It’s been a dominant postseason in the circle for Greenfield’s MacKenzie Paulin. 

In seven postseason games spanning from the beginning of the Western Mass. tournament to Tuesday’s MIAA Div. 5 semifinal against Tahanto, Paulin has surrendered a total of seven runs, with three shutouts along the way. 

The sophomore hit the 400 strikeout mark in the final game of the regular season against Mount Greylock, where she struck out six batters to enter the postseason with 405 career punchouts. To reach the 500 K mark before her junior season, she was going to have to light it up in the tournament and the Green Wave needed to go on a deep run. 

Both of those have come true. Greenfield won the Western Mass. Class C title with Paulin allowing six total hits and striking out an astonishing 52 batters in three games. 

Paulin then allowed just one hit each against Holbrook, Georgetown and Drury in the Div. 5 state tournament, striking out 33 along the way to put her at 490 career strikeouts heading into Tuesday’s semifinal against Tahanto. 

She punched out nine batters in the opening six innings as the Green Wave built an 8-2 lead. On the first batter she faced in the top of the seventh, Paulin got Tahanto’s Chloe Cogswell to strike out swinging, getting Greenfield one out closer to the state finals while the sophomore reached the 500 strikeout mark in the process.

“I knew I was high up there but I wasn’t thinking about it too much because I didn’t want to have that in my head,” Paulin said after the win. “It was exciting when they announced it. I didn’t think I’d get here this early. It’s been a great start so far. [Catcher] Ainslee Flynn and [former catcher] Kelsey Richardson have helped me a ton.” 

With two years still to go at Greenfield, Greenfield head coach Hickey said he wasn’t surprised at all that Paulin hit the 500 strikeout mark so quickly. 

“It’s amazing,” Hickey said. “She has two years left to add to that total. All the hard work has paid off. There’s more to come.” 

Paulin will look to add to that total on Friday, when the Green Wave face off against Turners Falls in the Div. 5 championship game. 

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