Liam Higgins drove in Thea Hanscom with the go-ahead run in the top of the ninth inning, and Hopkins Academy pitcher Jack Feltovic escaped a dicey situation in the bottom of the frame to lift the Golden Hawks to a 3-2 extra-inning victory over Greenfield High School in the Hampshire League West Division opener Thursday at Vets Field in Greenfield.
Greenfield (4-3, 0-1) put a runner on third base with no outs in the bottom of the ninth, but Feltovic walked the tight rope and finished off the victory. He struck out five and didn’t issue a walk in a nine-inning performance on the bump.
“He was around the plate, threw strikes, didn’t walk anybody,” Greenfield coach Tom Suchanek said of Feltovic. “We didn’t hit the ball, especially in key situations.”
Hopkins (5-2, 1-0) led 2-1 before the Green Wave tied the game with a run in the seventh to force extras. Hunter Campbell and David Carey had two hits apiece for Greenfield, while Nate Haselton and Anthony Hurd drove in runs.
Joel Peabody started and went 5⅓ innings on the mound for the Wave, striking out nine and walking two.
Turners 10, South Hadley 9 — Close games must grow on trees in the Powertown.
The Turners Falls baseball team played a one-run game for the fourth consecutive outing, Thursday. The Thunder built a 10-2 lead in the fourth inning, but host South Hadley rallied with seven unanswered runs, including three in the bottom of the seventh inning. Eighth-grade reliever Cayden Lehtomaki induced a ground ball right back to him with runners on the corner, however, and he gunned down the final out to secure a 10-9 Hampshire League West victory.
“We took the foot off the pedal,” admitted Turners coach Scott Minckler. “We’ve seen it a couple times this year. We get a lead and seem content just playing mediocre baseball.”
Lehtomaki and Jake Dodge had two hits apiece for Turners, with Lehtomaki driving in three runs and Kyle Dodge driving in a pair.
Turners’ Jack Putala earned the win on the mound, striking out two in two innings of relief work. Four pitchers combined to strike out five in seven innings.
South Hadley chipped away from its 10-2 deficit with one run in the fourth, two in the fifth, one in the sixth and three in the seventh.
Pioneer 6, Smith Academy 5 — It has already been a wild season for the Pioneer baseball team, so it was only fitting that the Panthers’ game-winning run scored on a wild pitch Thursday afternoon.
After losing four of their first five games this season, the Panthers picked up their third consecutive win with a 6-5 victory Smith Academy in the HL East opener in Northfield.
The win moved Pioneer (4-4) back to .500 on the season. For the second day in a row the Panthers scored more runs than they had hits. After scoring 15 runs on six hits in a 15-0 win over South Hadley on Wednesday, Pioneer scored six runs on five hits against the Falcons.
“They’re playing really well,” Pioneer coach Jordan Branson said of his young squad. “It took getting that first real win to have the guys come together. They are executing bunts, getting signs and stealing bases. The little things. Our plate discipline has been amazing. When teams are evenly matched, it comes down to execution and we are seeing that pay off.”
The teams traded three runs apiece in the second inning. Owen Baranowski had a two-run single for the Falcons in the second, while Robbie Kenyon answered with a two-run single in the bottom of the inning, and Jason Quinn added an RBI single.
The Falcons came back with two runs in the top of the third, but Pioneer took the lead for good in the fifth with three final runs. Nate Mousseau led off with a bunt single and Jason Quinn walked. Jack Loud then ripped an RBI single to left to chase Smith starter Sam Dobson. Colin Ferrara came on and got Jacob Quinn to ground out but a run scored on the play to tie the score. Then, with Troy Emond at the dish showing bunt, Ferrara uncorked a wild pitch that allowed Loud to run home with the go-ahead run.
Jared Hubbard earned the win in relief, striking out one and walking one in four innings. He faced only 12 hitters, allowing one hit and one walk, but picked off one baserunner and erased the other on a double play. Jacob Quinn struck out three and did not walk a batter in the no decision.
McCann Tech 4, FC Tech 1 — Andrew Levesque had two hits and two RBIs to help McCann Tech to a 4-1 win over Franklin Tech in an independent baseball game Thursday in Turners Falls.
The teams swapped runs in the first inning but the Hornets came back with three runs in the top of the second inning. Neither team scored the rest of the way.
Caleb Rondeau added a hit and an RBI for McCann Tech. Dalton Tatro went the distance, striking out four and allowing two hits and two walks.
Max Leh doubled for Franklin Tech, and Nate Pelletier had one hit. Sim Maniatty drove in the lone run in the loss. Leh suffered the loss, striking out two and walking six in three innings. Garret Cole pitched three innings of scoreless relief, striking out two and walking two.
Mohawk 6, Pioneer 5 — Caitlin Johnston’s single drove in Mya Lesieur with the game-winning run in the bottom of the seventh, and host Mohawk walked off with a 6-5 victory over Pioneer in Franklin County League action Thursday afternoon in Buckland.
Marred in a 5-5 deadlock, Lesieur stole third base to put the pressure on, and Johnston singled her home to give the Warriors their first FCL victory of 2019.
Mohawk (5-2, 1-1) rallied late, as the hosts trailed 5-4 in the bottom of the sixth before tying the game with a run and winning it in the seventh.
Johnston paced the Warriors with three hits and two RBIs, while Lesieur and Nola Bloomer finished with two hits apiece. Bloomer, Morgan Roccio and Isis Moon drove in runs in the win.
Steph Scoville had one of the best games of any local player this season offensively for the Panthers (2-3, 0-1). The team’s No. 3 hitter was 3-for-4 with a double, triple and home run, and she drove in four of Pioneer’s five runs. Charlotte Kahler and Anneka Johnson finished with two hits apiece, as the Panthers held an 11-9 edge in the hit department.
Lesieur earned the win, striking out two and not walking a batter in a complete-game pitching performance for Mohawk. Scoville struck out six and walked a pair for the Panthers.
Greenfield 4, Athol 0 — Olivia Joy looked like her old self in a big way on Thursday.
The Greenfield High School pitcher shut down a potent Athol High School attack en route to a 4-0 FCL victory at Veterans Memorial Field.
Joy struck out eight and walked one (intentionally) in the shutout. She allowed five hits.
“She started to look like herself again,” Green Wave coach Rian Lovett said. “She worked really hard this week on hitting her spots and working on a couple of her pitches that hadn’t been working. She is back to what she had been last season.”
Greenfield (4-1) scored twice in the first inning and twice more in the fifth. In the first, Racquel Provost (two hits) led off with a single and later scored on a Samantha Smith double. Smith came around to score on Kelsey Richardson’s RBI single. The game remained 2-0 until the fifth when Audrey Bresciano singled and scored on Smith’s home run to dead center.
“She comes up when we need her to,” Lovett said of Smith, who finished with two hits and three RBIs.
Haley Bigwood doubled for Athol (2-3), while Lindsey LeBlanc, Sadey Lehtomaki, Rozlyn Nelson and Celeste Toracco each had one hit. LeBlanc allowed only six hits in the loss, striking out three and walking two.
Mahar 30, Sci-Tech 1 (5 innings) — In a five inning game Wednesday, Mahar blasted Sci-Tech, 30-1, in an independent softball game in Springfield.
Mahar took advantage of 20 walks from Sci-Tech pitching to put up the 30 runs. Junior Skylar Dodge led the way for Mahar with two hits, including a home run and four RBIs. Sophomore Hannah Dupont also had a strong game, finishing with three hits and four RBIs.
Megan Rich pitched all five innings for Mahar, tossing four strikeouts and not walking a single batter.
Junior Jaydlyn Lohnes had three RBI’s on two hits, while senior Lani DeDiego and junior Jordan Fournier each knocked in two runs. Senior Jordyn Berry had two hits, including a double.
BASEBALL
Hopkins 3, Greenfield 2 (9)
Hopkins ………………. 000 020 001 — 3 8 1
Greenfield ………….. 000 100 100 — 2 9 1
Hits: (H) Tudryn, Higgins 2, Ishida, Hasncom 2, Mushinski 2. (G) Phelps, Campbell 2, Hart, Haselton, Carey 2, Rice, Hurd.
2B: (G) Haselton, Carey.
RBI: (H) Feltovic, Higgins, Hanscom. (G) Haselton, Heard.
SB: (H) none. (G) Campbell, Hart, Carey, Hurd.
WP: Feltovic (9ip, 5k, 0bb).
LP: Campbell (2ip, 2k, 1bb), Peabody (5 1/3ip, 9k, 2bb), Baird (1 2/3ip, 0k, 3bb).
Turners 10, South Hadley 9
Turners ……………….. 081 100 0 — 10 9 4
South Hadley ……… 011 121 3 — 9 10 6
Hits: (TF) Campbell, K. Dodge, Fritz, Lehtomaki 2, Burnett, LaBelle, J. Dodge 2. (SH) Sullivan 2, Evans 2, Cirone 3, Garvin 2, Doherty.
2B: (TF) Lehtomaki, Fritz. (SH) Doherty.
RBI: (TF) Campbell, K. Dodge 2, Lehtomaki 3, Burnett, LaBelle, J. Dodge. (SH) Evans, Cirone 3, Garvin, Ortyl, Provost, Doherty.
SB: (TF) LaBelle, K. Dodge. (SH) Doherty, Cirone, Sullivan 2.
WP: Putala (2ip, 2k, 0bb), Robison (3 1/3ip, 1k, 4bb), K. Dodge (2/3ip, 0k, 0bb), Lehtomaki (1ip, 2k, 2bb).
LP: Evans (3ip, 2k, 3bb), Sherwood (4ip, 1k, 0bb).
Pioneer 6, Smith Academy 5
Smith Academy ……. 032 000 0 — 5 8 0
Pioneer ……………….. 030 030 x — 6 5 1
Hits: (SA) Woodward 2, Dadmun, Ferrara 2, Cavanaugh, Bassett, Baranowski. (P) Mousseau, Jas. Quinn, Loud, Dresser, Kenyon.
RBI: (SA) Baranowski 2, Ferrara 2. (P) Kenyon 2, Jas. Quinn, Loud, Jac. Quinn.
WP: Hubbard (4ip, 1k, 1bb), Jac. Quinn (3ip, 3k, 0bb).
LP: Dobson (4ip, 3k, 4bb), Ferrara (2ip, 2k, 1bb).
McCann Tech 4, FC Tech 1
McCann Tech ……….. 130 000 0 — 4 6 1
FC Tech ……………….. 100 000 0 — 1 2 1
Hits: (MT) Vidal, Andrew Levesque 2, Caleb Rondeau, Owen Gagne, Dalton Tatro. (FT) Leh, Pelletier.
2B: (FT) Leh.
RBI: (MT) Levesque 2, Rondeau, Blondin. (FT) Maniatty.
WP: Tatro (7ip, 4k, 2bb).
LP: Leh (3⅓ip, 2k, 6bb), Cole (3⅔ip, 2k, 2bb).
SOFTBALL
Greenfield 4, Athol 0
Athol …………………… 000 000 0 — 0 5 3
Greenfield ………….. 200 020 x — 4 6 0
Hits: (A) Leblanc, Bigwood, Lehtomaki, Nelson, Torraco. (G) Provost 2, Bresciano, Smith 2, Richardson.
2B: (A) Bigwood. (G) Smith.
HR: (G) Smith.
RBI: (G) Smith 3, Richardson.
WP: Joy (7ip, 8k, 1bb).
LP: Leblanc (6ip, 3k, 2bb).
Mohawk 6, Pioneer 5
Pioneer ………………. 002 021 0 — 5 11 1
Mohawk …………….. 021 101 1 — 6 9 2
Hits: (P) Kahler 2, Johnson 2, Scoville 3, Sadlowski, Rowe, Briggs, Perlberg. (M) Lesieur 2, Johnston 3, Ward, Roccio, Bloomer 2.
2B: (P) Scoville. (M) Johnston, Bloomer, Lesieur.
3B: (P) Scoville.
HR: (P) Scoville.
RBI: (P) Scoville 4. (M) Johnston 2, Roccio, Moon, Bloomer.
WP: Lesieur (7ip, 2k, 0bb).
LP: Scoville (6⅔ip, 6k, 2bb).
Mahar 30, Sci-Tech 1 (5)
Mahar ……………….. 798 60 — 30 14 2
Sci-Tech ……………. 010 00 — 1 4 0
Hits: (M) DeDiego, Lohnes 2, Dodge 2, Graeff, Berry 2, Fournier, Rich, Dupont 3, Mainville. (ST) Fernandez, Colon, Gomez-Sanchez, Torres.
2B: (M) DeDiego, Berry, Rich.
HR: (M) Dodge.
RBI: (M) DeDiego 2, Lohnes 3, Dodge 4, Graeff, Berry, Fournier 2, Rich, Dupont 4, Mainville 2. (ST) Torres.
WP: Rich (5ip, 4k, 0bb).
LP: Torres (5ip, 2k, 20bb).