WESTHAMPTON — As is always the case when western Massachusetts heavyweights Hampshire Regional and Greenfield meet on the softball diamond, high-level pitching was on display Monday afternoon. The Green Wave rely on senior MacKenzie Paulin, a Merrimack commit, while the Raiders typically give the ball to sophomore Ryanne Dubay, who will have her fair share of college offers when the time comes.

It’s a matter of which team can get on the board first, and which defense can make the plays when their star pitcher doesn’t record a strikeout.

Hampshire proved to do the better job of both on Monday, as the Raiders used small ball and heads-up base running to put pressure on the Greenfield fielders – leading to a 4-0 victory on their home field to remain undefeated (5-0).

Three of Hampshire’s four runs were charged as unearned to Paulin. She struck out 10 Hampshire hitters and surrendered only four hits, but the Raiders capitalized on a handful of defensive miscues to bring runs to the plate.

“You have to [play small ball] against a pitcher like [Paulin],” Hampshire head coach Brian McGan said. “She’s not going to give up many hits. She’s going to get her 10-12 strikeouts, and she’s not going to walk a whole lot. You have to try to put it in play when you can, and if she makes a mistake you have to take advantage of it because there aren’t many of them. Everybody’s not perfect, but she’s probably going to be one of the best pitchers we see.”

On the other side, Dubay was equally as precise. She fanned eight Greenfield hitters, walked only two and coughed up four hits – all coming in the first four innings. Dubay got stronger as the game progressed, and Hampshire didn’t make an error behind her. The Green Wave’s best chance came in the top half of the first, as Olivia Lemay singled before Paulin ripped a double to put runners on second and third with one out.

Two strikeouts followed, and Dubay settled in from that point on. Her offense picked up one run in the second, one in the third and two in the fourth to give Hampshire a comfortable cushion.

“Ryanne’s been hitting her spots,” McGan said. “She’s been moving the ball around quite a bit and she has a lot of confidence with those kids behind her. Lately we’ve been playing pretty well. We all know this game changes pretty quick, so we take advantage the way we can. We scratched a few runs the way we had to, and the defense is sharp. I don’t want to say anything to jinx them.”

Greenfield plays in the Franklin County League West, while Hampshire competes in the Valley League. The two programs, thanks to McGan and Green Wave head coach Ray Dodge, schedule two games against each other every year – a rarity for independent matchups. But in their respective leagues and divisions (Hampshire D4, Greenfield D5), these teams are as good as it gets, so both coaches want to play against one another as not only a postseason tune-up, but to expose weaknesses that they need to work on.

The Green Wave have won two of the last three Division 5 state championships, and the Raiders have knocked on the door of a Division 4 title ever since the new statewide format – most notably losing in the 2023 finals to top-seeded Joseph Case. These are two of the most competitive teams around, with two of the most dominant pitchers, and they bring the best out in each other every meeting.

“It’s always a good barometer as to where we are, and where they are,” Dodge said. “I always look forward to playing these guys. These are the kind of teams we’re always going to see. If we can’t compete and fight to the end with them now, then how do we expect to do that with the teams we face in the playoffs?… We have to work on our defense, and hope our bats warm up with the weather.”

McGan had similar comments on the matchup with Greenfield.

“It’s always good,” he said. “We’re thinking ahead to the tournament, and you want to play the best teams you can as you go. It just prepares you mentally and physically, and more mentally as you prove to yourself you can put the ball in play and do good things against a program like that. We always know Greenfield is a good team, so we try to test ourselves as much as we can.”

After a scoreless first inning, Hampshire got on the board in the bottom of the second. Lucy Trombley singled, stole second and eventually scored on a Caroline Payson ground ball – which was misplayed by Greenfield. The Raiders added another run in the third, with CC Thayer stealing second following a walk before Reagan Dubay launched a fly ball to left field that the Green Wave couldn’t come up with. Hampshire led 2-0 through three frames.

In the fourth, Mariah Pacinella earned her way on board and stole second. Rachel Hickox grounded a ball to third and the throw from Greenfield’s Olivia Lemay wasn’t handled at first. Pacinella came around to score. Hickox later moved around to third and Kalin Dubay bunted her in to round out Monday’s scoring.

“We’re going to work on it, and we’ll get better,” Dodge said of his defense. “It’s early in the season, and it’s how you finish not how you start. By the end of the year, we’ll be much more solid behind [Paulin].”

Greenfield (3-2) is right back at it on Tuesday, hosting Wahconah at 4 p.m. while Hampshire (5-0) travels to the Berkshires on Wednesday for a 4 p.m. game with Pittsfield.