ATHOL — With the bases loaded in extra innings, Alex Lavigne went to the plate for the Athol baseball team. The 29th-seeded Bears had the winning run 90 feet away against No. 36 Norfolk County Agricultural in the MIAA Division 5 preliminary round at windy Athol High School.
Lavigne got his pitch and connected on a hit that seemed destined for the outfield grass. All runners started advancing including Dominik St. Andre who was on third base. There was one problem, the visiting Rams made the play and caught the ball.
St. Andre had to rush back to third to tag, as did Enyert Arias Cepeda at first. The throw went to first and Arias Cepeda used his track & field speed to beat the throw. That’s when St. Andre made his way home for the game-winning run and a thrilling 12-11 win for the Bears in eight innings.
Athol advances to play No. 4 Drury in the Berkshires at a date and time to be determined in the Round of 32. At one point in the game, the Bears trailed 9-4. Athol then lost a lead in the top of the seventh after coming back. It was the first state tournament win under the new format for the team.
Ethan Heuer of Athol comes home to score against Norfolk County, Thursday in Athol. Credit: ADAM HARGRAVES / Staff Photo 
Oliver Johnson greets first base coach Keegan Lutz after a single against Norfolk County, Thursday in Athol. Credit: ADAM HARGRAVES / Staff Photo 
Enyert Arias Cepeda of Athol makes contact against Norfolk County, Thursday in Athol. Credit: ADAM HARGRAVES / Staff Photo 
Alex Lavigne of Athol delivers a pitch against Norfolk County, Thursday in Athol. Credit: ADAM HARGRAVES / Staff Photo
“Just a rollercoaster,” Athol coach Henry King said. “Crazy game. The guys fought hard. A lot of seniors on this team. Big win.”
Lavigne went 3-for-6 with and the crucial RBI in the bottom of the eighth inning.
“My approach at the plate was to stay level,” Lavigne said. “I kept popping out the whole game. I stayed level and got it off the bat really hard. I thought it was going get down but he made a great play. But Dom (St. Andre) made it home, so we are good.”
St. Andre thought for sure Lavigne had the game-winning hit. But a walk-off sacrifice certainly did the job for the Bears.
“I saw it come off the bat hot,” St. Andre said. “I thought it was by him for sure. I was going home and I realized he caught it and ran back to third. They made a throw over to first and I just booked it home.”
Lavigne got the win on the mound, pitching the final two innings with two strikeouts. Ethan Heuer got the start and pitched two innings with three walks, three earned runs and five strikeouts.
The Rams took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first. Athol came back to score three runs in the bottom of the first. Oliver Johnson drew a walk with the bases loaded. Cooper Smith added another RBI on a fielder’s choice. The third run came home on a balk.
Norfolk scored four runs in the top of the second. The Bears scored a run on an error to make the score 5-4 in the bottom half of the inning. Ryan Clark and Gavin Horan had RBI hits in a four run fifth inning for the Rams.
Athol took the lead in the sixth with five runs highlighted by RBI hits by Heuer and St. Andre. Arias Cepeda beat out an infield single that helped bring home the go-ahead run.
Cayden Bruce’s RBI double gave Norfolk a 11-10 lead in the top of the seventh. An RBI on a fielder’s choice by Eli Wein sent the game to extra innings. Wein, Johnson, St. Andre and Arias Cepeda each had two hits for the Bears.
Softball
Mahar 14, Lee 7 — The 34-seeded Senators pulled off the upset over the No. 31 Wildcats in the preliminary round of the Division 5 state tournament in the Berkshires. It was the first state tournament win for the softball program.
Carly Paluk (two RBI) and Lilah Paluk both had doubles for Mahar. Lilah Paluk ended up with four hits and two RBI. Jenna Nolette added three hits with three RBI. Lexi Ares won in the circle for Mahar, pitching a complete game with 14 strikeouts and 15 walks.
The Senators had 18 hits in the victory. Mahar is set to play at No. 2 Georgetown on Sunday at 11 a.m.
Girls tennis
Sturgis Charter School East 4, Frontier 1 — The 20th-seeded Redhawks fell to the No. 13 Storm in the Division 4 state tournament Round of 32. Esther Ehle and Ellie Wade got the lone win for the Redhawks at No. 2 doubles at Dennis Yarmouth Regional High School. Ehle and Wade outlasted Izzy Hartsgrove and Liv Mullins 6-4, 4-6 and 6-4.
Frontier finished its season at 15-4 and collected a Western Mass. Class B championship along with a Pioneer league title.
Boys tennis
Sturgis Charter School West 3, Frontier 2 — No. 21 Frontier made a run at the 12th-seeded Navigators but ultimately fell short in the Division 4 state tournament Round of 32 at Dennis Yarmouth Regional High School. Noah Nichols picked up a win at No. 3 singles with Liam Wells and Henry Pleasant also registering a win at No. 1 doubles.
Xavier Fripp played a three-and-a-half-hour match at No. 2 singles but ended up losing 7-5, 4-6, 3-6.
Volleyball
Millis 3, Athol 1 — The 36th-seeded Bears lost on the road to the No. 29 Mohawks in the Division 2 state tournament preliminary round.
