ATHOL – Beginning in the top of the fourth inning, Nick Bousquet and Mark Ferrari retired 12 straight batters for the Athol baseball team to preserve a 7-4 season-opening win over Turners Falls on Saturday afternoon.
Ferrari struck out six straight batters in relief, while Bousquet struck out five in two innings of work to close out the game.
“I start usually in most games,” Ferrari said. “But it’s the beginning of the season so I knew I would come in and throw a couple innings. It wasn’t really a big thought process for me. It was just coming in and getting the job done.”
Bousquet gave up a roller to the mound in the sixth inning.
The Red Raiders built a 6-1 lead in the bottom of the first inning using patience at the plate and aggressiveness on the base paths.
“In large part, our approach was pretty good,” Athol coach Josh Talbot said. “We definitely have some work to go on that as far as execution and seeing the ball better. But we were patient and we swung largely at strikes.”
Bousquet helped out Ferrari making a running catch in centerfield that allowed Athol to double-up a runner in the third inning.
Once Ferrari got on the hill without inherited runners, the Turners Falls bats went silent and Bousquet continued the trend.
“They have two kids that throw hard,” Turners Falls coach Scott Minckler said. “Early on in the season, we can’t catch up to that stuff. The timing is not there yet. We will get back to work on Monday.”
Turners Falls starter Kyle Dodge did not make it out of the first inning and Athol took advantage of his lack of control.
“The same type of thing happened last year,” Minckler said, “Early in the season, he just wasn’t there.”
Jake Dodge and Jack Putala pitched well in relief for the Thunder.
The Red Raiders drew six walks in the first inning, two with the bases loaded before Dodge came out of the game.
Lutz also stole a bag in the first inning.
Senior Anthony Oro started the game for the Red Raiders but ran into some trouble in the third inning.
“He’s a senior and one of our three best pitchers,” Talbot said. “ So we went with him. We knew we were going to need three pitchers.”
In two and one-third innings Oro gave up five hits and four runs.
Turners Falls took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning when Jon Fritz beat out an infield single scoring Kyle Dodge.
Keegan Lutz had an RBI single in his first at-bat of the season for Athol, scoring Dilan Fountain who walked and stole a base to start the inning.
Oro helped his own cause when he hit a hard liner to third that glanced off the glove of a defender with the bases loaded scoring a run to make it 2-1.
Evan Mayer, Bryce King and Fountain all drew walks with the bases loaded before Bousquet got plunked scoring another run to make the score 6-1 after an inning.
The Thunder came back with three runs in the third. Both Fritz and Ryan Campbell had RBI singles in the inning, and another run scored when Jake Dodge made it home on a double steal with Jaden Whiting.
Athol scored a run in the third on an error to make it 7-4.
In his varsity baseball debut, King had a bunt single and drew two walks.
Athol 7, Turners Falls 4
Turners Falls …………… 103 000 0 — 4 6 3
Athol ………….. 601 000 x — 7 3 1
Hits: (TF) Whiting, Campbell, Kyle Dodge, Fritz, Jake Dodge. (A) Lutz, Ferrari, King.
RBI: (TF) Fritz 2, Campbell; (A) Lutz, Fountain, Bousquet, Mayer, King.
SB: (TF) Whiting, Jake Dodge, Kyle Dodge, Campbell (2); (A) Ferrari, Tarbell, Fountain, King.
WP: Ferrari (2 ⅔ip, 6 k, 0bb).
LP: Kyle Dodge (⅔ip, 0k, 5bb)
