It was a good weekend for Greenfield Post 81 as it swept an independent American Legion Baseball doubleheader with previously unbeaten Brattleboro Post 5 Saturday at Brattleboro (Vt.) High School.
Post 81 opened with a 12-0 victory and then earned a 6-3 win in the nightcap to complete the sweep.
In the opener, Noah Barnes and Kyle Hubbard combined on a one-hit shutout. Barnes pitched the first three innings, striking out four and walking one, and, on a strict pitch count, departed with a no-hitter. Hubbard came on and struck out three and walked one, and allowed the only hit of the game in the sixth inning when Thomas Carroll led off with a single.
That was all Post 5 could muster and Greenfield gave its two pitchers plenty of run support. Tionne Brown had three hits, including a double and an RBI, and also scored three times. Zach Mooney singled, doubled and drove in a pair of runs, and Gavan Rice had two hits and two RBIs. Torston Sloan Anderson had two hits and one RBI while Seth Gewanter, Trevor Mankowsky and Hubbard each added one hit and one RBI.
“We came out strong, and we really fed off of our pitchers,” Post 81 coach Tim Capuano said. “Our pitchers were working quickly, getting quick outs, and we really kept our defense off the field.”
• In the nightcap, Greenfield scored five times in the first inning to build an early lead and held on for the 6-3 win.
Post 81 used five hits in the first inning to score the five runs. Nate Crocker led off by getting hit by a pitch, then Mooney followed by roping an RBI double. Tyler Charboneau singled to put runners on the corners, and Mooney scored on a wild pitch. Rice then drove in Charboneau with a single. Later in the inning, after Sloan Anderson singled, and Mankowsky reached on an error, Barnes smacked a two-run single to complete the scoring.
Greenfield added one more run in the second inning and that was enough for Charboneau and Rice, who combined for the win. Charboneau worked the first five innings to earn the victory, striking out four and walking one. Rice came on and struck out one in two innings to earn the save.
Mooney finished with four hits for Greenfield and Rice added a pair.
“It was our second doubleheader in two Saturdays and both were on very hot days in the bright sun,” Capuano concluded. “(After splitting the doubleheader last week), we finished this one off. I put the pressure on the guys to stay focused and they fought until the end and took a lot of pride in finishing that second game out. To borrow a quote from (Red Sox manager) John Farrell, ‘These were good character wins for us.’”
Next up for Post 81 (8-3) is a date Tuesday evening at Arcanum Field in Florence, where it’ll take on Northampton Post 28 at 5:45.
Greenfield 15, Agawam 0 (5)
Greenfield 2, Longmeadow 1 — Tyler Townsley and Tyler Miner combined on a one-hit shutout as Greenfield Post 81 defeated Agawam, 15-0, in a five-inning, American Legion Baseball Junior Division game Sunday evening in Agawam.
Greenfield edged Longmeadow, 2-1, on Saturday and the two wins moved Post 81 to 10-0 on the season.
“Once again, we have a stacked team,” Greenfield manager Kyle Phelps said. “We are tough one through 18 on our roster. Even when we sub, our subs are doing just as well as our starters. It’s a great team to coach. We have a lot of depth this year.”
Townsley worked four innings, allowing one hit and striking out a batter to earn the win, while Miner struck out two in one inning of relief. Adam Hallenbeck and Ben Arnold each had three hits and three RBIs for Greenfield, while Alec Jordan and Eliot Mousseau each had three hits and two RBIs. Hunter Campbell added a triple.
Greenfield hosts Ludlow tonight at Veterans Memorial Field in Greenfield at 7, then plays a pair of tough teams — second-place Wilbraham (Tuesday night at 7:15 at Spec Pond in Wilbraham), and independent foe Pittsfield (Wednesday at Vets at 7).
• On Saturday night at Vets Field in Greenfield, Josh Obuchowski took a no-hitter into the seventh inning as Post 81 defeated Longmeadow, 2-1.
Obuchowski settled for a two-hitter in the win after giving up a run in the seventh. He also got a strikeout with the game-tying run on third.
William Echeverria pitched a two-hitter in the loss.
The game remained hitless until the fifth inning when Colin Cloutier singled with two outs. Post 81 finally broke through in the sixth inning for both of its runs. Mousseau started things off with a walk, stole second and went to third on a passed ball, and Townsley walked and stole second. Hallenbeck delivered both with his two-run single.