Good morning!
Word got around quickly that Hall of Fame slugger Jim Rice had aced the 150-yard tenth hole at last week’s Hampshire County Deputy Sheriff’s Tournament at the Southampton Country Club.
Rice’s group included Butch Plifka and Plifka’s son Garrett, both of Winchester, New Hampshire. The former owner of Kulick’s Market is now at Food City in Turners Falls. In the foursome behind them was Dave Fenton, whose two favorite ball players growing up were Rice and Jim Palmer who won 268 games for the Orioles.
“I don’t know what club he used but the shot went on a nice trajectory, landed short and left of the hole, and curved right into the cup.
“It looked way too easy,” laughed Fenton, the Director of Crime Prevention for Sheriff Patrick Callihane. “We’ve been able to get some good folks for the tournament,” said Fenton, who mentioned Luis Tiant, Bill Lee, Steve Grogan and Bob Montgomery.
Rice hit 382 home runs during his 16 years with the Red Sox, but this was only his fourth hole-in-one. “If he’d aced the second hole he’d have won a car sponsored by Burke Chevrolet,” Fenton said. “The tenth hole was for $1,250 worth of golf apparel.”
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The 2026 MIAA spring season is in the books, champions have been crowned and the uniforms and equipment stored and locked for next year. Mike Cadran’s on speed dial and has filtered out the ephemera to provide us with the facts.
The only team from western Mass. to win a state title was Longmeadow High School’s D-2 boys lacrosse team. It was their 22nd state title. The only other finalist was the Westfield High School boy’s volleyball team which was vanquished by Wayland High School.
Several WMass champs from Franklin County were crowned. Frontier girls won the Class B tennis tourney, Franklin County Tech wore the Class C softball crown and Greenfield High School won the Class C baseball crown.
GHS coach Tom Suchanek upped his overall wins total to 722. “Third best in the state,” writes Cadran. “He’s closing in on the leaders. Taunton girls won sixth straight D1 softball title, eleventh overall. TFHS, twelve total, still No. 1.”
Speaking of the Bay State’s southeastern powerhouse, catchers Bella Bourque and Aniyah Bailey, both juniors, have committed to play at South Carolina and UMass, respectively, and southpaw hurler Samantha Lincoln has transferred from Texas Tech to Texas.
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Pioneer’s capable athletic director Nick Adams is stepping down to concentrate on raising his family. “It’s been a blast and truly a wonderful experience,” wrote Adams. “I’ve enjoyed every minute of it and have learned much along the way [but] I want to be present for my two growing boys while they’re still young.”
Pioneer’s new AD, Theresa Tsipenyuk, teaches special ed and is the mother of three-sport athlete Maggie and sons Braeden and Evan who were on Pioneer’s undefeated state champion baseball team last year.
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Two years before UMass changed its nickname to the Minutemen, the New York Knicks bench was called the Minutemen during their run to the NBA title in 1970. “They were terrific,” Mike Francesa said of Cazzie Russell, Mike Riordan and Dave Stallworth. “The first weapon off the bench was Cazzie Russell for Bill Bradley. If Cazzie came in and hit his first shot from the corner, he was gonna hit six in a row. He was one of the game’s great lethal streak shooters.”
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Former Pioneer javelin thrower and school record holder Natalie Rios simply didn’t have it at last week’s New England Interscholastic Outdoor Track & Field Championships in North Berwick, Maine. “She threw poorly,” said her father Pedro. “No explanation. Her technique is good but she’s definitely gotta get stronger.”
Rios, who will be a senior at South Hadley High School this fall, has had Zoom calls with people from Holy Cross and Westfield State and more are sure to come.
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SQUIBBERS: UMass football added a second punter to its roster this week. Australian Michael Streeter learned the skill at Prokick Australia which has turned out nine Ray Guy winners. … The World Cup has reintroduced American viewers to broadcasters like Ian Darke who said after Qatar tied mighty Brazil, “The men from the desert have found an oasis on American soil!” … Only one player on the Moroccan National team was actually born in Morocco. … Eddie Andelman, who died this week, had a vicious sense of humor, suggesting for instance that hockey broadcasts were the ideal place to advertise drug and alcohol rehabs. He was among the first generation of sports talk radio hosts and unlike most today he was an original. .… Mets fan Glenn Brown called to correct an item in last week’s column— June 15 was the 49th (not 39th) anniversary of the Midnight Massacre when the Mets traded Tom Seaver to the Reds. “You struck a nerve,” said Brown. “I was heartbroken.” … Terry Lovullo, a career .220 hitter with seven clubs in eight years, won his 700th game managing the Arizona Diamondbacks on Monday. … Dept. of Better off Without Them: through 74 games Rafael Devers had 10 home runs and 35 RBI for the Giants, and Alex Bregman had six home runs and 23 RBI for the Cubs. … The vanquished Las Vegas Golden Knights went 19 minutes and 37 seconds without a shot on goal during their 3-0 loss to Carolina on Sunday, not the kind of playoff hockey fans appreciate. … The N.Y. Post reports that former Met Wally Backman was hired to turn around the Staten Island FerryHawks who are 8-40. … BSJ’s Greg Bedard reports the Patriots have found a solid edge rusher. “The Patriots love Elijah Ponder,” Bedard said of the second year free agent from Cal-Poly. … Bettors weren’t biting their fingernails wondering if the fifth game of the Knicks-Spurs series would go over or under 216.5 points. The final score was 94-90. … Tuesday in Truist Park, Braves catcher Drake “Rake” Baldwin hit MLB’s longest home run of the season thus far, a 473-foot blast over the center field fence. Someone on YouTube suggested Willie Mays would’ve caught it had it been hit at the Polo Grounds where the distance to straightaway center was 483 feet. … Happy Father’s Day to my son Mat for helping Annie raise my beautiful granddaughter Jules, and to my son-in-law Corey Greene for helping my daughter April raise my handsome grandsons Chase and Carter. It’s not easy and it’s not cheap, as Steve Martin said: “A father carries pictures where his money used to be.”
Chip Ainsworth is an award-winning columnist who has penned his observations about sports for decades in the Pioneer Valley. He can be reached at chipjet715@gmail.com.