Maybe Hopkins Academy was still letting the barbequed Memorial Day hot dogs and hamburgers settle over the first four innings of Monday’s Hampshire League West Division baseball game against Greenfield High School.
Whatever it was, after going quietly through the first four innings of the game, the Golden Hawks’ offense woke up in the fifth. A five-hit, four-run onslaught in the frame helped the hosts erase a 3-0 deficit and send the Golden Hawks on to a 4-3 win over the Green Wave in Hadley.
Greenfield (10-8) scored single runs in the first, third and fifth innings to take a 3-0 lead off Hopkins pitcher Justin Butterfield. While that was happening, Greenfield pitcher Joel Peabody was quietly working his way through the Hopkins lineup without a blemish, going into the bottom of the fifth without having allowed a run. Things turned sour quickly for the Green Wave pitcher.
Thea Hanscomb started the rally off with a single and Liam Higgins followed with another base hit. John Earle walked to load the bases with nobody out and Jack Feltovic hit a sacrifice fly to score the first run of the game for Hopkins. Jon Morrison and Butterfield followed with back-to-back RBI singles to tie the game. Then Mike Curran made it three straight hits with an RBI single to put Hopkins in front for good.
Greenfield did not go away quietly and threatened in the seventh inning off reliever Morrison. Owen Phelps walked and Colin Cloutier singled to put runners aboard with one out. Hunter Campbell followed with a bullet to center field that was hit right at the center fielder, and Peabody followed with a loud fly ball to left-center that the center fielder tracked down for the final out of the game.
“We hit the ball hard in that inning and were pleased to see that,” Greenfield coach Tom Suchanek said.
The Green Wave got on the board in the first inning when Phelps was hit by a pitch, moved to second on a bunt and scored when Cloutier hit an RBI single. The lead moved to 2-0 in the third as Josh Phillips singled, moved to second on a bunt, and scored when Cloutier reached on an error at third base. Phillips again started the rally in the fifth with his second single of the game. He was erased when Owen Phelps reached on a fielder’s choice. Phelps later scored on Campbell’s RBI single.
Butterfield struck out four and walked three in five innings for Hopkins (12-4, 8-2), which finished second in the HL West. Feltovic and Morrison each pitched one inning of scoreless relief. Butterfield doubled and joined Hanscomb with two-hit performances.
Peabody struck out five and walked one in 5⅓ innings in the loss.
Greenfield travels to Mahar Regional School Thursday afternoon.