TURNERS FALLS — More and more signs continue to point toward the return to normalcy following more than a year of COVID-19 related changes.
Seeing people without masks covering their faces in the grocery store and eyeing crowds of people gathered at professional sporting events or concerts are all becoming more commonplace as we move into post-pandemic life.
One more sign that things are returning to normal? That took place under the lights at Bourdeau Fields Complex, where the Turners Falls softball team got back to postseason play for the first time since 2019. And just as was custom before the world took a 400-plus day pause, the top-seeded Thunder looked every bit like the favorites to win their seventh-consecutive WMass title as they dispatched ninth-seeded Westfield Technical Academy, 12-0, in a five-inning, WMass Division III quarterfinal game, Monday.
“It feels good, not having to wear a mask, having all the fans back and playing at our home field. It’s amazing,” Turners Falls senior third baseman Juliana Rode said.
Senior starting pitcher Jade Tyler agreed, saying that getting a chance at another title during her senior year is particularly meaningful.
“Missing last year was definitely really hard on all of us, so we really want to get back, we really want to win states again. That’s always our goal at the beginning of the season,” she explained.
Rode and Tyler did everything in their power to ensure that the Thunder (14-0) would not be denied in their tournament opener against the Tigers (6-8). Rode had three hits and two RBIs to pace the offense, while Tyler came one out away from a perfect game but settled for the five-inning, no-hitter.
The Thunder ace would have been perfect if she didn’t hit Caprice Allen with two outs in the top of the fifth. She came back to strike out Lauren Beaulieu looking to end the fifth. Tyler finished with 11 strikeouts against the 16 hitters she faced on the night, and struck out at least two hitters in every inning. Still, she wasn’t satisfied with her outing.
“I struggled a little bit. My pitches weren’t working that well,” Tyler said after the game. “I have time. I just have to focus during practice (Tuesday) and get them under control before Wednesday and Friday.”
The Turners Falls offense took a couple of innings to square up against Tigers’ pitcher Allyssa Slack, whose sidearm delivery kept Turners Falls’ bats quiet over the first two innings. Things began to turn around in the third inning when the Thunder plated three runs, before the hosts blew things open in the fourth with eight runs scored as 11 straight hitters reached base.
“I told the kids it was a little funky,” Turners Falls coach Gary Mullins said of Slack’s delivery. “She was a little bit quicker than I anticipated. But we learned and we got better at bats. That’s what we practice. You make your adjustments and let’s go to work and we started to make much better contact.”
Olivia Whittier led off the third by reaching on an error and promptly stole second base. After an out, Tyler hit an RBI single and also stole second base. Holly Myers and Rode each followed with singles, the latter of which plated Tyler, and Taryn Thayer ended the rally with an RBI single to plate Myers.
With one out in the fourth inning Turners opened up the lead. Whittier was hit by a pitch and Taylor Murphy followed by reaching on an error. Tyler hit an RBI double, and Myers and Rode hit back-to-back singles, with Rode driving in her second run of the game. Madi Liimatainen walked, and Thayer hit a two-run single. Emily Young drove in another run with a single, and Hannah Marchefka singled. Whittier reached on an error, and Murphy walked to complete what amounted to 11-straight hitters reaching base and eight runs.
“We don’t swing at many bad pitches,” Mullins said. “We spend a lot of time practicing hitting. We have batting practice and the players go in and get seven pitches, and if the pitcher throws five balls, they better not swing at those. I think we teach hitting and not swinging.”
Turners ended the game in the bottom of the fifth as Rode led off with a triple and Liimatainen followed with an RBI double to plate the 12th run of the game and invoke the mercy-rule.
Turners Falls will host 12th-seeded Mohawk Wednesday night at 7 p.m. The Thunder won both regular season meetings, earning victories via 13-2 and 14-0 scores.