Going into the season, there was a case to be made that the top three softball pitchers in the entire MIAA Division 5 field resided in Franklin County.

That would Greenfield’s MacKenzie Paulin, Turners Falls’ Madi Liimatainen and Franklin Tech’s Hannah Gilbert. 

Before the state tourney begins, all three juniors will have a chance to show their skills on Wednesday, as the Green Wave, Thunder and Eagles are all vying for Western Mass. championships at Westfield State University. 

Top-seeded Turners Falls will get the day going, taking on No. 2 Lee in the Class D final at 3 p.m. Following that contest, No. 1 Greenfield will battle No. 2 Franklin Tech for the Class C title, with first pitch scheduled for 5 p.m. 

For two schools located just one town apart, the Green Wave and Eagles have not played many games against each other the last few years. 

Wednesday’s Class C championship game will be just the third meeting between the two squads in the last three years, with Tech looking to find a way to get a win against the defending back-to-back state champs. 

To do that, the Eagles will have to solve Paulin. 

Greenfield (19-1) and Tech (18-2) met in the Class C semifinals last year, with Paulin striking out 20, allowing one hit and not giving up a run as the Green Wave advanced with a 10-0 victory. Greenfield went on to win the Class C title and eventually the state crown.

Paulin had similar success when the two teams faced off earlier this month, striking out 19 and allowing one hit to propel Greenfield to a 1-0 victory.

So far in the Western Mass. tournament, Paulin has been dominant. Against Westfield Tech in the quarters, the junior struck out 14, scattered two hits and didn’t give up a run as Greenfield cruised to a 12-0 win. On Saturday against McCann Tech, Paulin threw a no-hitter and struck out 16 to lead the Green Wave to the finals with a 6-0 semifinal triumph. Paulin has certainly played a huge role in Greenfield winning the last two Class C finals. 

Gilbert was also quite impressive in the regular season game this year against Greenfield, only giving up two hits while striking out eight. In the Class C quarterfinals against Lenox, Gilbert struck out 16 and scattered just one hit to allow the Eagles to move on. In the semis against Drury, the junior struck out eight and gave up just two runs as the Eagles cruised into the finals with a 20-2 victory. 

With the two aces in the circle, expect a low-scoring affair on Wednesday. Hits and base runners will not easy to come by. 

“We know it comes down to whoever gets to the other pitcher the most, playing clean defense, that team's going to win,” Green Wave coach Ray Dodge said after Saturday’s semifinal win over McCann Tech. “Both pitchers are going to show up. You've got to take advantage of every chance.”

While they played a 1-0 game earlier in the month, both Greenfield and Franklin Tech have offenses capable of putting up runs in a hurry. 

Anna Bucala, Ainslee Flynn, Gloria McDonald, Carly Blanchard, Ellis Benitez and Ivy Rae join Paulin as returners from last year’s state championship team, giving the Green Wave a plethora of tough hitters to face. On the season Greenfield is averaging 7.7 runs per game, though it has gone over 10 runs just once in its last 11 games. 

Kait Trudeau, Lilly Ross, Kylee Gamache, Cordelia Guerin, Kyra Goodell and Gianna DiSciullo were key contributors for Tech the last two years, and the Eagles are putting up 11.9 runs per game this year. The only two games Franklin Tech failed to score a run came in a pair of 1-0 losses to Greenfield and Turners. 

“Hopefully we continue to hit,” Eagles coach Joe Gamache said after the win over Drury. “It’s the postseason and we have to string some stuff together.” 

Elsewhere, no softball program has more Western Mass. titles than Turners, which is looking to add a 24th sectional championship when it takes on Lee in the first game of the doubleheader on Wednesday. 

Since 2000, Gary Mullins’ squad has failed to win a Western Mass. title just three times (2003, 2013, 2022), and took home the title last year against Hopkins Academy. 

The Thunder opened the season on fire, winning their first nine games. Back-to-back losses to Greenfield and a defeat to Mount Greylock slowed the momentum midseason, but Turners recovered to win six of its last eight games, its only losses coming to Hampshire — which is playing in the Class B championship game Thursday — and Wachusett, which at the time was the top ranked team in the MIAA Div. 1 power rankings. 

Liimatainen has been dominant in the circle during the Thunder’s Western Mass. title-game run. 

Top-seeded Turners faced a scare against Mount Everett in the quarterfinals, as the Thunder bats could not get going against the Eagles. Liimatainen bailed them out, throwing a no-hitter and striking out 15 as Turners survived, 1-0. 

The Thunder bats got going against Hopkins in the semis while Liimatainen struck out 14 and scattered just two hits as Turners reached the finals with a 5-0 triumph. 

With Liimatainen in the circle, the Thunder don’t need many runs to win games. Top of the lineup hitters like Mia Marigliano, Holly Myers, Madisyn Dietz and Janelle Massey are experienced bats Turners will be relying on moving forward. The Thunder are averaging 7.1 runs per game this season. 

“It’s nice getting to another Western Mass. final,” Mullins said following the win over Hopkins. “We’ve been trying and working hard. The kids have been putting in extra time hitting. Before and after practices the kids have been putting extra work in and it showed up today. We made good contact.” 

Lee enters Wednesday’s title game with a 16-2 record on the season. The Wildcats reached the title game thanks to a 2-0 victory over No. 7 Gateway in the quarters and a 4-2 victory over No. 3 Hoosac Valley in the semifinals. 

Lee is the No. 11 ranked team in the MIAA Div. 5 power rankings and holds a 138-39 run advantage over its opponents. The Wildcats have held their opponent scoreless nine times this season and enter Wednesday on an 11-game win streak.