After nearly blowing a five-run lead in the bottom of the seventh inning, it was only fitting that Turners Falls escaped with a play at the plate to secure at 6-5 Hampshire League baseball victory at Mahar Regional School Tuesday in Orange.
Trailing 6-3 in the bottom of the final frame with two outs and the bases loaded, Senator senior Matt Herk hit a double to deep center that looked like it could clear the bases. Turners’ center fielder Quinn Doyle got the relay throw into sophomore shortstop Kyle Dodge, who then fired home to get Mahar’s Miller Richardson out at the plate to preserve the victory.
Turners took a 6-1 lead into the final frame after starting pitcher Tyler Lavin allowed just one run through six innings. After getting the first batter out, he walked the next hitter and coach Scott Minckler relieved Lavin in favor of Mike Babcock.
Babcock allowed four hits in the seventh, three of which didn’t leave the infield.
“(Lavin’s) pitch count was getting close to 90 and he pitched well enough to go out there, but if he allowed a baserunner we were going to [Babcock],” Minkler said. “(Lavin) pitched great today.”
Lavin went 6⅓ innings, allowing just two runs (one earned) on five hits while striking out four to earn the win.
Tionne Brown led Turners with three hits, while scoring two runs in the triumph. Kyle Bergman added a pair of runs batted in as Turners finished the day with 10 hits, all singles.
“We’re not a power-hitting team,” Minkler said. “But I’m totally OK with just chipping away to get runs.”
“We hit the ball hard today,” he added. “We only had three hits on Friday, but the kids came out swinging.”
Turners rallied for three runs in the fifth inning to extend its lead to 5-1. The two teams had exchanged runs in the fourth where Mahar scored its first run of afternoon.
Senator junior starting pitcher Tyreece Younger was given the loss after allowing five runs (four earned) through six innings while striking out four and walking one. Zach Dugley came in to pitch the seventh and allowed one earned run on two hits.
Turners will travel to Easthampton Thursday afternoon, with Doyle getting his second start of the season. Mahar hosts South Hadley Thursday at 4 p.m.
“It feels great to be 2-0,” Minkler said. “We have momentum and confidence. Eastampton is always tough, but I’m confident every time [Doyle] is on the mound.
Athol 6, Frontier 5 — Gage Wood drove in freshman Nick Bousquet on a single to center field in the bottom of the seventh inning and Athol High School scored a big season-opening win with a 6-5 victory over Frontier Regional School Tuesday afternoon in Athol.
The teams went into the seventh tied at 5-5. Bousquet led off the bottom of the seventh with a ground ball to short that Frontier shortstop Seth Gewanter threw high, allowing Bousquet to get to second. Gage Wood (three hits, two RBIs) followed with a hit to center. Frontier center fielder Kyle Spencer threw home on the play but the ball was just off-line and Frontier catcher Dalton DeForest tried to dive back to home but was unable to apply a tag on Bousquet, who scored the game-winner.
“Obviously, Frontier is one of the most well-respected teams around and we are just trying to make a name for ourselves right now,” Athol coach Josh Talbot said. “We were uncertain what we had, but we were confident coming into the season.”
Athol scored four times in the third but Frontier came back with one in the fourth and four in the fifth to take a 5-4 lead. Athol tied the game in the bottom of the fifth.
Gage Wood sparked the Athol offense. After starting off the day with back-to-back outs at the plate, Wood had three straight hits, including a double, and also drove in two runs. Kris Selanis added two hits, and Robbie Nelson tripled and drove in two runs.
Bryce Jordan doubled and drove in two runs for Frontier, Ben Arnold had two hits, and Kiernan Freeman doubled. Merrick Decker pitched three innings of relief in the win. Bousquet struck out four in three innings, and Wood walked four in one inning of relief. Spencer suffered the loss.
Smith Academy 2, Greenfield 1 — Smith Academy edged Greenfield High School, 2-1, Tuesday afternoon in Hatfield in a pitchers’ duel between Falcons starter Liam Pitrat and the Green Wave’s Tyler Miner.
Pitrat went 6⅔ innings, striking out six while walking one in the winning effort. Colin Ferarra then struck out the only batter he faced to secure the victory. Miner went five innings, striking out three and walking two in defeat.
Ferarra walked in the first inning and stole second before junior Matt Bouley rescued him from second with a single to take a 1-0 lead.
Greenfield (1-1) tied the game at ones after Hunter Campbell scored, courtesy of an errant throw back to the pitcher from the Falcons’ catcher. In total, Smith Academy (1-1) totaled five errors but limited the damage to the lone Green Wave run.
Campbell singled in the fourth and advanced to third on a hit from Joel Peabody to set up Greenfield’s only run.
The Falcons broke the tie in the bottom of the fifth when Ferarra hit a double to left-center to score eighth-grader Michael Basset, who walked with one out in the inning.
“We had some opportunities now and then but we didn’t take advantage,” Green Wave coach Tom Suchanek said. “We’ve got stuff to work on.”
South Hadley 9, Mohawk 6 — South Hadley’s bats came alive Tuesday afternoon as the Tigers topped Mohawk Trail Regional, 9-6, in a Hampshire League contest at Veterans Memorial Field in Greenfield.
Evan Levrault got the season starter on the right note and led South Hadley (1-0 overall, 1-0 Hampshire League) with three runs batted in while going 2-3 with a double.
Warriors’ starter Torsten Sloan-Anderson struggled in their opener, as he lasted only 3-plus innings, allowing seven runs on five hits while striking out five and walking four. The Tigers did most of their damage in that fourth inning, where they scored six runs.
Adam Hallenbeck led Mohawk (0-1 overall, 0-1 HL) with three RBI’s with a pair of singles and a run scored. Juniors Luke Viens and Brian Allen each drove home a run in defeat.
Much like South Hadley, the Warriors also did most of their damage in the fourth. Mohawk rallied for five runs in the bottom of the frame, chasing Tigers’ starter Nehemiah Wilson, who lasted 3⅔ innings allowing six runs on five hits.
Ryan Mooney was lights out in relief for South Hadley, allowing just one hit through 3⅓ innings, striking out three and walking just one while keeping Mohawk off the scoreboard.
Seniors Bruin Pratt and Seth Donovan combined for four innings in relief for the Warriors, as the duo allowed two runs on four hits.
Mohawk struggled in the field defensively, surrendering five errors in defeat.
The Warriors will host Belchertown Thursday afternoon at 3:30 p.m., while South Hadley visits Mahar Thursday at 4 p.m.
Hopkins 9, Pioneer 3 — Behind University of Rhode Island-bound pitcher Jon Morrison, Hopkins Academy opened its season with a 9-3 HL win over Pioneer in a Tuesday afternoon contest in Northfield.
Morrison pitched six innings of three-run baseball, striking out 13 while walking four in the winning performance. Senior Trevor Fil pitched a scoreless bottom of the seventh for Golden Hawks (1-0 overall, 1-0 Hampshire League).
Panthers starting pitcher Elliot Mousseau lasted four innings, striking out five and walking one in defeat.
Hopkins scored a pair of runs in the first, third and fourth innings, while also adding and additional three in the fifth. Fil and Morrison each drove home a pair for the Golden Hawks.
Jared Ackerman, Nate Comiskey and Jordan Loughman all drove in runs as Pioneer scored single runs in the second, third and fourth inning.
“Nice to see all the parents and kids. It was fun and my guys played really well,” Panthers coach Jordan Branson said. “We made a couple mistakes but there was a time early in the game when it was close. ”
For Hopkins, Thea Hanscom went 1-1 with a pinch-hit single in her varsity debut.
McCann Tech 10, FC Tech 0 — Two pitchers combined to hold Franklin County Technical School to just three hits on Tuesday, as the host Eagles began their Tri-County League baseball campaign with a 10-0 loss to visiting McCann Technical School.
The tandem of Caleb Rondeau and Mason Field struck out 11 Tech batters over seven innings, as the Eagles managed just three hits.
“Early in the season, first time on the field, I thought we battled,” explained Tech coach Brian Winslow. “I think we’ll get better every game though.”
Tech (0-1, 0-1 TCL) received singles from Caileb Milton, Travis Cutting and Nate Pelletier, while the trio of Seth Aldrich, Hunter Sessions and Tim Fritz combined to strike out five batters on the mound.
“Three pitchers with their first-ever varsity experience,” said Winslow. “We need to cut down on walks but, defensively, we can’t commit five errors.”
McCann led 3-0 in the top of the sixth before tacking on three runs in the sixth and four in the seventh to put things out of reach.
Tech is back in action on Thursday when it travels to Westfield Technical Academy.
Mohawk 14, Drury 7 — Searching for confidence and a settling moment in its season-opener, Mohawk Trail Regional High School turned to its offense on Tuesday.
The host Warriors exploded for six runs in the third inning, erasing a 5-3 deficit and clubbing their way to a 14-7 victory over Drury High School in an independent softball game Tuesday in Buckland.
“Up until that point (in the third inning), there were a lot of nerves out there,” admitted Mohawk co-head coach Katelyn Gaffigan. “We’ve worked on our hitting a lot so far this season and it really showed. After we started hitting the ball (in the third), people got confident and it took off from there.”
Trailing 5-3, Ashley Walker led off the third with a solo home run to kick off an offensive barrage. Ashley Reynolds and Caitlin Johnston reached, while Morgan Roccio singled and was followed by an RBI single from Hayley Lowell. Senior Rebecca Scranton eventually came through with a huge RBI triple, as Mohawk took a 9-5 lead it would not relinquish.
The offense was complemented by the work of junior Lydia Donahue, who came on in relief to pitch the final five innings. Donahue earned the victory in the circle, striking out four and walking just two. Mohawk tacked on two more runs in the fourth and three in the sixth to pull away for the win.
Reynolds and Walker finished with three hits apiece, while Roccio, Mackenzie Mayhew and Emma Reid had two hits each. Scranton drove in three runs while Reynolds and Roccio registered two RBI each.
Mohawk is back in action again on Thursday when Hopkins Academy comes to Buckland for a 5:30 varsity start.
Quabbin 4, Mahar 2 — A pair of Mahar Regional School errors led to a three-run bottom of the sixth inning Quabbin Regional High School, and the Panthers were able to secure a 4-2 independent softball victory as a result on Tuesday in Orange.
Mahar (1-1) led 2-1 in the bottom of the sixth against Quabbin, which played in Orange but served as the home team. The Panthers took advantage of a pair of miscues, and Meghan Welch came through with a go-ahead, two-run single after her team had already tied the game to make it a 4-2 contest. Pitcher Mackenzie Kegans made the lead hold up by retiring the Senators in the top of the seventh.
“I’m proud of the kids,” said Mahar head coach Jerry Duguay. “For a young team, they played well. We just had that little collapse with a couple errors there in the sixth, but that can happen to anybody. We’ll clean it up and get better.”
Mahar took a 2-0 lead in the top of the fourth thanks to RBI singles from Jazmyn Vautour and Megan Rich. The knocks plated Skylar Dodge (2 hits) and Sarah Graeff.
Rich had a big outing for the Senators, as she was a perfect 3-for-3 at the plate in addition to a strong effort in the pitching circle. The freshman went the distance, striking out five and not issuing a walk.
“That’s a lot of pressure on a freshman pitcher and she continues to perform well,” Duguay said of Rich.
The Senators are off until April 18 when they open Franklin County League play with a game against Hopkins Academy.
FC Tech 23, Westfield Tech 2 (5) — Ashlee Townsley had four hits, including a triple, and drove in six runs as Franklin County Technical School’s offense came to life during a 23-2 mercy-rule-shortened win over Westfield Technical Academy in a Tri-County League softball game in Westfield.
One day after the Eagles were one-hit in a 13-1 loss to Hopkins Academy, the bats found life and the Eagles put together a 21-hit attack.
“We decided that we were going to attack the ball today,” Franklin Tech coach Amber Crochier said after picking up her first career varsity softball victory. “We were much more aggressive today. And once we got runners on, we took off from there.”
Franklin Tech scored once in the top of the first inning, but the Tigers came back with two in the bottom of the frame as Leilani Marsh hit a two-run double. That lead did not last long. The Eagles plated six runs in the second and blew things open with 11 runs in the fourth.
Shayla Demers had three hits, including a double, and three RBIs, and Rachel Shearer had three hits, including a double, and four RBIs. Brooke Adams finished with three hits and two RBIs, and Hailey Larned had two hits and two RBIs.
Shearer earned the win, striking out six and allowing four hits and two walks. Hannah Massoni struck out two and walked nine in the loss.
Franklin Tech plays its third game in three days today when it hosts Greenfield High School at 3:30.