One inning was all it took for Franklin County Technical School to break through.
The host Eagles torched Renaissance School for 15 runs in the bottom of the first inning and didn’t look back, picking up a 23-11 five-inning Tri-County League victory Friday in Turners Falls.
The offensive onslaught was powered by Shannon Kurkulonis, who had three hits and four RBI, and Brooke Adams, who totaled three hits including a triple and three RBI. Eliza Kelton and Haley Kurkulonis each had two hits and two RBI, while Abi Corey doubled and drove in a pair.
Desiree Doane was the winning pitcher for Franklin Tech (2-10, 2-6), as she went all five innings.
The Eagles take to the road Tuesday for a game at TCL-leading Gateway Regional High School.
Frontier 5, Athol 1 — Natalie Denkiewicz belted a two-run home run in the top of the second inning, and visiting Frontier Regional School closed its week with a key victory in a jumbled battle for third place in the Franklin County League with a 5-1 win over Athol High School Friday afternoon in Athol.
The Red Hawks improved to 8-6 overall, 4-3 in the FCL. That has them in third place by a half-game over Mahar Regional School (6-6, 3-3). Greenfield High School (10-2, 7-1) and Turners Falls High School (10-2, 6-1) have created separation for the top spot in the league.
Frontier got right to work on Friday, scoring two times in the top of the first. Charlotte Doulette drove in the game’s first run with an RBI single, and Maddie Fifield made it 2-0 with an RBI groundout.
Emma Wesoloski singled and scored in the second on Denkiewicz’s two-run shot to extend the lead to 4-0.
Athol (6-7, 2-6) got on the board with its lone run of the afternoon in the bottom of the third inning. Jenna St. Cyr walked and eventually scored on a passed ball.
Frontier tacked on an insurance run in the fifth, when Kenzie Patterson, who had four hits in the win, singled and scored on an error to account for the 5-1 final.
Patterson finished 4-for-4 with two runs scored to pace the offense. Denkiewicz and Wesoloski each had two hits, as the Hawks held a 13-5 edge in that category on Friday.
Amber Mahony slashed two hits, including a double, for the Red Raiders. Sadey Lehtomaki also had a double for the hosts.
Senior pitcher Lauren MacDonald had arguably her best outing of the season in the circle for Frontier. The right-hander struck out a season-high 11 batters and walked just two to improve to 6-4 on the season.
Lindsey Leblanc went the distance for Athol, as the eighth-grader struck out five and walked one in seven innings of action.
Frontier is back in action Monday when it hosts Turners Falls, and Athol travels to Greenfield on Tuesday night.
Greenfield 16, Amherst 1 (5 inn.) — Freshman Gianna Conte allowed just one hit and two baserunners over five innings, and the Greenfield offense provided plenty of support to pick up a 16-1 five-inning, run-shortened independent victory over Amherst Regional High School Friday in Amherst.
Conte didn’t allow a runner until the fourth inning, when Amherst scored its lone run of the game. An error was followed by an RBI triple from Adele Cousland, the only hit of the game for the hosts.
Greenfield (10-2, 7-1) took a 5-0 lead in the second inning when it pushed five across buoyed by a two-run home run from Tina Reed.
Reagan Hickey added a two-run home run in the third inning, when the Green Wave scored eight times to take a commanding 13-0 advantage.
Hickey, who had five RBI, notched three of Greenfield’s 13 hits, while Reed and Hanna Marchefka each had two hits. Kirsten Ward drove in a pair of runs, while Lexxie Rowell hit a double and Heather Catlin also came through with a single.
Amherst finished with nine errors in the game.
Greenfield 5, Brattleboro 2 — Greenfield swept five singles’ matches on Friday afternoon to knock off Brattleboro (Vt.) High School in an independent girls’ tennis match in Brattleboro.
The Green Wave was forced to play by Vermont Principals’ Association rules which means five singles matches and two doubles. Greenfield had to forfeit a doubles match, but won all five singles to remain unbeaten on the season at 7-0.
Lily Georgitsa bageled Ann Taekaes 6-0, 6-0 at first singles to get things started and Jenna Silk beat Alyssa Walkowiak 6-1, 6-0 at second singles. Leah Bosco kept things rolling at third singles with a 6-3, 6-2 win over Bella Taekaes, and Ngawang Tridytsang bested Hillary Logan 6-4, 6-0 at fourth singles. Jenna Keath closed out the singles’ sweep with a 7-6 (7-2), 6-0 win over Page Stark at fifth singles.
Silk will head to today’s WMass Individual Tournament as the eighth overall seed at Longmeadow High School.
South Hadley 82, FC Tech 53 — Donte Rosewarne won the 100 meter dash in 12.24 seconds but Franklin Tech suffered a 82-53 loss to South Hadley High School in an independent boys’ track & field meet late Thursday in South Hadley.
Kai Rodriguez won the long jump in 16-2¾ for the Eagles, and Zack Conway won the 400 in 57.07 seconds. Ian McClure won the 200 (26.07), Jaxon Rollins captured the discus (91-5), Kurtis Kuenzel won the shot put (38-9), Calin Giurgiu won the javelin (141-2).