, striking out eight for the fourth-seeded Grizzlies.
Thayer paced the Turners offense with a pair of hits.