TURNERS FALLS — With the wind blowing in a direction that might have made her feel like she was hitting up hill, Aly Murphy showed off what true power looks like.
The Turners Falls High School catcher, a sophomore who can rake with the best of them, blasted the first pitch she saw in the game for a two-run homer, well over the left field fence. It ended up being all that the Powertown softball team needed to defeat Greenfield High School, 2-1, in a Franklin County League softball game Thursday night before a packed crowd at the Bourdeau Fields Complex.
“When I’m in the box I don’t notice the outside surroundings,” Murphy said about the wind. “I just zone in and look for my pitch.”
Murphy’s blast, which helped Turners (10-2, 6-1) even the regular-season series, was even more prolific given that it was the lone hit surrendered by Green Wave pitcher Olivia Joy on the night.
“The first loss was tough, but we knew what we had to do to come back and win, and that’s what we did,” Murphy, who’s now batting .545 on the season, said. “I’m proud of our team of what we did to get that.”
Turners improved to 30-3 against the Green Wave dating back to the beginning of the 2004 season. In 2003, Greenfield swept the regular-season series and then beat Turners in the WMass Division II semifinals.
The victory wasn’t without the thrill of a late rally by Greenfield (9-2, 7-1), which was a big hit away from tying or winning the game.
Greenfield scratched a run in the sixth on a two-out rally and threatened to tie in the seventh against curveball specialist, senior Peyton Emery, who had come in to close it out.
“This is a great game and a great rivalry,” Greenfield head coach Rian Lovett said. “It just didn’t fall our way this time.”
The Wave’s rally in the sixth inning began with a hard hit ground ball by Samantha Smith, who Turners coach Gary Mullins said was the best athlete at Greenfield.
“We could talk about a lot of people, but she’s a Cadillac, and she parks in her own garage,” he said.
The sharply-hit grounder went under the glove of Turners second baseman Taylor Murphy. Smith then took second on a passed ball, and cleanup hitter, eighth-grader Kelsey Richardson walked, which set up senior Lizzy Howland in a big spot.
Howland bluffed to bunt on the first couple pitches. With the Turners Falls defense in position for the attempt, despite two outs, Howland then slapped a single through an open hole left by Murphy. One run scored and the tying run moved to third.
The elder Murphy blocked a tough pitch in the dirt with two strikes to the next batter, which yielded no threat to take home or second from Greenfield. Senior Kirsten Ward ended up striking out to end the threat.
In the seventh inning, Mullins brought in Emery to pitch. He said it was the third time Greenfield had seen Tyler, and opposing teams don’t typically see a pitcher with a curveball like Emery possesses, so he figured she’d be a good option to close it out.
A one-out single by freshman Gianna Conte, followed by a stolen base on a fake-bunt attempt, brought the tying run into scoring position but a pop up and a strikeout ended the game to the cheers of a packed-in home crowd.
Earlier in the game, junior Reagan Hickey, tripled to lead off the fourth inning for Greenfield, marking the first base runner of the game for them. The Wave couldn’t score her though, despite a grounder to the left side with one out that the coaching staff decided not to send her on.
Lovett said they had thought about before the game how aggressive they wanted to play, and that the odds weren’t great to score on that play in the fourth.
“I thought we made the right calls,” Lovett said. “We battled for seven inning and can’t take that away from them.”
Turners struck for its only runs in the first inning, as Cassidhe Wozniak led off the frame with a walk and three-hole hitter Murphy homered on the first pitch she saw. Along with the Murphy blast, Turners rode the strong six-inning performance by Tyler and save by Emery to get back to even in the loss column with the Wave atop the FCL standings.
“Obviously, I’m a little disappointed with the way we finished up here,” Mullins said. “But we found a way to finish.”
During the game donations were collected in honor of Mike Markol, who was recently diagnosed with Stage-4 cancer, and immediately began undergoing chemotherapy.
About $700 was raised in donations during the softball game Thursday night. About $450 was raised at the Turners baseball game the night prior, for a total of $1,150 to help support the costs of the cancer treatment for Markol. Upon the announcement, the crowd gave a standing ovation in solidarity.
“That’s what this is about,” Lovett said, who reminded her players on the bus ride over about Markol and the importance of community, outside the foul lines.