Turners Falls High School may have a lot of new faces in the lineup this season, but in Thursday’s season opener the Powertown nine looked like seasoned veterans by combining for 10 hits and seven runs en route to a 7-5 victory over Athol High School at the Bourdeau Fields Complex in Turners Falls.
Turners scored four times in the second and twice in the third as it knocked Athol starter Nick Bousquet from the game. In the second, Riley Watroba, Jake Labelle and Jaden Whiting each walked to load the bases with nobody out and leadoff hitter Ryan Campbell hit an RBI single to put Turners Falls ahead. Jake Dodge followed Campbell with a two-run single and Bousquet was lifted. Jon Fritz then walked to reload the bases and Dom Carme pushed home a run when he reached on a two-out error. Turners Falls coach Scott Minkler said he was pleased with the patience his team showed at the plate.
“Our kids did a great job being patient,” he explained. “As we saw Bousquet’s control going south, we told our guys to go up there and take a couple of pitches, and then we came up with a couple big hits.”
Athol came back with three runs in the top of the third as Bousquet and Robbie Nelson hit RBI singles, but Turners Falls got two runs back in the bottom of the frame with an RBI double by Campbell, who later scored on a wild pitch.
Turners took a 7-4 lead into the top of the seventh inning but Athol did not quit. Bousquet and Joey Lehtomaki led off with back-to-back walks, and a Kris Selanis single loaded the bases with nobody out. Reliever Jake Dodge came back to get out of the jam, allowing only an RBI single to Dakota Williams before closing out the victory.
Kyle Dodge earned the win with four innings pitched, striking out one and walking five. Jake Dodge pitched the final three innings and struck out one and walked two. Campbell, Jake Dodge and Fritz finished a combined 6-for-9 with four RBIs in the top three spots in the Turners Falls order.
Bousquet walked six and struck out one in 1⅓ innings in the loss, while Anthony Oro struck out five and walked three in 4⅔ innings of relief.
Mohawk 6, FC Tech 0 — It may not have been so-called “baseball weather” Thursday, but Mohawk Trail Regional High School pitcher Jordan Grenier did not appear bothered.
Grenier had his no-hit bid broken up with two outs in the seventh inning when Dan Momaney singled and instead had to settle for a 6-0 shutout victory over Franklin County Technical School in an independent baseball game in Turners Falls.
“Simply put, he was awesome,” Franklin Tech coach Brian Winslow said of Grenier. “He was around the strike zone all game.”
Momaney’s hit was a seeing-eye single between short and third. Grenier finished with eight strikeouts and two walks in seven innings to earn the shutout.
Mohawk scored once in the third inning when Brian Allen walked, stole second and scored on a two-out error. In the fifth, Mohawk broke the dam open with five runs off reliever Tim Fritz. Brian Gagnon had two hits and one RBI in the win, while Allen doubled and stole a pair of bases. Luke Viens, Zachary McCloud, Anthony Moffat and Jon Schuetze each had one hit.
Seth Aldrich allowed one unearned run in four innings of work to suffer the loss, striking out four and walking two.
Mahar 15, Commerce 5 — Logan Dodge had two hits, including a three-run triple, and Mahar Regional School came from behind to topple High School of Commerce, 15-5, in an independent baseball game Thursday afternoon in Springfield.
Charlie Barnes had two hits and one RBI in the win, and Jacob Berry had one hit and two RBIs. Sam Paul had 10 strikeouts and five walks in six innings to earn the win.
Commerce led 2-0 until Mahar scored twice in the top of the fourth to tie the game. The Raiders reclaimed the lead with two runs in the bottom of the frame, but Mahar opened up a lead with five runs in the fifth, then tacked on two more in the sixth and six more in the seventh.
West Springfield 16, Frontier 1 — Shannon Larochelle hit a first-inning grand slam and finished with three hits and six RBIs to lead West Springfield High School to a 16-1 win over Frontier Regional School in a five-inning independent softball game in West Springfield Thursday.
Farrah Adam and Autumn Metivier each had two hits for West Springfield. Adam earned the win in the circle, allowing three hits with two walks and a strikeout.
Caitlynn Devine led Frontier with an RBI single in the second inning. Ava Harper and Lauren MacDonald each added one hit in the loss. MacDonald allowed 13 runs on nine hits and five walks in three innings.
Quabbin 12, Mahar 3 — Visiting Quabbin Regional High School exploded for five runs in the top of the sixth inning, turning a 5-3 lead into a 10-3 advantage en route to a 12-3 independent softball win over Mahar Regional School Thursday afternoon in Orange.
Quabbin pitcher Alysha Swan did it all in the victory. Swan tossed all seven innings, striking out seven and walking seven to earn the win. She also smacked three hits, including a home run and a triple. The Panthers hit three home runs.
“They found the gaps against us,” Mahar coach Jerry Duguay admitted.
Mahar eighth-grader Juliana Herbert impressed in her varsity debut at first base. Herbert drove in a run in the loss, while Lani DeDiego (two doubles) and Megan Rich had two hits a piece. Jordan Fournier registered an RBI for the Senators.
Rich went all seven innings for Mahar (0-1), striking out two and walking one.
Smith Academy 31, FC Tech 4 — Karlie Guimond had three hits and five RBIs Thursday and Smith Academy dumped Franklin Tech, 31-4, in the independent season-opener for both teams in Hatfield.
Smith Academy scored 10 times in the first inning to take control of the game. That was enough for Falcons’ pitcher Bailey McCoy, who struck out seven and walked five and surrendered three hits in five innings.
Maggie Herlihy had five hits, including a double, for the Falcons, while Teaghan Cavanaugh had three hits and one RBI.
Desiree Doane suffered the loss, allowing 17 hits and 16 walks in four innings. Jocelyn Crowningshield had two hits for Franklin Tech, and Abi Corey had one.