WMass Softball: Franklin Tech completes remarkable turnaround with Class C championship

WESTFIELD — At the beginning of the season, things weren’t going very well for the Franklin Tech softball team. Then there were subtle improvements as the season progressed. As the playoffs began, the Eagles started to take off in the right direction.

On Saturday, the fourth-seeded Eagles completed the turnaround in magnificent fashion with a 5-2 win over second-seeded Lenox in the Western Mass. Class C championship game at Westfield State.

Franklin Tech went from 1-9 at the midway point to bringing a championship plaque back to Turners Falls for the first time in the softball program’s history.

“Obviously we play a pretty tough schedule,” Franklin Tech coach Joe Gamache said. “We had a lot of kids stepping up into roles they hadn’t really played and weren’t really used to at the beginning of the year. Playing that tough schedule helps.”

The inflection point came when the team did a survey. A trusty gauge to test the temperature of a team that was not playing well.

“It asked what their goals were the rest of the way,” Gamache said. “A little reset at the halfway point. Most of the kids said they wanted to stick together and try to improve. Be as competitive as we can be. They started to put in a lot of extra work.”

Brayleigh Burgh won in the circle and collected the Gary Stacy MVP Award for Franklin Tech. Burgh gave up five hits with three walks and two strikeouts.

“We realized we weren’t just playing for the game we were playing for each other,” Burgh said. “We started working on the mechanics every single practice. We really just learned team camaraderie comes first before playing the game itself.”

The shaky defense that began the season was nowhere to be found at Sullivan Field. Charley Knight and Samantha Duncan both caught hard liners that started double plays for the Eagles. Franklin Tech made all the routine plays needed to give Burgh the support she needed in the circle. Burgh thrived in the pressure environment.

“I love the support the team gives me,” Burgh said. “The support my coaches give me. Honestly the excitement of the moment, that’s usually my thing. I don’t like the quiet stuff. I love the excitement.”

Lindsey Taylor went 1-for-4 with a stolen base for the Eagles. Taylor made a running catch in centerfield to end the game. The Eagles swarmed Burgh at the mound in celebration.

“It feels pretty nice,” Taylor said. “Obviously we’ve been pretty successful in the past years but this year we did it. We started off a little rocky. It was really exciting. Around midway through the year we all started to play together. We made the routine plays today; they were really clean.”

Lenox’s Cassidy Flynn gave Lenox a 1-0 lead with an RBI single in the bottom of the first. Sofia Melnik tied the game for Franklin Tech with an RBI single in the second inning.

The Eagles took advantage of four errors by the Millionaires in the top of the third. Franklin Tech scored four times in the inning. Breanna Kempf had an RBI single for Franklin Tech to make the score 4-1.

Lily MacDonald hit an RBI single in the third inning for the Millionaires. After giving up consecutive singles in the fourth, Burgh struck out Marki Jackson to end the threat. The Eagles turn their attention to the finals of the Small School Tournament, along with the statewide playoffs.