The rivalry lived up to its billing yet again on Monday.

Visiting Athol scored the game-winning run in the top of the ninth inning and held on in the home half to earn a 7-6 win over Mahar in Hampshire League East action Monday in Orange.

Not much separated the two sides, as neither team led by more than two runs throughout. Mahar trailed 5-3 in the bottom of the sixth before pushing two across, and both teams scored a run in the eighth inning to extend things into the ninth.

Connor Mahony got the win in relief for the Bears (3-1), striking out four in three innings of work out of the bullpen.

Athol’s Logan Hume was 3-for-4 in the win, while Noah Pottinger was 2-for-5 with a home run and two RBIs. Keegan Lutz and Jack Bonenfant had two hits apiece as well.

Mahar’s Liam O’Donnell was 2-for-4 with two RBIs to pace the hosts. Noaha Chabot and Jake Tenney each had a hit and drove in a run. O’Donnell struck out eight in seven innings of work on the mound.

Frontier 11, South Hadley 0 (5) — Don’t look now, but Frontier is rolling.

The Redhawks moved to 5-0 on the season behind an 11-0 victory over South Hadley in HL West action Monday in South Hadley.

Tyler Baranowski continued his stellar work on the mound, striking out five in three innings before Sam Schreiber finished it up with two scoreless frames. Two days after walks were an issue against Amherst, Frontier coach Chris Williams was pleased to see his pitching staff issue no free passes on Monday.

“That was definitely a thing we talked about, as long as we don’t shoot ourselves in the foot, we’re confident,” Williams said.

Kyle Barnes, Jake Dodge and Ben Martino all had two hits out of the top three spots in the Frontier lineup. Liam Skribiski-Banack drove in two runs.

Frontier now set its sights on an undefeated showdown with first place in the HL West on the line Wednesday against Hopkins Academy.

Belchertown 9, Greenfield 4 — One game removed from pounding out double-digit hits in an extra-inning win over South Hadley, the Green Wave bats were unable to match the output Monday.

Jake Petrin managed the only Greenfield hit of the day in the fourth inning, and visiting Belchertown scored a 9-4 victory in a HL West contest at Vets Field.

The Orioles scored four in the top of the first and added three more runs in the second. The visitors managed 10 hits against Greenfield starter David Carey, who struck out seven and walked just one in a complete-game outing.

Brady Perkins earned the win for Belchertown, tossing four innings with four strikeouts and six walks. Chris Misiaszek tossed the final three innings, striking out five.

■ In JV action Preston LaFleur had two hits and an RBI, Jackson Campbell drilled three hits and knocked in a pair of runs and Hugh Cyhowski had a pair of hits and RBIs as the Green Wave defeated Belchertown, 9-4, on Monday. 

Jackson Petrin, Luca Siano and Campbell combined to pitch a complete game for Greenfield. 

Smith Academy 10, Mohawk Trail 7 — Matt Pollen retired seven on the mound for the Warriors but the Falcons were able to put runs on the board, leading to a 10-7 Smith Academy victory on Monday in a Hampshire League East contest in Buckland. 

Tyler Dubreuil went 3-for-4 with a double for Mohawk Trail, with Cam Lococo and Shawn Davenport each adding a double and a single. 

Michael Bassett had a trio of hits for the Falcons while Josh Gingras had a pair of hits. 

Easthampton 11, Pioneer 5 (8) — Tied 4-4 after seven innings, the Eagles and Panthers went to extras Monday. The Easthampton bats got going and put up seven runs in the eighth to pull away with a 10-5 Hampshire League West win.

“I’m so proud of these guys,” Pioneer coach Jordan Branson said. “We didn’t win but both these teams battled today. They were hitting well. We didn’t fall apart, they just made plays. We have 100 percent effort and our guys stepped up to the challenge against a tough Easthampton team.” 

The Panthers put up four runs in the fifth inning, all with two outs. Jared Hubbard hit a bases-clearing double that brought in three runs. Jason Quinn then drove Hubbard in to score. 

Braeden Tsipenyuk went 3-for-4 with an RBI and Sam Glazier had a pair of hits and scored a run for Pioneer. Jason Quinn went four innings on the mound, striking out three in what was an impressive performance to keep the Panthers alive early.

FC Tech 6, Westfield Tech 1 — The Eagles bats came to life when it was most needed on Monday. 

After seven innings, Franklin Tech and the Tigers were tied 1-1, though the Eagles didn’t have a hit as Dakota Durkee (11 k’s) brought his best stuff on the mound. Franklin Tech’s lone run came in the top of the fifth, with Jake Whitney scoring on a sacrifice fly after walking. 

That changed in the top of the eighth, with Dylan Demers getting on base after being hit with a pitch. Nate Sciandra singled and Demers scored on a passed ball to give the Eagles a 2-1 lead in extras. Gavin Rubio drilled a double, Cayden Lehtomaki doubled, Whitney singled and Alex Sulda hit a two-run single and suddenly Franklin Tech held a 6-1 lead. 

Sulda, who came on to pitch in the seventh, shut down the Tigers in the bottom of the eighth as the Eagles escaped with a 6-1 Tri-County North win on the road. 

“I couldn’t be more happy with how these kids played today,” Franklin Tech coach Dan Prasol said. “They gritted it out late. It was a great baseball game.” 

Whitney got the start on the mound for the Eagles, going five innings, striking out four and giving up just one run in the fourth inning. Sciandra pitched the sixth and struck out a pair. 

■ The Turners Falls at Hopkins game was postponed with two outs into the top of the first inning due to rain in Hadley.