Another big offensive performance from Lexi Lacey and a 10-strikeout outing from Jade Tyler added up to another Turners Falls High School victory, Thursday.
Lacey stayed hot with a 3-for-4 day at the plate, and Tyler allowed just one unearned run to help the Powertown capture a 6-1 win over Athol in its Franklin County League softball opener.
Lacey got Turners (3-0 overall, 1-0 FCL) off and running with a two-run single in the first inning. She added a double as part of the 3-for-4 day, which has her average up to .667 through three games.
“She’s really hitting the ball,” Turners coach Gary Mullins said of Lacey. “Today, she was right on it. Most of her hits have not been cheap.”
Turners led 3-0 into the third inning, though Athol (2-1, 2-1) cut into the deficit in what wound up being a strange frame. The Red Raiders registered all three of their hits in the inning, but managed just one run. That came on a bizarre play. With runners at the corners, Lindsay LeBlanc walked to load the bases. Turners decided to throw down to second base however, and the ball was bobbled which allowed Celeste Toracco to sprint home from third and make it a 3-1 game.
“That’s a mistake we just can’t make,” Mullins said.
Tyler avoided further trouble, and she didn’t allow a baserunner the rest of the way. Besides the third inning, she retired every Athol batter she faced. The sophomore wound up with 10 strikeouts and two walks.
“I thought Jade finished strong, started to find her pitches,” said Mullins. “Those last two innings she had a nice little changeup and a couple curves with some pop.”
Lacey’s three-hit performance paced the offense, though Tyler and Taylor Murphy added two hits apiece.
LeBlanc struck out three and walked three in a complete-game outing, while Haley Bigwood, Reily Polana and Lexi Forte notched the three Athol hits.
“I think Athol’s going to win a lot of games,” Mullins said.
Frontier 10, Mahar 7 — Mahar couldn’t have asked for a better start on Thursday.
The Senators pushed five runs across in the top of the first inning, taking advantage of six walks and a hit batter to set an early tone. But like it has throughout the early portion of the season, host Frontier’s bats got to work. The Red Hawks answered with an eight-spot in the bottom of the second inning, and held on for a 10-7 victory in a back-and-forth Franklin County League opener at Zabek Field in South Deerfield.
Trailing 6-0 in the second inning, Frontier (4-0, 1-0) got to work. Ariana Walker and Natalie Denkiewicz hit back-to-back doubles to drive in runs, and Lily Spencer’s RBI single pulled the hosts within a run. Maddie Fifield put her team ahead, smacking a two-run double that plated Macy Ring and Spencer for a 7-6 advantage, and Fifield eventually scored on a wild pitch to make it an 8-6 game.
That would be enough for Ring, who came on in relief to save the day. The sophomore entered with two outs in the top of the first inning, replacing Denkiewicz, and limited the Senators to just two runs in 6 1/3 innings of action. She struck out five and walked four, giving up six hits the rest of the way.
The Senators (3-1, 0-1) took advantage of wildness from Denkiewicz in the top of the first to take the early 5-0 lead. Abigail Tandy had the team’s only hit in the first, but six walks provided plenty of offense.
Charlotte Doulette paced the Frontier offensive attack with two hits, while Denkiewicz and Fifield each doubled and drove in a pair of runs and Olivia Deane added a two-bagger.
Mahar finished with five hits on the day, two from Brooke Mitchell. Dodge, Mitchell, Jaydlyn Lohnes and Mackinley Drew registered RBIs, while Hailie Meeker took the loss in the pitching circle. She walked eight and struck out a pair in a complete-game outing.
Hampshire 5, Greenfield 2 — In a rematch of last year’s WMass Division 2 semifinal, host Hampshire Regional exacted a bit of revenge on Thursday.
The Red Raiders rode the pitching of eighth-grader Jocelyn Mettey, who struck out 12 batters in seven innings, and registered nine hits off Greenfield ace Olivia Joy to capture a 5-2 independent victory in Westhampton.
“It just wasn’t our day,” said Greenfield coach Rian Lovett, whose team fell to 2-1. “The things we’re normally solid at, we didn’t do right. We usually have a big hit when we need it but we didn’t today.”
Hampshire (5-0) took a 2-0 lead with a pair of runs in the third inning before Greenfield cut the deficit in half with a run in the top of the sixth. Senior shortstop Samantha Smith belted a solo home run to make it a 2-1 ballgame.
The Red Raiders answered immediately however, putting up a three-spot in the bottom of the frame to take a 5-1 advantage into the seventh.
Greenfield’s Racquel Provost plated Nikki Miner with an RBI double in the top of the inning, but Mettey buckled down and escaped further damage to keep Hampshire unbeaten.
“We just didn’t hit the ball,” Lovett said of her team, which finished with just three hits. “We couldn’t hit, and then when we did have runners on, we couldn’t capitalize. (Mettey) has some speed. She has some movement on her pitches. It’s by far the fastest we’ve seen this year.”
Joy finished the outing with five strikeouts and five walks for the Wave. Hampshire’s Maggie Rubeck totaled three hits (two doubles) and two RBIs to pace the nine-hit attack, while Brianna Sulikowski added a pair of hits and an RBI.
Westfield 3, Athol 0 — Two-time defending state champion Westfield very much looked the part on Thursday.
The visiting Bombers made an early statement and took care of business from there, sweeping Athol, 25-6, 25-15, 25-11, in an independent boys volleyball match at Mallet Gymnasium in Athol.
Athol (2-5) finished with just six kills in the three-set loss. Parker Deleo led the way with three of them while Zach Aldrich added a pair and Joey Gray had one kill.
Setter Colby Soltysik finished with five assists and three blocks, with Luke Innis tossing in a pair of aces.
Turners 6, Athol 1
Athol …………………. 001 000 0 — 1 3 2
Turners …………….. 212 010 x — 6 11 1
Hits: (A) Bigwood, Polana, Forte. (TF) Whittier, Tyler 2, A. Murphy, Wozniak, Lacey 3, Morales, T. Murphy 2.
2B: (TF) Lacey.
RBI: (TF) Whittier, Tyler, Lacey 2, Morales, T. Murphy.
WP: Tyler (7ip, 10k, 2bb).
LP: LeBlanc (6ip, 3k, 3bb).
Frontier 10, Mahar 7
Mahar ……………….. 511 000 0 — 7 5 1
Frontier ……………. 081 010 x — 10 9 2
Hits: (M) Dodge, Mitchell 2, Meeker, Tandy. (F) Walker, Denkiewicz, Doulette 2, Ring, Spencer, Fifield, Vecellio, Deane.
2B: (F) Deane, Denkiewicz, Fifield, Ring, Walker.
RBI: (M) Drew, Dodge, Mitchell, Lohnes. (F) Deane, Denkiewicz 2, Doulette, Fifield 2, Spencer, Walker.
WP: Ring (6⅓ip, 5k, 4bb), Denkiewicz (⅔ip, 1k, 6bb).
LP: Meeker (6ip, 2k, 8bb).
Mohawk 25, FC Tech 2 (5)
Mohawk ………….. 0(12)0 (12)1 — 25 16 2
FC Tech ……………. 011 00 — 2 4 6
Hits: (M) Reynolds 2, Dupree, Ward 2, Johnston, Bloomer 3, Moon 3, Guy, Lilly 2, Upton. (FT) Martel, Reed, Gadreau, Larned.
2B: (M) Lilly, Moon, Johnston. (FT) Larned.
3B: (M) Ward, Reynolds.
HR: (M) Ward.
RBI: (M) Ward 6, Reynolds, Bloomer, Guy, Lilly. (FT) Larned, Martel.
WP: Bloomer (5ip, 2k, 6bb).
LP: Currier (3ip, 0k, 10bb) Scott (2ip,0k, 5bb).
Hampshire 5, Greenfield 2
Greenfield …………… 000 001 1 — 2 3 1
Hampshire …………. 002 003 x — 5 9 0
Hits: (G) Provost, Smith, Miner. (H) Baker, Rubeck 3, Wodecki, Labrie, Marney, Sulikowski 2.
2B: (G) Provost. (H) Rubeck 2, Wodecki, Marney.
HR: (G) Smith.
RBI: (G) Smith, Provost. (H) Rubeck 2, Marney, Labrie, Sulikowski
WP: Mettey (7ip, 12k, 5bb).
LP: Joy (6ip, 5k, 5bb).