H.S. Roundup: Frontier softball moves on to Round of 16 with win over Monson (PHOTOS)

Staff Reports

Published: 06-05-2023 10:40 AM

The Frontier softball team had a magical run to the MIAA Div. 5 final four a season ago as the No. 21 seed. 

The Redhawks are trying to repeat that this spring as the No. 15 seed and got the tournament off to a good start on Sunday against Monson in the Round of 32. 

Frontier put four runs on the board in the first and tacked three on in the second after Skyler Steele blasted a three-run shot to give the Redhawks an 8-1 lead going into the third. The No. 18 Mustangs didn’t quit, however, scoring five in the fifth to cut the lead to 8-7 going into the sixth. 

Frontier got its bats going in that sixth inning, putting seven runs up to put the game away and cruise into the Round of 16 with a 15-7 victory in South Deerfield. 

“One year of that in a row isn’t a pattern but now it’s two years in a row we seem to play well in these tournament games,” Redhawk coach Gary Deane said. “People have settled into their defensive spots and we’ve settled in on offense. We’re a young team. Monson is young like us. Our strength is we play together as a team. They like each other and get along. We seem to have a different hero every game we play.” 

Frontier moves on to face No. 2 Mount Greylock in the Round of 16 at a date and time to be determined. The two teams are familiar with one another, both playing in the Franklin County League West. The Mounties came out on top in both regular season games (17-15, 6-5) though the Redhawks went to Williamstown as the underdog and pulled off the upset in last years tournament. 

“It’s hard to beat a team three times,” Deane said. “I’m sure they remember last year and want revenge. This is the reverse for us. We want to go back to where we were last year where we played a great game.” 

Hailey Hutkoski sinlged, Delaney Fifield doubled and Abby Schreiber singled to give Frontier its lead in the first. Ashley Taylor singled and Hutkoski was hit by a pitch before Steele blasted her home run in the second to give the Redhawks a commanding lead. 

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Taylor, Hutkoski, Fifield and Steele all singled in the sixth, with a series of walks allowing Frontier to put seven runs on the board. 

Fifield and Taylor each finished the game with three hits while Hutkoski and Steele both had two hits. Taylor got the win in the circle, scattering nine hits in seven innings work. 

“We put the ball in play and didn’t strike out very often,” Deane said. “Their pitcher kept us off rhythm. We took advantage when we could and put pressure on their defense. We ran the bases really well.”

Franklin Tech 3, Bourne 1 — Hannah Gilbert got the job done in the circle for the Eagles, holding No. 22 Bourne to just two hits while striking out eight along the way — the final her 200th of the season — to lift No. 11 Franklin Tech into the Round of 16 with a 3-1 victory on Sunday in Turners. 

The Eagles advance to play the winner of No. 6 Taconic and No. 27 Hoosac in the Round of 16. 

Both teams scored in the second while Franklin Tech tacked two runs on in the fifth to take the lead. Bourne pitcher Jadyn Morrell held the Eagles to just four hits, two coming from Gilbert while Kait Trudeau and Cordelia Guerin each hit safely. Lilly Ross and Keira Stevens each had an RBI in the victory. 

Greenfield 12, Holbrook 0 (5) — The Green Wave had their bats going on Sunday in its Round of 32 contest against No. 33 Holbrook, knocking 11 hits to pull away with a 12-0 victory in five innings at Vets Field. 

No. 1 Greenfield advances to play No. 17 Georgetown in the Round of 16 on Tuesday at 6 p.m. at Vets. 

MacKenzie Paulin got the win in the circle for the Green Wave, striking out 12 and scattering one hit while Carly Blanchard led the way at the plate with three hits, one a triple, and three RBIs. 

Anna Bucala and Amber Bergeron each tallied a pair of hits and RBIs, Ainslee Flynn recorded two hits, Rachel Dodge tripled and brought in a run while Ellis Benitez hit safely for Greenfield. 

Drury 9, Mohawk Trail 8 — The Warriors put five runs on the board in the second to take a 7-0 lead going into the bottom of the frame, but a four-run fifth from the Blue Devils gave them a 9-8 lead and Mohawk Trail was unable to get the game-tying run across, with Drury advancing to the Round of 16 with a win in North Adams on Sunday. 

Abbie Dobias and Maddie Cosentino each knocked a pair of hits for the Warriors. Rachel Pease homered to bring in three runs, Addie Loomis tripled to score two, Abi Moffatt had a hit and an RBI while Aileen Moffatt and Kaylin Sumner each hit safely in the loss. Riley Giard struck out two in the circle for the Warriors. 

Baseball

Greenfield 3, Ware 1 — Caleb Thomas brought his best stuff to the mound on Sunday in the MIAA Div. 5 Round of 32 against Ware. 

The sophomore went the distance and held No. 7 Ware to just one run, helping the No. 26 Green Wave pull off the upset with a 3-1 victory. 

Greenfield moves on to face the winner of No. 10 Westport and No. 23 Mount Everett in the Round of 16. 

“Caleb pitched a great game for us,” Green Wave coach Tom Suchanek said. “He kept his composure and got stronger as the game went on. They made a few errors and we were able to capitalize on them.” 

Michael Pierce crushed a triple to score two Greenfield runs while Caleb Thomas made contact in the infield to bring in the third Greenfield run of the game. 

Frontier 9, Upper Cape Cod 3 — The Redhawks held a 3-1 lead heading into the sixth, but the No. 19 Rams put two on in the top of the frame to knot the game up. 

Miles Ferreira opened the bottom of the sixth with a hit, stole second and moved to third on a Brady Poreda bunt. Nico Fasulo came up and bombed a double to the right-center gap, scoring Ferreira to give Frontier the lead. 

The runs didn’t stop there. Alex Gochinski walked and Grayson Loos knocked a single to score Fasulo. Liam Skribiski-Banack walked, Wyatt Edes singled and Eathon Bryant crushed a double and suddenly the Redhawks had put six across in the frame to take a 9-3 lead. Skribiski-Banack came on and got the final three outs to send the No. 14 Redhawks into the Round of 16 with a win in South Deerfield on Sunday. 

“Offensively we were putting pressure on them all game,” Frontier coach Chris Williams said. “We made some base running mistakes. When the game was on the line we needed Ferreira to get on and he did. He stole second and Poreda moved him to third and we were able to knock him in to give us the lead. When it rains it pours. The guys pounded it from there on and I’m proud of them. It was a good day.”

Frontier scored one in the second and one in the fourth. Grayson Loos struck out four while holding the Upper Cape Cod lineup down for six and one-third innings. 

Gochinski and Loos each knocked two hits, Fasulo tallied two doubles while Bryant added a single. It was Ferreira who came through with big hits all day for the Redhawks, finishing with three singles. 

“Shout out to Ferreira for all those hits,” Williams said. “He came up huge for us today.” 

Frontier awaits the winner of No. 3 Oxford and No. 30 Tahanto in the Round of 16. If it is Oxford, the Redhawks have some knowledge of them, as they traveled to Northfield to play Pioneer earlier this season. 

“We’re planning on seeing Oxford,” Williams said. “We know Pioneer took care of them and they’ll see our best arm. We’re looking to make a trip to Central Mass. and pull off the upset.” 

Track

A pair of Franklin County athletes earned top five finishes on Day 2 of the MIAA Meet of Champions on Saturday at Fitchburg State. 

Frontier’s Caroline Crocker came in fifth in the 100 meter hurdles, blazing through in a time of 15.28 seconds. Mohawk Trail’s Emmett Johnson also earned a fifth place finish, as he  ran the mile and finished in a time of 4:20.26. 

Redhawk Erich Brown came in 12th in the high jump with a top lead of six feet while Frontier’s Aiden Dredge came in 12th in the javelin with a top toss of 151 feet, five inches. 

Ultimate

The Frontier ultimate team went 4-0 on the weekend, capping it off  with a 15-5 win over Acton-Boxborough to take home the Massachusetts Div. 4 championship on Sunday. 

On the weekend Brady Burch had 18 assists and nine scores, Ngawang Deter had 10 assists and five scores, Matt Sicard had nine assists and two scores, Will Petrin scored eight times and Owen Babb had one assist and seven scores. 

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