GREENFIELD — One run was all that separated Turners Falls and Greenfield high schools Tuesday night as the Green Wave bested their rival 1-0 in a Franklin County League softball battle.
“I really had confidence in these girls today, they’ve been hitting the ball well all season,” Greenfield coach Rian Lovett said. “It’s just such a nice feeling to come out on top in a game like this because, for years, it’s fallen the other way, and we finally won.”
“We couldn’t catch a break today,” Turner Falls coach Gary Mullins said. “I thought we pitched well, hit the ball well. … This game can be very tough sometimes.”
Junior pitcher Olivia Joy tossed a complete game for Greenfield, striking out five while giving up five hits and four walks in the win.
“Last time we played them, it was not a good game, and to have this redemption on our home field was just really nice,” a euphoric Joy exclaimed.
For the ladies from Powertown, freshman Jade Tyler tossed five innings, striking out eight while giving up two hits, a walk and a run. Senior Peyton Emery closed the game, giving up a walk in her inning of work.
Greenfield’s pair of hits came in back-to-back at-bats in the bottom of the first, as a double from junior shortstop Audrey Bresciano became the sole run of the evening off of an RBI single by junior shortstop Sam Smith.
After the run, Tyler seemed to double down for Turners Fall, striking out six of the next eight batters she faced and giving up just a walk in her final four innings. The only other Powertown batter to reach base was freshman outfielder Hanna Marchefka, on an error by sophomore second baseman Eliza Johnson.
Turners Falls’ best chance to score came in the top of the sixth, when freshman outfielder Olivia Whittier hit a two out single to shallow left center, followed by a single to left by sophomore catcher Aly Murphy, her second of the game. Freshman left fielder Gianna Conte fielded the ball but overthrew her cutoff, allowing Whittier and Murphy to advance into scoring position.
A walk by Emery in the next at-bat loaded the bases, but Joy stifled the comeback effort by striking out senior outfielder Sienna Dillensneider.
The Powertown squad had one more chance in the top of the seventh, as Johnson made it on base by way of a fielder’s choice and junior shortstop Cassidhe Wozniak singled to put her in scoring position. But Joy was able to strike out freshman first baseman Taylor Murphy to seal the deal for the home team.
Going forward, both Greenfield (4-1 overall, 1-0 League) and Turners Falls (4-1, 1-1) know they will face more challenges as they fight for the league title.
“We’ve got to take it one game at a time,” Lovett said. “We had some fall down last year after this win (over Turners Falls), so I think we really got to buckle down and go game by game and see where it takes us. But I’ve got the upmost confidence in these girls.”
Lovett praised Joy’s “stellar” mound performance, as did Smith, and credited it to her hard work and how much she wanted the win.
“I think we’re just going to get better,” Mullins said of his Turners Falls team, noting its strong offense and, in particular, the pitching core of Tyler and Emery.
“(Mullins) wants us to win, he wants us to have fun most of all. We’re just going to work on what we need to,” Tyler said. “We want to beat everyone else.”
Both teams return to action Thursday when Turners Falls looks to return to their winning ways, playing host to Frontier Regional School. Greenfield travels to Athol High School.