GREENFIELD — The defending Western Mass. Class C softball champs looked like a team prepared to defend their crown during the opening round of this year’s tourney on Tuesday.
Taking on No. 8 McCann Tech, the bats for No. 1 Greenfield were on fire to open the game. The Green Wave put four runs on the board in the first inning, tacked two more on in the second and tallied three runs in the third to take a 9-0 lead after three. With the bats cranking, MacKenzie Paulin locked down the Hornets lineup to allow Greenfield to cruise into the semifinals with a 12-0 victory in six innings over at Vets Field.
“At times we’re a late blooming team when it comes to runs,” Green Wave coach John Hickey said. “It really was a pressure release for us to get four in the first. It eased the tension.”
Miranda Ranzoni opened the game with a single for McCann but that was just about all the Hornets would get off Paulin. Following the leadoff base hit, Paulin struck out the next eight batters she faced, giving up just one other hit in the fourth — a double to Emily Glasier — and finished the game with 13 strikeouts and just one walk.
“She had command of all her pitches today,” Hickey said. “Her changeup was really good. She kept them off balance and pitched well.”
Ainslee Flynn reached on an error in the first inning for the Green Wave, helping kick start the rally. Carly Blanchard then came up and blasted a double that brought Flynn home and Paulin followed it up with a base hit that scored Blanchard, giving Greenfield an early 2-0 lead.
Later in the inning Rachel Dodge blasted a triple into the right-center gap that brought Gloria McDonald, running for Paulin, in to score. An error off the bat of Ivy Rae plated Dodge to give the Green Wave the early 4-0 lead.
The hits continued for the Green Wave in the second. Ellis Benitez and Anna Bucala opened the frame with back-to-back singles and Blanchard was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Paulin came up and once again helped herself at the plate, driving a single up the middle that brought Benitez and Bucala home to extend the Greenfield lead to 6-0 after two.
The Green Wave cracked consecutive doubles in the third to add to their lead. Rae blasted the first one and Brielle Widelo followed it up by cracking a double of her own to bring Rae home. Widelo was thrown out trying to take third.
Benitez then singled, stole a pair of bases and was brought home off a base hit from Bucala. Flynn then knocked a single and Blanchard got on with a base hit that scored Bucala, giving Greenfield its 9-0 lead going into the fourth.
Paulin continued her red hot day at the plate in the sixth. The sophomore demolished a home run that made its way well beyond the fence in left field for a 10-0 lead. Amber Bergeron and Rachel Dodge followed the homer up with back-to-back base hits before Rae singled to score Bergeron from second. Dodge took third on Rae’s single, allowing her to score following a McDonald ground out to end the game.
It’ll be a rematch of the 2022 Class C finals in the semifinals on Friday, as No. 4 Franklin Tech heads over to Vets Field to take on the Green Wave at a time to be determined.
While Greenfield and the Eagles haven’t played this season, there’s a lot of familiarity between the two squads.
“It’s going to be a fun one,” Hickey said. “It’s two local teams. All the kids play with or against each other all summer. It’ll be fun. It’s a good representation of our area.”
Taconic 6, Frontier 4 – The seventh-seeded Redhawks scored three runs in the top of the first inning to set the tone, but host Taconic rallied to tie the game after two innings and eventually pushed a pair across in the fifth to advance to the Class C semifinals.
No. 2 Taconic will host No. 3 Mount Greylock on Friday.
Frontier’s Skyler Steele tripled and drove in a run during the three-run first inning, while Ashley Taylor notched two hits, including a double, and scored a run. Sophia Pinardi added a hit and an RBI for the Hawks, while Gabby Adams and Abigail Schreiber also had a hit for the visitors. Addy Wood drove in a run.
Taylor struck out one and walked two in a complete game effort in the circle, allowing six hits and three earned runs. Taconic pitcher Rylee Paronto recorded six strikeouts in seven innings to pick up the win.
Mount Everett 11, Mohawk Trail 0 — Eagles ace Julia Devoti held the No. 5 Warriors to just four hits on Tuesday, with No. 4 Mt. Everett advancing to the Class D semifinals with an 11-0 win over Mohawk Trail in Sheffield.
Maddie Cosentino had three of the Warriors hits, with Sophia Goodnow adding a base hit in the loss. Riley Giard struck out three for the visitors.
Baseball
Easthampton 3, Franklin Tech 1 – Ty Sadoski singled and scored the Eagles’ lone run in the first inning of a non-playoff loss on Tuesday.
Kyle Begos pitched well for Franklin Tech, striking out five. Easthampton scored twice in the sixth inning to break a 1-1 tie.
Boys tennis
Frontier 4, Mount Greylock 1 — Miles Keefe walked away with a 6-3, 6-4 win in No. 1 singles while Robert Fuqua earned a 6-0, 6-0 victory in No. 3 singles in the Redhawks’ win over the Mounties in Williamstown on Tuesday.
Brayden Reipold and Oliver Brown took No. 1 doubles (6-2, 6-2) while Harry Wright and Donovan Vichi came away with a win in No. 2 doubles for Frontier.
Girls tennis
Mohawk Trail 3, Greenfield 2 — The Warriors took all three singles matches to walk away with a victory over the Green Wave at the Davis Street Courts on Tuesday.
Palmer King earned a 6-0, 6-0 win over Kaitlyn Collins in No. 1 singles, Paige King picked up a 6-0, 6-0 victory in No. 2 singles over Mireb Gheorghita and Hazel Foucault came away with a 6-4, 6-2 win over Rebecca Covalenco for Mohawk Trail.
Greenfield’s Lydia Wood and Isabella Semonelli earned a 6-3, 4-6, 10-4 victory in No. 1 doubles over Yaseen Abdelgawad and Lauryn Lovett while Lily Duong and Jessica Mihailicenco defeated Ivan Hillenbrand and Rowan Richardson 6-0, 6-1 in No. 2 doubles for the Green Wave.
The Four Rivers boys varsity ultimate team traveled to Amherst to play their varsity squad. The Otters hung with them early but Amherst pulled away and went on to capture a 15-7 win.
Cooper Whitney had a strong day for the Otters scoring two goals and assisting on two others while having zero turnovers.