Home course advantage lived on for another year in the Franklin Cup.
Host Country Club of Greenfield remained undefeated at home in the annual event, sealing the deal with wins in eight of the 12 singles matches on Sunday to capture a 17-7 victory over Crumpin-Fox Club in the 21st edition of the fall showcase between top players at each track.
CCG improved to 11-0 all time in matches played on its home soil. Holding a 9-3 lead after action on Saturday, the hosts put things away with strong performances in the singles matches. Captain Andy Lesenski set the tone with a 4 & 3 win over CFC captain Keith Burch, while Jake Willis, KC Finley, Steve Jones, Chris Bourbeau, Dave Kennedy, Nate Burdick and Will Conant all followed suit with victories to account for the 17-7 final.
CFC received singles victories from Justin Dion, Mike Williams, Chris Stoddard and Dave Donoghue.
The weekend began with Saturday four-ball action, and CCG took a 4-2 lead in the morning. Burdick and Willis had the most emphatic win of the opening set, as they defeated Williams and partner Jason Germain, 6 & 5.
Looking to sustain that early momentum, CCG won five of the six afternoon foursome matches to create some separation. Youngsters Gunnar Moore and Ryan Cote teamed for a 3 & 2 victory over Germain and Brendan Creagh, while other victorious CCG teams in the afternoon were Willis/Jones (2 & 1), Kennedy/Jason Kelton (4 & 3), Finley/ Mike Johnson (2 & 1), and Lesenski/Conant (1-Up).
Edge Hill wins River Cup
The Franklin Cup wasn’t the only Ryder Cup-style competition held this weekend.
Ronnie Parker, Mark Eaton, Lewis Goodnow and Mark Graves all swept three points over two days, lifting Edge Hill Golf Course to an 18-6 win over Thomas Memorial Golf & Country Club in the annual River Cup.
It was a bit of redemption for Edge Hill, which got back in the winner’s circle despite losing back-to-back titles each by one point. Edge Hill led 9½-2½ after Saturday four-ball and foursome matches, which were played at Thomas Memorial. In Sunday’s single matches, Edge Hill showed well on its home course with an 8½-3½ advantage.
Ryan and Darren Lenois paced Thomas Memorial, as the duo scored two points apiece toward the team total.
CFC Open Singles
Jim Ruschioni shot 74 to best the field by one stroke and take the top spot from the blue tees at Crumpin-Fox Club’s Open Singles on Saturday.
Chris Ferriter was right behind in second place with a 75, tying with Marc Lowe, while Jon Fasick shot 76 to tie for fourth place with Carter Fasick and Jeff Sbrogna.
Tom Bergeron was the net winner with a 68, while Devin Tarpey and Leo Kruczkowski tied for second at 71.
From the gold tees, Dan Benoit shot 78 to earn the top spot. Phil Phillips was the net winner with a 76.
Timmons League
The duo of Doug Farrick and Noah Harrison shot 34 to capture the low gross at Wednesday’s Timmons League at Northfield Golf Club.
Jim Cadran and Rodney Ebbighausen were the runners-up with a 36. Low net honors went to Ed Gillespie and Rick Stempel (27), ahead of Jesse Putnam and Bob Bateman (28).
Bill Noyes ruled the closest to the pin contests, landing nine feet away on No. 6 and 10 inches on No. 7. The match medalist was Farrick with a 34, followed by Putnam (38).
David Carey struck out 11 batters over six innings and added two hits, including a double, at the plate to lift Greenfield Crocker Communications past Mohawk, 6-2, in fall ball action Sunday at Beacon Field in Greenfield.
Brody Baird was 2-for-3 with two RBIs for Greenfield, which also received a two-run double from Nick Crocker. Jackson Campbell and Tyler Podolski pulled off a double steal in the fourth inning that allowed Podolski to score a run, and Campbell also had a hit and scored a run. Michael Pierce chipped in a hit for Greenfield.
Mohawk’s Cam Lococo roped a two-run single in the sixth inning. Reuben Bassett had a hit and scored a run, while Tyler Dubreuil and Rosco Palmer each added a hit. Cullen Brown struck out three on the mound, as did Liam O’Donnell, who chipped in a hit at the plate.
In action Saturday, Hugh Cyhowski came on in relief and picked up the win, striking out two in 2 1/3 innings to lift Greenfield past Pioneer/Turners Falls, 6-5.
Baird struck out five in 4 2/3 innings on the mound. At the plate, he was 2-for-2 with an RBI and a run scored, while Carey (2-for-3, two runs), Pierce (hit, RBI), Alex Gochinski (hit, RBI), Cyhowski (hit, RBI), Devin Dubie (hit, run), Ryan Pulizari (hit, run), Crocker (hit) and Podolski (hit) all paced the offense.
Nate Sciandra and Alex Sulda combined to strike out nine batters on the mound for Pioneer/Turners Falls. Josh Brunelle and Chris Miner had two hits apiece, while Jason Quinn (hit, RBI), Dalton Henderson (hit, RBI) and Jalen McGraw (hit) all con tributed.