AMHERST — In lieu of monsters, the Hopedale High School softball team should probably check for Turners Falls players under their beds and in their closets.
For the third year in a row and fourth time in five years, the Powertown advanced to the MIAA Division 3 final at the expense of central Mass. champion Hopedale. This one was particularly convincing, as the Thunder smacked 12 hits and jumped on Blue Raiders pitcher Bianca Fitch from jump street. In the end, Turners powered its way to a 9-1 state semifinal victory, Tuesday, at Sortino Field on the campus of UMass.
The Thunder (22-2) will meet the winner of today’s other semifinal between Austin Prep and Joseph Case in Saturday’s Division 3 state championship game, to be played at Worcester State University’s Rockwood Field at 2 p.m.
“Our team showed up today, which was kind of fun,” Turners head coach Gary Mullins said. “We hit the ball hard throughout the game, made a few plays. We played pretty good softball today. I was pleased.”
The win upped Turners’ record over Hopedale to a perfect 4-0 dating back to 2015. The Thunder have outscored the Raiders by an 18-4 margin in those four victories, with Tuesday’s win the most lopsided in the series. Despite the dominance over the central Mass. foe however, the Powertown wasn’t taking anything for granted.
“We definitely just keep playing it like it’s a brand new team because every year is different,” admitted junior catcher Aly Murphy. “We lose players every year, they lose players every year. They gain players, we gain players. You have to go into it like a new team, new game every year…. you can’t reflect on what happened last year, you can’t base it off the previous year.”
Mullins agreed with his slugging catcher.
“They returned quite a few kids. They’ve been here, done that. Hopedale’s been here, what, three, four times the last couple years?” the coach said. “And they made some really good plays. I think they played well. I think we played better. That’s what it comes down to.”
Mother Nature had a hand in this one, as rain throughout the morning and into the afternoon led to the tarp draping the infield at Sortino Field during the pregame warm-up. First pitch was ultimately delayed by 30 minutes. Aly Murphy said that Turners wasn’t bothered by the issues. The team even participated in a dance-off with Hopedale players prior to the game.
“Just another game. Just another game,” she said of the conditions. “We just stay focused. We don’t let other things get in the way of what’s at hand.”
While Turners struggled offensively in the WMass title game against McCann Tech over the weekend, that wasn’t the case on Tuesday.
From the get-go, the Thunder swung a potent bat against Fitch. In the bottom of the first inning, Taylor Murphy singled and took second base on an obstruction call, and Jade Tyler drew a walk. Olivia Whittier, who had a big day out of the No. 5 spot in the lineup, drove in the game’s first run with an RBI single up the middle, and Hailey Bogusz made it 2-0 when she reached on an infield single. Catie Reynolds kept the rally going later in the frame, as she drew a bases-loaded walk to make it a 3-0 advantage.
“Obviously we put a few runs up early. You like those, it relaxes you, but we’ll take them when we can get them,” said Mullins.
It was the sisters Murphy who combined for two more runs in the home half of the second. Taylor Murphy singled with one out and took second base on a wild pitch. That set the stage for older sister Aly Murphy, who drilled a two-run home run over the fence in left field that landed in the netting covering the scoreboard. The two-out bomb made it a 5-0 game.
“Honestly, when I hit it, I thought it was going to be one of those that I hit and the ball hits the top of the fence and just drops down back into the field of play,” explained Aly Murphy. “So I was running hard and my first base coach (Ed Marvell) said, ‘Slow down, slow down, it went over.’ I was in awe. I don’t expect (home runs) so I just keep running. It’s a great feeling.”
Turners amassed six hits through two innings, surpassing its total of just four in the sectional final against McCann.
“Today we looked for good pitches, hit the ball hard,” Mullins said. “And once we start doing it, it’s contagious. We get it going, we’re a pretty good team.”
Reynolds singled in the third inning and pinch runner Maralee Wiles scored on a dropped third strike to Holly Myers later in the inning. Hopedale (19-3) finally got on the board in the top of the fourth, when Kat Maloney tripled and scored on a Taylor Goldstein ground out to make it a 6-1 game.
Turners had another big inning left in it, however. Lexi Lacey roped a two-run double that plated Whittier (single) and Bogusz (error), and Cassidhe Wozniak drove Lacey home with a base hit to give the Thunder a 9-1 advantage.
“It was definitely more exciting for us,” said Aly Murphy of Tuesday’s offensive performance compared to Saturday. “I know the entire bench was loud and talking any time anybody hit the ball. We put a bunch of hits together today.”
That would be plenty of offense for Tyler, who again did the job in the pitching circle. The sophomore struck out five and didn’t walk a batter, limiting Hopedale to just four hits in a complete-game effort. Her defense was flawless, committing no errors on the afternoon. Whittier in center field was particularly stellar, covering all sorts of ground to record four putouts.
Whittier and Taylor Murphy had three hits apiece to pace the offense. Lacey finished with two hits, including a double.
Turners now awaits its opponent for Saturday’s title game. Either way, it’ll be a school that the program has already played in a state final. The Thunder defeated Austin Prep to win the 2016 and 2017 championships, and also defeated Case to win back-to-back crowns in 2011 and 2012.
“You would hope that they feel good about themselves because the next step is tougher,” said Mullins of his club. “Case and Austin Prep, they play in tough leagues, it’s going to be a step up and a much tougher game.”
Turners 9, Hopedale 1
Hopedale………………………….. 000 100 0 — 1 4 3
Turners …………………………… 321 030 x — 9 12 0
Hits: (H) Murphy, Maloney, Swift, Smith. (TF) Wozniak, T. Murphy 3, A. Murphy, Whittier 3, Bogusz, Lacey 2, Reynolds.
2B: (TF) Lacey.
3B: (H) Maloney.
HR: (TF) A. Murphy.
RBI: (H) Goldstein. (TF) Wozniak, A. Murphy 2, Whittier, Bogusz, Lacey 2, Reynolds.
WP: Tyler (7ip, 5k, 0bb).
LP: Fitch (6ip, 3k, 3bb).