GREENFIELD — Runs were hard to come by in Wednesday’s softball contest between Hampshire and Greenfield.

That shouldn’t have come as a surprise with Joss Mettey tossing for the Raiders and MacKenzie Paulin in the circle for the Green Wave. Mettey allowed just six hits and struck out 14 while Paulin recorded seven strikeouts and allowed a mere six hits.

It was Hampshire that capitalized on a pair of mistakes in the fourth and fifth innings to take a 4-0 lead going into the sixth. Greenfield rallied late but was unable to even the score, with the Raiders walking away with a 4-1 independent victory at Vets Field.

“You try to put pressure on the other team and see what happens,” Hampshire coach Brian McGan said. “They did it to us and sometimes we made plays and sometimes we didn’t. These games like this are always great to play. I tell my kids all the time that practice is work and is hard. Games are fun. When you play a quality team like this it’s even more fun.”

While a disappointing loss for the Green Wave, Greenfield coach John Hickey was quick to remind his team that they dropped an early season contest to Hampshire last year but went on to win the Div. 5 state championship.

Playing a tough independent schedule is something both the Green Wave and the Raiders strive to do, with these early season showdowns paying dividends down the road.

“We schedule tough independents for a reason,” Hickey said. “We play a tough regular season to get ready for postseason play. Hampshire is a great team. They have great pitching and hit the ball one-through-nine. This was a great test.”

After three scoreless innings to open things up, Hampshire put the first run on the board in the top of the fourth. 

CC Thayer drew a walk and Teaghan Charles reached on an error, putting runners on first and second for Raegan Dubay, who knocked a single to center field. Thayer scored on the play while Charles ran to third. The Green Wave got the ball in and tried to throw Charles out at third, but the throw was offline which allowed Charles to run home and give the Raiders the opening two runs of the contest. 

Hampshire added to its lead in the fifth. Hailey Wodecki opened the inning with a base hit, and after Paulin drew consecutive flyouts, Charles blasted a single to put runners on first and second. Dubay came up and grounded to second, but the throw to first went out of play, allowing Wodecki to come home to make it a 3-0 game. 

Emma Czarniecki came to the plate and dinged a single to score Charles from third and give Hampshire a four-run cushion heading into the bottom of the fifth. 

With a large group of the roster graduated from last year, McGan was relying on inexperienced players to open the season. So far, they are showing they’re more than ready to play at the varsity level. Hampshire blanked Minnechaug 15-0 on Monday to open the season.

“Last year we lost six or seven kids,” McGan said. “We weren’t sure what was going to happen. We have three eighth graders playing and we weren’t sure what we’d get out of them going against a pitcher of this quality. I was proud of the way they hung in there. If you put things in play good things can happen. It was a great test and good to see what they can do.” 

Greenfield got its bats going in the bottom of the sixth. Ainslee Flynn got things started by blasting a hit off the wall in center for a double. Flynn then stole third and made it home on a passed ball to put the Green Wave on the board and cut into the Hampshire lead. 

Flynn could have saved some energy stealing the bases as Paulin came up on the ensuing at bat and smacked a ball that hit off nearly the same spot on the wall as Flynn’s, putting her on second base with no outs.

Mettey locked in from there, striking out the next three batters she faced to end the inning without any more damage done. 

“Joss pitched great,” McGan said. “The two balls they hit off the fence were elevated. I called time and told her she can’t live up there. They have some good hitters and they’ll jump on it. Once she got back downstairs she made it a little tougher. The changeup was good. As far as the later innings she might have been a little tired because she hasn’t been out there as much. Once you start elevating bad things happen. She pitched very well.” 

The Green Wave threatened again in the seventh. Brielle Widelo got on with a single, but was thrown out at second on a fielder’s choice off the bat of Ellis Benitez. Carly Blanchard drew a walk to put runners on first and second for Flynn, but Raiders eighth grader Ryanne Dubay made a diving catch on a foul ball on the first base line to seal the win for Hampshire. 

“It was a couple plays here or there,” Hickey said. “We should have made them but we didn’t. That’s how the ball bounces. It’s coming together. We’ll be fine. I’m not worried. MacKenzie is pitching good enough for us to win games.” 

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