Maybe it wasn’t the prettiest way to clinch a tournament berth, but Franklin County Technical School will take it.
The Eagles shook off a poor start on Tuesday and scored at least once in every inning to punch their tournament ticket with a 18-12 Tri-County League softball win over Springfield School of Science & Technology in Springfield.
The Eagles (10-9) scored five times in the top of the first inning but Sci-Tech came back with six runs in the bottom of the frame, By the end of the third inning, the CyberCats held a 12-8 lead.
“We were mentally unfocused for a lot of the game and spotted them three innings,” Franklin Tech coach Amber Crochier said. “We qualified. The girls are happy about that. But it’s not the way we wanted to qualify.”
Rachel Shearer had one hit and three RBIs, and Jocelyn Crowningshield had three hits, including a triple. Cassie Harris had two hits, including a double, and one RBI. Shearer struck out seven and walked four in seven innings to earn the win.
Turners 8, Mohawk 0 — Junior Peyton Emery allowed just one single, shutting down Mohawk Trail Regional High School for an 8-0 Franklin County League softball victory Tuesday afternoon in Buckland as Turners Falls High School moved within one game of clinching an outright league crown.
Emery struck out 12 batters and didn’t issue a walk. Just a Caitlin Johnston single separated the right-hander from a perfect game.
Turners (15-2, 12-1 FCL) led just 1-0 until the fifth inning, when the Powertown scored three times thanks to a little help from three Mohawk errors. Turners tacked on two runs in the sixth and two in the seventh to pull away.
Aly Murphy doubled and tripled for Turners, and she drove in three runs in the win. Gabby Arzuaga added a pair of RBI, while Taylor Murphy had three hits to go with two RBI.
Emily Page and Lilly Lesieur combined to strike out six batters for Mohawk (12-6, 7-5).
Turners can capture an outright FCL title with a win over Pioneer Valley Regional School tonight at 7. Mohawk hosts Mahar Regional School today at 3:30.
Frontier 19, Hopkins 4 (5) — Four straight wins has Frontier Regional School on the brink of a postseason berth.
The Red Hawks won their fourth game in as many tries Tuesday, knocking off Hopkins Academy, 19-4, in a five-inning Franklin County League softball game at Zabek Field in South Deerfield.
Frontier improved to 8-9 overall (5-8 FCL), with just one game remaining in the regular season. The Hawks will travel to Athol High School Thursday needing a win to qualify for the Western Massachusetts Division III Tournament. The Red Raiders beat Frontier, 12-9, when the teams met on May 4.
“I think we are peaking at the right time,” said Frontier coach Carrie Fydenkevez. “Our best ball has come at the end of the season, which is where we needed it to be. It all comes down to Thursday.”
McKenzie Patterson hit a two-run home run in the fourth inning for the Hawks, as she finished the outing with three hits and three RBI. Sarah Meunier also had three hits and three RBI, while Natalie Denkiewicz registered three hits and an RBI. Hanna LaClaire (two hits, RBI), Maddie Fifield (two hits, RBI) and Kelsey Jarvis (two hits, two RBI) finished with multiple hits, while Kimmy Asseng and Ariana Walker each had a hit and drove in a pair.
Lauren Davenport earned the victory, striking out five and walking just one in a complete-game effort.
Pioneer 16, Mahar 2 (6) — Pioneer Valley Regional School broke out for seven runs in the sixth inning, putting the finishing touches on a postseason-clinching victory Tuesday. The visiting Panthers slugged their way to a 16-2 win over Mahar Regional School in a FCL game in Orange.
The win puts Pioneer (10-9, 6-7) into the Western Mass. Division III field. The team has won five of its last six games after sitting at 5-8 overall just nine days ago.
Alexus Vergobbe’s four hits led a 17-hit attack for Pioneer. She drove in a pair of runs.
Jess Scoville (three hits, three RBI) and Kaylee Gibson (three hits, two RBI) also had big offensive days, while Lizzie Fuller (two hits, RBI), Brianna Jobst (two hits, three RBI) and Sophia Peduzzi (two hits, RBI) all had multiple hits. Shelby Avery had a hit and drove in three runs.
Mahar sophomore Lani DeDiego paced the Senators (6-12, 2-10) with a pair of hits. Sarah Graeff and Hannah Britt each doubled, with Graeff driving in both of her team’s runs. Freshman Courtney Page played well defensively after drawing the start at first base.
• Pioneer also won the JV game, 24-5, in five innings.
Athena Fowler-Shaw and Racquel Provost each had three hits, while Chloe Cutting added a pair of hits. Mahar’s Alexis Mainville, Marie Nottleson and Brooke Mitchell all had hits.
Mohawk 3, Chicopee Comp 2 — Mohawk Trail Regional High School swept the singles matches to surprise first-place Chicopee Comprehensive High School, 3-2, in a Tri-County League North Division girls’ tennis match Tuesday afternoon in Buckland.
The Colts (12-3) came into the day in first place in the TCL and were unbeaten in league matches at 7-0, but the Warriors got a big win at second singles from Mary Monohon, who came back a set down to defeat Aliza McLeish, 5-7, 6-1, 6-4, and earn the decisive point of the day.
Mohawk (7-6) has two matches remaining, against Lenox High School (Thursday) and Mt. Greylock Regional High School (Friday or Saturday), and must win one of the two in order to qualify for the WMass team tournament.
Lilly Seaver earned a 6-2, 6-3 win over Arriana Hasiuk at first singles, and younger sister Emelia cruised to a 6-1, 6-0 win over Loredana Sili.
Chicopee Comp won both the doubles matches. Magen Lindsey and Hope Gauthier beat Corinne Freeman and Eva Markham 6-3, 6-3 at first doubles, and Marie Gonzalez and Lexa McCollaum beat Avery DuPree and Sienna Lewis 3-6, 6-4, 3-3 (11-9) at second doubles.
Frontier 4, Turners Falls 1 — Celia Speth overcame a first-set loss to run her season record to 12-0 and Frontier Regional School defeated Turners Falls High School, 4-1, in a Tri-County League girls’ tennis match in South Deerfield.
The Frontier first singles’ player dropped the first set of her match against Alysha Wozniak but came back to win the final two and earned a 4-6, 6-0, 6-1 win.
The Red Hawks (10-2) went on to sweep the three singles matches. Morgan Farrick beat Hailey Trott, 6-2, 6-1, at second singles, and Tori Bowen topped Amber Taylor, 6-1, 6-1, at third singles.
Frontier also picked up a win at second doubles, where Ashley Levasseur and Ian Newman bested Isabella Farrick and Rachel Tucker, 6-2, 6-0.
Turners Falls’ first doubles team of Carlie Kretchmar and Kaili Lynch picked up the lone win of the day for the visitors with a 6-1, 6-3 victory over Anna Zera and Mary Laurens.
Greenfield 4, Sabis 1 — It all comes down to today for the Greenfield High School boys’ tennis team.
The Green Wave kept its postseason hopes alive Tuesday with a 4-1 win over Sabis International Charter School in a Tri-County League boys’ tennis match in Greenfield.
That leaves the Green Wave needing a win in its final regular-season match to qualify for the team tournament. That match takes place today in Springfield when it travels to take on a tough Central High School team.
Greenfield also celebrated Senior Day at the Davis Street Tennis Courts, and senior George Balis played at first singles and scored a surprise, 6-4, 6-7 (5-7), 10-2 (super tiebreaker) win over Nathan Reed.
“George came to us as a senior having never played competitive tennis and he has been our winningest player this year,” Greenfield coach Andrew Varnon. “He doesn’t have the fanciest strokes, but he has the will to win and he has done really well for us.”
The Green Wave picked up a forfeit at third singles and also swept doubles. Fahrah Day, the Wave’s other senior, teamed up with Brandon Siow at first doubles and picked up a 6-3, 6-4 win over Chris Calvanese and Matt Elmasian, while Connor Pedigree and Kevin Gifford paired at second doubles for a 6-4, 6-1 win over Zach Thomas and Mackenzie Mangeon.
Athol seeded 11th
The Athol High School boys’ volleyball team picked up the 11th seed in the 12-team WMass Boys’ Volleyball Tournament when the seeds were announced Tuesday.
The Red Raiders (12-8) will travel to sixth-seeded Ludlow High School (12-7) Thursday night at 6:30 for a first-round match.
Westfield High School earned the top seed in the field. For a complete look at the field see the Scoreboard page on D2.