The battle for the Tri-County League field hockey title is heating up.
Chase Michaud scored early in the second half and Athol High School salvaged a 1-1 draw with Amherst Regional High School in a TCL field hockey game Tuesday in Athol.
The four-team TCL will send the regular-season champion to the tournament, and with each team likely to finish below .500 overall, winning the league will be huge.
Amherst (2-5-2 overall, 2-0-2 TCL) entered the day one point ahead of Athol (1-6-3, 1-0-3) in the standings.
Amherst took a 1-0 lead midway through the first half when Margaret O’Connell scored on a penalty stroke. The Hurricanes took the lead into the second half but Athol got the equalizer 4 minutes, 20 seconds into the half when the ball was crossed toward the front of the Amherst goalie and initially kicked out by Lydia Sullivan. Michaud was right there to swat home the rebound.
“I was hoping to win this game. I think we all were. But Amherst came to play and they played really hard,” Athol coach Emily Hall said. “I’m not satisfied with a tie, but we’ll take it today.”
Amherst outshot the Red Raiders, 12-2. Hudson Carlson (five saves) and Ryley Pond (six saves) combined in the Athol goal, while Sullivan made one save in the Amherst net.
Sadey Lehtomaki and Kyla Rathburn each played well for Athol.
Frontier 3, West Springfield 0 — Olivia Vecellio scored a goal in each half, and Frontier Regional School continued to roll with a 3-0 shutout of West Springfield High School Tuesday night in an independent field hockey game played at Clark Field in West Springfield.
“We played a very possession-style game that enabled us to control pace of the ball and create offensive opportunities,” lauded Frontier coach Missy Mahar of her squad.
McKenzie Patterson also scored a second-half goal for the Red Hawks, which improved to 7-1-1 overall with the victory.
Frontier outshot West Side by a 14-5 margin, and Skyla Burniske made five saves to earn the team’s fifth shutout of the season and fourth straight.
The Red Hawks host Northampton High School in another independent tilt Thursday at 4 p.m.
Mahar 3, Duggan 0 — On the strength of 25 service aces, Mahar Regional School continued to roll Tuesday with a 25-15, 25-16, 25-19 sweep of Duggan Academy in an independent girls’ volleyball match in Springfield.
Maeve Powell had 13 of Mahar’s 25 aces, and she added three kills in the win for the Senators (9-2). Madison Harrington added four aces and a kill, while Kassidy Thompson and Ava Santana contributed three aces apiece.
Santana paced the offense with five kills, while Jordyn Berry added three. Powell dished out eight assists on the night.
Mahar travels to Mohawk Trail Regional High School on Thursday.
Athol 3, Southwick 1 — Visiting Athol High School shook off a loss in Game 2 to capture the final two frames and claim a 25-19, 21-25, 25-16, 25-21 victory over Southwick-Tolland Regional High School in an independent girls’ volleyball match Tuesday night in Southwick.
Julia Ramos posted 13 assists and nine aces to go with a kill for Athol (4-5). Paige Truehart tossed in six aces and four kills, while Abby Roberts added four kills and five aces. Alexis Carrasquillo also had five aces to go with three kills and a dig.
Putnam 3, FC Tech 0 — Despite three close sets, Franklin County Technical School was unable to knock off Putnam Vocational Technical Academy Tuesday night. The host Eagles dropped a 25-23, 25-19, 25-19 decision in an independent match in Turners Falls.
Jocelyn Holloway dished out three assists to go with two digs, one kill and one ace for Tech (4-6 overall). Raegan Fiske registered a team-high three kills as well as two digs and an ace, while Leah Wozniak smacked two aces and two digs.
Tech is right back at it tonight when it hosts Mohawk at 5 p.m.
Frontier 18, Palmer 6 — Birthday boy Mikey Corduff came through with his low round of the season Tuesday, lifting Frontier Regional School to a convincing 18-6 win over Palmer High School in a key Suburban West golf match between the top two teams in the standings at Cherry Hill Golf Course in Amherst.
Corduff, a freshman, shot 36 out of the No. 1 spot, sweeping all four points for the Red Hawks (7-5, 7-1).
“He worked on the putting green for about a half hour beforehand, changed his stroke a bit and he came up with a big round,” said Frontier coach Bill Fitzpatrick of Corduff. “He only had 11 putts.”
Rowan Blair also won all four points at No. 2 for Frontier after firing a 40, while Bryan Baumann took 3½ points at No. 4 (47). Kevin Baumann shot 47 at No. 6 to win three points while Porter Clancy won three points at No. 5 behind a 49. Kalen Evans carded a round of 48 for Frontier, as all six golfers broke 50.
“I told the guys this was the biggest match of the year,” said Fitzpatrick of the win over Palmer (8-4, 5-2).
Frontier, which hosts Chicopee Comprehensive High School today, is now in the driver’s seat to capture the league title with just two Suburban West matches remaining.
Mahar 13½, Pioneer 10½ — Tucker Ninteau fired a 45 out of the No. 3 hole, scoring four points and helping Mahar Regional School to a 13½-10½ victory over Pioneer Valley Regional School in a Suburban West golf match Tuesday at Northfield Golf Course.
Mahar (6-5, 4-3) received three points from Andrew Finch at No. 5 (65), while Treyton Pasakinskas took 2½ points at No. 1 thanks to a round of 46.
Pioneer’s Garrett Cote was the match medalist with a 44 at No. 2, earning all four points, while Cam Baird won four points thanks to a 57 at No. 4. Kyle Maynard shot 46 in the No. 1 spot for 1½ points.
FC Tech 19½, Sabis 4½ — Four golfers from Franklin Tech swept four points and the Eagles remained unbeaten on the season with a 19½-4½ win over Sabis International Charter School in a Bi-County West golf match Tuesday at Thomas Memorial Golf & Country Club in Turners Falls.
Mike Patnode shot a 44 at No. 5 as the match medalist and swept four points, while Nate Pelletier shot a 46 at No. 4 and also swept four points. Hunter Sessions shot a 47 at No. 2 and swept four points for the Eagles (9-0), and Tyler Raymond shot a 48 at No. 6 and took four points. Mike McGoldrick a 49 at No. 3 and took 3½ points.
Monson 18, Greenfield 6 — Ryan Cote led the way out of the No. 1 spot with a 44 to earn two points, but Greenfield High School fell to 2-6 with an 18-6 loss to Monson High School in a Bi-County East golf match Tuesday at Quaboag Country Club in Monson.
Hunter Roberts shot 45 at No. 2 to snag a point for the Green Wave, while Jake Cote won a team-high 2½ points after shooting 50 at No. 4.
Connor Pedigree won the team’s final point at No. 6 (65).
Easthampton 23, Turners Falls 1 — Kyle Kucenski won the lone point of the day for Turners Falls High School, which dropped a 23-1 decision to Easthampton in Bi-County East action Tuesday at Pine Grove Golf Course in Northampton.
Kucenski shot 47 out of the No. 1 spot for the Powertown, earning him a point against Easthampton’s Tyler Colby.
Brian Poirier shot 57 for Turners, which hosts Smith Academy on Thursday.