WESTFIELD — It’s not easy to handle the pressure of being the defending state champion as well as the No. 1 seed in the MIAA Div. 5 state tournament.
The Greenfield softball team has made it look that way, though.
The Green Wave cruised through the Div. 5 field and into Tuesday’s semifinal game against No. 4 Tahanto. Greenfield put four up in the first inning and knocked nine hits in the first two innings while MacKenzie Paulin finished the game with 11 strikeouts and just six hits allowed in the circle, keeping the Green Wave’s dream of repeating alive as they moved onto the finals with an 8-2 victory at Westfield State University.
“I told the girls it’s not just hard to repeat, it’s hard to even get there to get the chance to repeat,” Greenfield coach John Hickey said. “When you watch the NCAA basketball tournament the top seeds get knocked off all the time. All the pressure is on. We’ve kept it loose all year and I’m really proud of them.”
Waiting for them in the final? Archrival Turners, with the state title game tentatively scheduled for 3 p.m. on Friday at UMass’ Sortino Field. The Thunder won both regular season meetings between the teams.
“It’s going to be a great game,” Green Wave shortstop Carly Blanchard said. “As long as we bring this energy and bring the bats, we’ll have a great game. It’ll be great competition.”
Paulin’s strikeout to open the seventh inning was the 500th of her career, as the sophomore has put together a second straight dominant postseason in the circle.
“I knew I was high up there but I wasn’t thinking about it too much because I didn’t want to have that in my head,” Paulin said. “It was exciting when they announced it. I didn’t think I’d get here this early. It’s been a great start so far. [Catcher] Ainslee Flynn and [former catcher] Kelsey Richardson have helped me a ton.”
With two years still to go, Hickey said he wasn’t surprised at all that Paulin hit the 500 strikeout mark so quickly.
“It’s amazing,” Hickey said. “She has two years left to add to that total. All the hard work has paid off. There’s more to come.”
It was a two-out rally that got Greenfield going in the first inning. Blanchard blasted a triple and Paulin cracked a single to left that scored her.
Amber Bergeron got on with a single before Rachel Dodge came to the plate and blasted a double off the center field wall, scoring Paulin and Bergeron. Ellis Benitez beat a throw to first for an infield single and Ivy Rae did the same on the ensuing at bat, scoring Dodge in the process to give the Green Wave a 4-0 lead after one.
Anna Bucala led off the second with a single and moved to third following an Ainslee Flynn base hit. Blanchard then knocked a single to score Bucala, making the Greenfield lead 5-0 going into the third.
The Green Wave added two in the fourth. Flynn ripped a double down the right field line and Blanchard cracked a single to score her from second.
Bergeron singled and stole second to put runners on second and third for Dodge, who lasered a line drive to second. The Stags made the play on the ball and tried to throw Bergeron out at second to complete the double play, but the throw was offline, allowing Blanchard to sneak home from third and make it a 7-0 game.
Tahanto rallied in the fifth to get on the board. Sarah May Mendoza doubled to open the frame and Annah Long followed with a single. Paulin got a pair of strikeouts but Rylee Walton was hit by a pitch, loading the bases. Isabelle Brissette and Lauren Wattu drew back-to-back walks, allowing two runs to come across and cut the deficit to 7-2.
The Stags managed three hits from that point on while Greenfield tacked on a run in the sixth after Blanchard launched her second triple of the game — finishing her night a perfect 4-for-4 — and Paulin drove her home with a single to close out the Green Wave scoring.
“You have to get in that box and think you’re going to get a hit,” Blanchard said. “From last game I felt good and wanted to bring it into this game. Having my teammates cheering me on pushes me.”
Paulin said the Green Wave have grown together as a team throughout the year, which has helped them handle the pressure of being the defending champs as they pushes for a second straight title.
“I’m really proud of this team,” Paulin said. “Since the season ended last year I’ve been thinking about repeating and going for it again. To be here with this team is great. We’ve come together so much.”