WESTFIELD — MacKenzie Paulin and the Greenfield softball team have that championship glow.
The freshman hurler dazzled in the circle during Wednesday’s Western Mass. Class C championship game at Westfield State University. Paulin scattered four hits in seven innings, struck out seven and walked just two as the top-seeded Green Wave put together an impressive 7-0 victory over No. 3 Franklin Tech in an all-Franklin County sectional final.
Paulin was named the Gary Stacy Most Valuable Player, as she also went 3-for-4 at the plate with a double and two RBIs.
“I think that was definitely one of the best games we’ve played this season,” said Paulin, who didn’t allow a Franklin Tech runner to reach third base all afternoon. “We hit the ball really well and our defense was phenomenal.”
It all started with Paulin in the circle. She was able to quell a very good Eagles offense on the biggest stage.
“She was awesome,” Greenfield coach John Hickey lauded. “She was in command of her pitches, had great poise out there.”
Franklin Tech coach Joe Gamache is no stranger to watching Paulin pitch. He coaches her travel team, the Valley Storm, and has watched her rapid development into a dominant varsity pitcher.
“She’s one of the hardest working kids I’ve ever been around,” Gamache said. “She puts a lot of time and effort into her craft. She kept us off balance all day. We’ve been a solid hitting team this season and she kept us at bay.”
While Paulin was dealing in the circle, the Greenfield offense more than held up its end of the bargain. Kaitlin Lavoine doubled to lead off the bottom of the first inning and scored on a Paulin ground out for the game’s first run. Kelsey Richardson followed with a booming triple off the right field fence, and scored when Rachel Dodge smacked a double into the gap to make it 2-0.
From there, it was an unrelenting Green Wave offense that pushed across at least one run in each of the first five innings. Ellis Benitez, who had two hits out of the No. 9 spot in the Greenfield lineup, made it 3-0 with an RBI single in the second inning, and Paulin singled and scored on a wild pitch in the third for a 4-0 cushion.
Greenfield (15-6) broke the game open with two more runs in the fourth. Amber Bergeron singled and Benitez doubled to open the frame. Lavoine roped a sacrifice fly to right field to drive in Bergeron, and Benitez scored on an RBI double from Paulin to give the top-seeded Wave a 6-0 advantage.
Ainslee Flynn tripled in the fifth and scored on an error to account for the game’s final score. Eight of the nine starters in the Greenfield lineup had at least one hit in the team’s 12-hit performance.
“Between our offense and the way our defense played behind Kenzie, I couldn’t ask for much better from our kids today,” Hickey said.
It was a particularly satisfying result for returning members of the Green Wave. The club lost a heartbreaker to Hampshire Regional in last year’s Western Mass. final, and redemption was on the minds of many in the Greenfield dugout at Westfield State.
“I’m so happy for our seniors,” began Hickey, who also won his first-ever Western Mass. championship as a coach in any sport. “They missed a whole year because of COVID, then came so close last year with how that game ended… their hard work definitely paid off. They deserved this.”
Kendra Campbell put together an impressive all-around game to lead the Eagles (18-3) on Wednesday. The junior made several outstanding grabs in center field, and also registered a 2-for-3 day at the plate. Kylee Gamache and Lauren Ross had the other Franklin Tech hits. Ross struck out two and walked just one in a complete-game outing in the circle for the Eagles.
It was the program’s first-ever Western Mass. championship game appearance, an accomplishment Gamache said he doesn’t take for granted.
“There are a lot of positives to be taken out of here,” he explained. “This is unchartered territory for our program, and really it’s new for our school as a whole. We’re trending in the right direction, and hopefully everyone feeds off that as we continue to move forward and play these types of meaningful softball games.”
If seeds hold in the upcoming MIAA Division 5 state tournament, these two teams could see each other again in the state semifinals in a few weeks.
Greenfield learned it drew the No. 1 seed in the Div. 5 field during the sectional final on Wednesday, while Franklin Tech is the No. 4 seed in the draw.
“I feel like if we keep playing the way we have been, we’re going to be a tough team to beat in the state tournament,” Paulin said. “But we’re the top seed so we know there’s going to be a target on our back. We can’t get too high going into it.”
Before the state tournament begins, Franklin Tech will first play for the State Vocational championship on Saturday against Bristol County Aggie, a title game set for noon in Turners Falls.
“Obviously it’s a situation where we have to have a short memory,” Gamache said. “We get to play for a state vocational title on our home field this weekend, and that’s an exciting thing for our school and program. Then we’ll turn our attention to the state tournament so there are a lot of big things ahead for us now.”