It’s been a long time since the Turners Falls softball team wasn’t in the state finals.
The second-seeded Thunder have made an appearance in the championship game every year it has been contested since 2013, but they’ll need to put their best performance of the season together to earn an eighth straight finals trip with No. 3 West Boylston standing in the way.
First pitch of the MIAA Div. 5 semifinal is set for 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday at Westfield State University’s Hagan Field.
“They have a quality pitcher and their infield defense is very good,” Turners coach Gary Mullins said of the Lions. “They like to play the short game is what I’ve been told.”
West Boylston is well adjusted to Western Mass. competition this state tournament. Its path to the semifinals includes a 10-1 win over No. 30 Mt. Everett, an 8-1 victory over No. 19 Hopkins and a 4-0 triumph over No. 6 Hoosac Valley in the quarterfinals.
For reference, the Thunder didn’t play the Eagles, beat the Golden Hawks 8-5 back in April and again in the Western Mass. semifinals, and fell to the Hurricanes in the sectional title game, though Mullins didn’t feel they played their best against Hoosac.
“We were disappointed after that one,” Mullins said. “We made mistakes that hurt us. We didn’t come back with the right trophy. We made mistakes and Hoosac made us pay for them.”
Turners’ season has been a roller coaster but when its playing at its best, the club has shown it can compete with the best squads in the state.
The Thunder might have one of the most impressive wins in the entire state this season, beating Wachusett 2-1 in April. The Mountaineers ended up being the No. 4 seed in the Div. 1 bracket and find themselves in the state semifinals. Turners also picked up a 5-1 win over Wahconah in May, with the Warriors currently in the Div. 4 semifinals as the No. 3 seed.
The Thunder will need to be at their best against the Lions, who on paper look like a stiff uptick in competition during this state tournament run. Turners has earned wins over No. 34 Upper Cape Cod Regional, No. 18 Bourne and No. 23 Millis, so No. 3 West Boylston should be its toughest competition to date.
Turners pitcher Madi Liimatainen has been nothing short of dominant in the circle so far in the state tournament.
The freshman struck out 14 and surrendered just one hit in the Thunder’s 21-0 Round of 32 five-inning win over Upper Cape Cod Regional. In the Round of 16 against Bourne, Liimatainen struck out 11 and scattered two hits, and in the quarterfinals against Millis, she struck out 16 and gave up three hits as Turners advanced with a 12-2 win.
“If she’s in the zone, she gives us a chance,” Mullins said. “Like anyone else with a good pitcher, you’re in the game when they’re on.”
The Thunder bats have come alive down the stretch. Since a loss to Frontier on May 17, Turners has gone on a hot streak, averaging 12 runs-per-game in its last six outings.
The top of the lineup led by veterans Emily Young, Liimatainen, Morgan Dobias, Paige Sulda, Cady Wozniak and Olivia Stafford has been consistent, while the young Thunder players at the bottom of the lineup have also been hitting the ball well in the postseason, providing another spark to the offense.
It’ll be on the defensive side where Tuesday’s contest is won. West Boylston likes to bunt, which puts pressure on the opposing defense to make plays in the field.
Turners hopes that its game against Millis — another team that liked to play small ball — helped prepare it for what it’ll see on Tuesday.
“We’ll spend time trying to defend bunts at practice,” Mullins said. “We have some more opportunities here to work on it and try to turn those into outs. We’ll have to play well. Millis tried to bunt seven or eight different times against us. I think their coach realized they couldn’t hit our pitcher and hoped that we’d make mistakes. This team has some young players so we’ll need to be able to stop their bunts and we’ll have a chance.”
The meeting will be a rematch of the 2008 Div. 3 state semifinals, one that Turners came away with a 4-3 victory. Tuesday’s winner will take on the victor of Greenfield and Frontier, who play in the other Div. 5 semifinal on Wednesday at Westfiel d State.
NOTES: Fans looking to attend Tuesday’s state semifinal at Westfield State will need to purchase tickets online prior to entry. The MIAA said no cash will be accepted at the door. All tickets cost $10 and are available at gofan.co — search for your school to find the correct matchup.