TURNERS FALLS — Turners Falls is headed to its seventh consecutive Western Mass. title game.
It took every ounce of effort the Thunder had, and it may not have been the sharpest game they’ve played, but a 12-10 victory over Hopkins Academy on Thursday night under the lights at the Bourdeau Fields Complex has them in prime position to win the Class D championship.
No. 1 Turners will play second-seeded Hoosac Valley on Tuesday at 3 p.m. at Westfield State University. One thing’s for sure, they will need to play to their highest potential to walk away victorious.
“I’m very disappointed with our defensive effort. We’re better than what we played tonight,” Thunder head coach Gary Mullins said. “We hit the ball pretty well, but they’re going to have to start playing better defense or we won’t be playing much longer.”
Hopkins started the scoring in the top half of the third inning after a scoreless opening two frames. The Golden Hawks loaded the bases after Lily Ellia singled, Taylor Barry reached on an error and Brooke Rochon walked. From there Cassidi Mushenski hit a sharp grounder through the legs of Thunder third baseman Cady Wozniak to drive in two and put Hopkins up 2-0.
Capitalizing on errors was a huge key to success for Hopkins, as Turners committed a total of seven on the night. Despite the speed of Thunder starting pitcher Madison Liimatainen, the Hawks put balls in play and kept the pressure on the Turners defense to make tough plays.
“One thing we’ve worked on all year is our batting,” Hopkins head coach Paula Cristoforo said. “To be able to come out here with this group of girls, and be able to play this well, I’m really proud of everyone with how they showed up.”
Even when Hopkins fell down 7-3 after an offensive barrage from the Thunder fueled by Emily Young (3-for-4, two doubles, RBI), it responded with a five-run inning of its own in the top of the fifth. The Hawks responded to every punch Turners threw their way.
“Playing Turners, of course you know you’re facing one of the best,” Cristoforo said. “A 12-10 game is a really hard fought game. Our pitcher (Cassie Dion) is in seventh grade and our catcher (Lilly Ellia) is in eighth, so to be able to do that against a team like this is really huge.”
Considering Turners Falls’ championship pedigree, a close postseason game coming down to the wire isn’t anything new for the Thunder. They buckled down in the final inning after breaking a 10-10 sixth inning tie by scoring two runs to take the lead 12-10.
Paige Sulda (3-for-4, two runs, double) singled to left and Olivia Stafford reached on an error to set up Wozniak’s RBI single that proved to be the winning run. Skylei Lapan grounded out to score Stafford two batters later and give the Thunder their extra insurance run.
“We swung the bats well I thought,” Mullins said. “And one thing that was nice to see was we hit the ball through the lineup, everybody contributed in some way and hit the ball.”
Liimatainen went back into the circle for the top of the seventh and, despite a rocky outing, was able to shut Hopkins down with a 1-2-3 inning, capping off the winning effort with one of her 12 strikeouts.
Because Liimatainen, a freshman, boasts both high strikeout and walk rates on the season (she surrendered 10 walks Thursday), when a ball gets put in play it almost startles the Thunder fielders — because they’re so used to either a strikeout or walk.
“When Madi throws strikes, she strikes everybody out, and we don’t have to make plays,” Mullins said. “When she’s walking people, they still aren’t getting hits. Every time the other team hits the ball, it’s so meaningful and it almost surprises us.”
Hopkins (11-7) now turns its attention to the upcoming state tournament. The Hawks were ranked No. 16 in the most recent MIAA Division 5 power rankings, and Cristoforo hopes the experience of playing in such a pressurized environment will pay dividends down the road.
“I’m really proud of my team, and what I think makes it better is how close they are on and off the field,” Cristoforo said. “We have such a strong bond and I think that helps us in these high-pressure games.”
Turners Falls (12-9) hasn’t seen or heard anything about its upcoming opponent, the Hoosac Valley Hurricanes. Mullins will certainly have his team ready to go for that one after a subpar performance on Thursday — and will once again put pressure on his ace arm, Liimatainen.
“I don’t know anything about Hoosac, so we’ll see if we can find out some information,” Mullins said. “It really depends on the way (Liimatainen) walks in that circle. When she’s on, we’re tough to beat. She didn’t show up tonight but we found a way to win.”