It was a weekend of improvement for the Greenfield 9U All-Stars.
The club, hosting the Cal Ripken 9U State Tournament at Lunt Field, went 0-3 but didn’t go down without a fight in its final game Saturday. In the end, Nipmuc held on for a 5-3 victory that eliminated Greenfield in an event that featured some of the top baseball teams in Massachusetts.
Arthur Fitzpatrick and Evan Tsipenyuk combined to strike out eight batters in the loss to Nipmuc, with Fitzpatrick earning Player of the Game honors.
Greenfield opened its weekend with a 12-2 loss to Uxbridge in Friday night’s opening round before dropping a 21-11 slugfest to Groton on Saturday morning. Brody Welcome held Uxbridge to one run in two innings of work on the mound in the opener, with Mike Cyhowski earning his team’s Player of the Game selection. Tsipenyuk tossed two scoreless innings against Groton and was awarded Player of the Game recognition.
For the weekend, Cyhowski led the Greenfield offense with four hits and three RBIs. Tsipenyuk recorded two hits, including a double, and two RBIs, as did Jonathan Ainsworth. Jackson Glazier, who finished third in the tournament’s Home Run Derby, doubled and drove in a run, while Mason Fiorey smacked two doubles. Hayden Girard had two hits and three RBIs, while Fitzpatrick (two hits), Welcome (hit) and George Gutierrez (hit) all contributed offensively.
The championship of the state tournament is set for tonight at 5:30 between Uxbridge and Nipmuc.
Cal Ripken 11U
Hugh Cyhowski clubbed a grand slam in the second inning, and the Greenfield 11U All-Stars punched their ticket to tonight’s 46/60 Cal Ripken State Tournament championship game with a 10-3 win over Frontier in the winner’s bracket game Saturday in Bolton.
Ethan Quinn struck out seven in 2⅔ innings of relief for Greenfield, which received 3⅓ innings from Brayden Thayer with three strikeouts.
Jacob Brook was 2-for-3 with two RBIs in the win, while Jackson Campbell had a hit and two RBIs, William Ainsworth had a hit and an RBI, and Thayer was 2-for-3 with two runs scored.
Frontier was bolstered by a two-run home run from Dylan Camp. Harry Laflamme, Brayden McDonough and Aidan Heffernan all had hits.
Greenfield opened its tournament Saturday morning with a 10-4 win over Ashburnham/Westminster, riding a combined 10 strikeouts by the pitching trio of Cyhowski, Campbell and Thayer.
Thayer smacked four hits and drove in a pair of runs in the win. Devin Dubie was 2-for-4 with a double and four runs batted in, while Braeden Tsipenyuk (2-for-4, RBI, two runs), Campbell (2-for-4, run), Cam Burnett (RBI double), Silas Muzzy (double, RBI) and Cyhowski (hit, two runs) all contributing.
• In other 11U state tourney action, after falling to Greenfield, Frontier responded with its back against the wall to defeat North Middlesex, 4-0, in an elimination game Sunday in Bolton.
Owen Babb pitched Frontier into the championship with a dominant performance on the mound. Babb struck out eight batters in a complete-game shutout, allowing just one hit.
Offensively, Camp had a two-run double, and Heffernan also drove in a run. Sam Whitney and Kaden James each had a hit and scored a run, while CJ Hannum and Babb added singles.
Frontier and Greenfield now meet in the 11U state championship tonight at 6 p.m. in Hudson. Frontier would need to beat Greenfield twice to win the title, and an if necessary game would follow at 8 p.m. should Frontier win at 6.
The winner advances to the Regional Tournament in Dedham, set to begin July 21.
Sandy Koufax
Ben Zaranek struck out nine batters to earn the victory, propelling Frontier-Alber Hearing Services to an 8-3 win over the Hubie’s Tavern Diamond Dawgs in a Pioneer Valley Youth Baseball League Sandy Koufax game Sunday afternoon at Mohawk Trail Regional High School in Buckland.
Matt Como was 2-for-2 with a double and an RBI in the win for Frontier. Kevin Baumann had a hit and drove in two runs, while Zaranek and Tyler Baranowski each had a hit and an RBI. Gehrig Brynda drove in a run in the win, and Frontier also received hits from Dylan Martin, Ben Martino, Kyle Barnes and Aidan Falla.
Cam Lococo powered the Diamond Dawgs with three hits, including a double, and a pair of RBIs. Tyler Dubreuil and Ben Thompson singled, and Casey Hoffman had a hit and an RBI.
• Elsewhere, Jake Dodge put together a huge all-around outing to send Pioneer Stone Seals/Travel Kuz to an 8-0 win over Westfield No. 2 in Sandy Koufax play Saturday in Turners Falls.
Dodge struck out 10 in a complete-game, two-hitter, and he tripled and singled while driving in three runs at the plate.
Cayden Lehtomaki had two hits, including a double, and two RBIs for Pioneer (10-4). Josh Brunelle had two hits and an RBI, while Dalton Henderson, Hunter Haughey and Chris Miner each smacked a single.
Mickey Mantle
Jordan Grenier scored the go-ahead run in the top of the ninth inning, and visiting Mohawk Hilltown Hardwood Flooring Diamond Dawgs scored three times in the frame to snag a 4-1 win over Frontier Polish American Citizens Club in a PVYBL Mickey Mantle contest in Deerfield on Saturday.
Cam Baird was the winning pitcher in relief for Mohawk, striking out a pair in three scoreless innings. Tim Fritz (four innings, two strikeouts) and Grenier (two innings, two strikeouts) also aided the cause in holding Frontier to one run in nine frames.
The score was 1-1 into the ninth, when Grenier singled, stole second and eventually came around on a passed ball. Shawn Davenport and Tyler Dubreuil each walked and scored on an error to make it 4-1.
Dubreuil, Jakob Burnett, Grenier, Cam Lococo, Baird and Anthony Moffatt all had hits in the win.
Frontier’s Jake Labelle, Matt Gardner and Pat Boyden all had hits. Xavier Santiago pitched well in relief.
FC Crush
Lilly Ross was a perfect 3-for-3 at the plate, but the Franklin County Crush was eliminated from the 12U B State Tournament Sunday with an 11-3 loss to the Central Mass. VooDoo at Murphy Park in Greenfield.
Addie Rotkiewicz doubled and drove in two runs for the Crush, while Holly Myers had a hit in the team’s final game of the weekend.
The tournament opened with a 9-1 loss to the VooDoo on Saturday. Myers was 3-for-3 with a triple and an RBI. Carly Blanchard, Cady Wozniak and Taylor Menard all had hits.
Myers struck out seven in the pitching circle during the team’s 18-2 loss to the Western Mass. Screaming Eagles on Saturday. Ross was 2-for-2 and Blanchard doubled and drove in a run.
In the first game of double elimination bracket play Saturday, Margarette Howland and Myers had two hits each and drove in the team’s lone runs in a 10-2 loss to the Central Mass. Lady Stingers.
Blanchard, Ross, Wozniak, Josalyn Eastman and Soriya Noeun added a hit apiece. Abby Ortiz paced the team’s defensive effort over the course of the weekend.