TURNERS FALLS — The Franklin Tech baseball team sealed its win against Hoosac Valley early in Thursday’s game by scoring eight runs in the first two innings. The Eagles won the rain-soaked affair 13-2 to improve to 4-1 on the season.
“The kids are putting in the work in practice,” Franklin Tech coach Dan Prasol said. “They’re working hard and it’s showing in games. We had a nice early wake-up call (in a season-opening loss to Turners Falls) and they’ve rebounded well. I’m proud of their mental toughness.”
The Eagles’ bats were moving in the first inning. Jake Whitney started things off with a double over the left fielder’s head. The next batter, Sam Knight, hit an RBI double to get the Eagles on the board. Knight then stole two bases and jogged home on a balk.
Franklin Tech tacked on two more runs with RBIs from Chris Ryan and Kyle Begos to take a 4-0 lead after one frame.
Nothing changed in the second inning. Ty Sadoski started the inning off with a bunt that eventually led to him touching home plate. Hoosac Valley committed an error which allowed Sadoski to take third base. He later scored on a wild pitch.
The Hurricanes committed another error later in the inning that sent William Ainsworth home. Knight contributed another RBI and he was brought in by a double from Cayden Lehtomaki to put Tech up 8-0 after two innings.
Alex Sulda and Whitney tallied triples late to help give the Eagles their 13-2 lead, ending the game, which was delayed for a bit due to lightning, after five innings.
The Eagles’ defense was just as impactful as their offense in the first two innings. Begos started on the mound for the Eagles and didn’t allow a hit until the third inning, ultimately striking out six in four innings work. Five of his strikeouts came in the opening two innings.
Mason Lehtomaki came on in the fifth and struck out two to seal the win.
“Props to Kyle Begos,” Prasol said. “He’s been outstanding for us. He hammers the strike zone and he’s been a workhorse. I couldn’t be more proud of his performance. As a team, I’m proud of the kids.”
Mt. Everett 13, Mohawk Trail 1 (5) — Logan Moore had the lone Warrior base hit in a 13-1 independent loss to the Eagles in Buckland on Thursday.
Moore also scored the only Mohawk Trail (0-4) run in the loss. Mt. Everett put up seven runs in the first, five in the third and added a run in the fourth.
Frontier 3, Ware 1 — Trailing 23-21 in the fourth set, the Redhawks stormed back to score the final four points and pull out a 3-1 victory over Ware on Thursday at Goodnow Gymnasium.
Frontier (4-0) dropped the opening set 25-15 but stormed back to earn 25-21, 25-23, 25-23 wins in the ensuing three sets.
“We struggled with errors in the first set,” Redhawks coach Courtney Parent said. “We had some situations out of our control this week and we had to make a new lineup. It was a nice comeback with a team win with a new lineup.”
Freshman Tavo Vincent-Warner recorded an ace on match point to aid the win while Jesse Kurkulonis moved out from the setter role and paced the offense as a hitter.
Vincent-Warner finished with 14 assists and three aces in the win. Kurkulonis and Aleks Carey each tallied eight kills, Patrick Boyden put down six kills, Jamih Griffin dished seven assists and Payton Sladeski made 18 digs in the victory.
Westfield 3, Athol 0 — The Bears suffered a 25-9, 25-8, 25-9 loss to the defending Western Mass. champion Bombers in Westfield on Thursday.