ORANGE — Riding a strong start from Anthony Oro, the Athol High School baseball team beat Mahar Regional, 4-1, in a Hampshire League East matchup on Wednesday.
Oro pitched four innings of one-hit baseball for the Red Raiders (12-7 overall, 6-4 HL). The victory denied the Senators from clinching a postseason berth — at least for one more day.
“You look forward to it every year,” Oro said of the rivalry. “It gets you going knowing you are throwing against them. I had a lot of adrenaline. I feel like that really helped me.”
Oro got the first hit of the game in the third inning for Athol. After launching a double to left-center, Oro loudly yelled to his dugout with his hands raised.
“Extra bases just gets people going,” he said.
Oro later scored on an RBI groundout by Jack Bonenfant.
Nick Bousquet and Mark Ferrari pitched in relief of Oro to secure the win.
“He’s thrown the ball well all year,” Athol coach Josh Talbot said of Oro. “Teams are hitting .152 against him. I think people underestimated his ability at the start of the year. There were people surprised that he started game one. He’s thrown strikes and hit spots.”
The Senators (9-9, 5-5) got a good start from Liam O’Donnell, but could not get anything going at the plate. Logan Dodge had a double, while O’Donnell added a hit with an RBI.
“That’s all we worked on (Tuesday) being inside because of the rain,” Mahar coach Art Billings said. “He (Oro) kept us off balance today. I tip my cap to him. I hate seeing it against me.”
O’Donnell pitched into the seventh, giving up seven hits and four earned runs with three strikeouts.
Mahar hosts Turners Falls today (3:30 p.m.) and close at Mohawk Trail Regional on Monday. A win in either game would clinch a postseason spot, while two losses would keep the Senators out of the tournament.
“I expect for us to go out and play our game,” Billings said. “Hopefully at the end of the games, we will be on top.”
The Red Raiders had already clinched a playoff berth and are now playing for seeding. Athol meets Franklin Tech on Monday to end the regular-season slate.
“We are happy to be there,” Talbot said. “But we are not just happy to be there. We hope we can do some damage. We got to get one more (win) and hopefully get a home game.”
Bousquet came on for Oro in the fifth inning. In his two innings of work, Bousquet struck out five and did not give up a hit.
Ferrari came in the seventh and struck out three hitters. Ferrari allowed a walk, a single and a run.
In the third inning, Riley Paine got plunked before stealing a bag in front of Dilan Fountain, who singled to move Paine to third.
Bousquet’s RBI groundout brought home Paine, upping Athol’s lead to 2-0.
In the bottom of the fourth, Athol did some damage with two outs. Paine and Fountain both singled before Bousquet’s single brought Paine home for a 3-0 lead.
Bousquet added his third and final RBI in the seventh inning for some extra insurance.
Mahar got a run in the bottom of the seventh when O’Donnell’s single brought home Todd Chiasson.
Athol 4, Mahar 1
Athol ………………….. 002 010 1 — 4 7 2
Mahar ……………….. 000 000 1 — 1 2 1
Hits: (A) Fountain 2, Bousquet 2, Pottinger, Oro, Paine. (M) O’Donnell, Dodge.
2B: (A) Oro. (M) Dodge
RBI: (A) Bousquet 3, Bonenfant. (M) O’Donnell.
WP: Oro (4ip, 1k, 0bb). Bousquet (2ip 5k 0bb); Ferrari (1ip, 3k 1bb).
LP: O’Donnell (6⅔ip, 3k,1bb); Barnes (⅓ ip 0k 0bb).
