There’s quite a bit of history between the Turners Falls High School and Mount Everett Regional High School softball teams. Most of that history has been positive for the Thunder, but the Eagles do hold a memorable victory in the 2013 WMass Div. III title game.
So it’s fitting that the two teams meet again for all the marbles this afternoon. Top-seeded Turners (19-3) seeks its fifth consecutive Div. III championship when it meets No. 2 Mount Everett (15-6) at 4 p.m. at Sortino Field on the campus of UMass in Amherst.
It’s a rematch of last year’s championship game, a 15-1 victory for Turners that propelled it to an eventual Div. III state title.
“They pretty much play the same style they’ve always played — good defense and quality pitching and hope to score a few runs against you,” began Turners coach Gary Mullins of Mount Everett. “They like to force you to make mistakes from what I’ve seen from them this year.”
The Eagles, which broke up Turners’ streak of nine consecutive sectional titles when they won the 2013 final, defeated Gateway Regional High School (12-0) and McCann Technical School (3-2) to reach today’s championship.
Turners picked up convincing wins over Ware High School (16-0) and Mount Greylock Regional School (12-3) to punch its ticket.
One of the biggest questions surrounding today’s game is which Turners pitcher will start in the circle. The Thunder have used both freshman Jade Tyler and senior Peyton Emery this season, with Tyler starting the semifinal round before Emery came on for the final three innings in a tight ballgame.
Mullins said Friday he was unsure which pitcher would nab the start, but both will likely find their way into the circle at some point.
“I haven’t totally made up my mind,” admitted the veteran coach of the decision. “Even though I’m going to pitch one of them, they’ll both be in the lineup offensively and we’ll see how it plays out. I wouldn’t be surprised if I used them both, but I don’t really know the answer to that right now.”
As for Mount Everett, pitcher Faith Angell will get the call. The sophomore struck out a pair in the 3-2 win over McCann Tech. The Eagles’ star resides at shortstop, a familiar face to Turners fans in junior Gwen Carpenter. The multi-sport standout led Mount Everett to a postseason win over the Thunder on the basketball court in the winter, and she’s the team’s top player on the diamond as well.
“I think we play two different styles,” offered Mullins of Turners and Mount Everett. “They want to play the shorter game, and they also have a terrific shortstop (Carpenter) who can make all the plays. Sometimes teams can rally around players like that and I think they have. She’s the captain of the ship and a very talented player.”
Mullins admitted his team will need to be crisper defensively if it wants to be successful this afternoon. Turners recorded two errors in the semifinal win, and there were several additional mental errors according to the coach.
“Sometimes there’s a mistake made before the mistake is made and that mental part of the game can really drive you crazy sometimes,” Mullins said. “We’re trying to address some of the issues. We may change some people for the start of the game and try and put ourselves in the best position to win.”
One thing Mullins hopes will continue this afternoon is the work of his offense. Turners clubbed 13 hits in the win over Greylock, with Tyler and Emery hitting back-to-back home runs over the fence at Sortino Field.
“We’d like to keep our bats warm,” he offered. “That’s our goal, try and hit as many home runs as we can. That’s no secret. We’ve hit the ball hard all year. Some days, you aren’t going to have it, but hopefully that’s not the case (against Mount Everett).”
Since losing to Mount Everett in the 2013 finals, Turners has had little problem in sectional title games. The Thunder have won their four straight WMass championships by a combined 42-1, three of them coming via shutout.