Winning isn’t always pretty. Such was the case for Mohawk Trail Regional High School on Monday afternoon in Hatfield.
Mohawk found a way to scrape four runs across the plate and the Warriors doubled up Smith Academy, 4-2, in a Hampshire League East Division game.
The Warriors (2-7) came back from a pair of one-run deficits during the game and then scored twice in the top of the seventh inning to break the tie and earn their second straight win after starting the season 0-7.
Jordan Grenier’s infield hit in the fourth inning plated the first Mohawk run of the game to tie the score at 1-1 and, after Smith reclaimed a one-run lead with a run in the fifth, the Warriors again came back in the sixth to tie the game when Anthony Moffatt hit an RBI groundout.
In the seventh, Brian Gagnon led off with a pinch-hit walk and Jayden Hoff used a sacrifice bunt to move him to second base. Cam Lococo came through with an RBI single and later scored on Jackson Hicks’ RBI groundout.
Mohawk pitching only allowed three hits, but the three hurlers combined to walk 10 Falcons. Hicks earned the win in relief.
Hicks finished with three hits on the day, while Lococo and Moffatt each had a pair.
Greenfield 4, Belchertown 1 — A solid effort from Joel Peabody on the mound and a pair of timely hits helped Greenfield to a 4-1 win over Belchertown in a HL West battle Monday in Belchertown.
The Orioles (4-5) took a 1-0 lead with a run in the first inning but Peabody did not allow a run the rest of the way, striking out seven and allowing six hits and no walks en route to the victory.
“He got off to a little bit of a slow start but he pitched really strong after that,” Greenfield coach Tom Suchanek said.
David Carey helped out the pitcher on defense as he earned the praise of his coach for his strong play in center field.
“He ran some balls down that many other guys wouldn’t have gotten,” Suchanek said of the freshman.
Greenfield (6-4) came up with a timely hit in the fifth inning to finally get on the board and take the lead in the process. Ryan Cote walked, Carey doubled and Owen Phelps knocked in both runners with a double. The Green Wave added a pair of insurance runs in the seventh when Hunter Campbell singled and Jared Hart walked and each scored on a two-out, two-run single up the middle.
“We finally got some timely hits with guys in scoring position,” Suchanek added. “It’s something we haven’t done a lot so far. Hopefully, we can continue that.”
Turners Falls 4, Hopkins 1 — Jake Dodge pitched a gem and Turners Falls is postseason-bound.
The sophomore hurler struck out five and allowed three walks and six hits in a complete-game effort and Turners Falls beat Hopkins, 4-1, in a HL West game Monday night in Turners Falls.
Dodge got some help from left fielder Ryan Campbell in the win as Campbell robbed a Hopkins hitter of a home run when he caught a ball jumping at the fence and crashed over it. He also made a diving catch to rob Hopkins of a hit to open the seventh inning, and he helped start a rundown with a throw to the plate in the third.
Turners (6-4) is now 3-1 against Division 4 opponents with two games to play. Because the Thunder play in a HL West with 80 percent of Division 3 opponents, the Thunder would qualify under the Sullivan Rule, which means they must win half of their games against Division 4 opponents.
The Thunder got on the board with a pair of runs in the first as Jaden Whiting, Campbell and Kyle Dodge opened the inning with three straight singles, Whiting scoring on Dodge’s hit. Jon Fritz then lifted a sacrifice fly to left to score Campbell. Turners got two more in the fourth when Jake Dodge reached on an error and scored on Whiting’s RBI single. Whiting then scored on a Campbell single.
FC Tech 14, PV Christian 3 — Garret Cole went 4-for-4 with a triple and three RBIs at the plate and pitched four innings with eight strikeouts on the mound to earn the win as Franklin Tech defeated Pioneer Valley Christian, 14-3, in a Tri-County League South Division baseball game Monday in Turners Falls.
Max Charest went 3-for-3 with a double and three RBIs in the win, and Nate Pelletier and Mike Patnode each had one hit and two RBIs. Max Leh had a hit and an RBI, and Nate Sciandra had two hits.
Easthampton 15, Pioneer 0 (5) — Nathan Morse allowed two hits and two walks in four shutout innings and Easthampton dumped Pioneer, 15-0, in a five-inning baseball game Monday in Easthampton.
Justin Colpack singled, doubled and drove in three runs in the win. Nicholas Jolicoeur, Nic Soucy, Nick Lloyd and Matthew Arroyo each had two hits.
Jalen McGraw and Ryan Potter each had one hit for Pioneer. Jacob Hubbard struck out two in two innings to suffer the loss.
Mohawk 4, Smith Academy 2
Mohawk …………… 000 101 2 — 4 9 2
Smith Academy … 010 010 0 — 2 3 1
Hits: (M) Lococo 2, Hicks 3, Moffatt 2, Bassett, Grenier. (SA) Moynihan, Gratz, Cavanaugh.
RBI: (M) Hicks, Lococo, Moffatt, Grenier. (SA) Ferrara, Dobson.
SB: (M) Lococo, Moffatt 2. (SA) Gratz.
WP: Hicks (1⅓ip, 0k, 0bb), Grenier (5ip, 2k, 8bb), Pollan (⅔ip, 0k, 2bb).
LP: Gratz (1⅓ip, 1k, 2bb), Ferrara (5ip, 4k, 0bb), Dobson (⅔ip, 0k, 0bb).
Easthmptn 15, Pioneer 0 (5)
Pioneer …………… 000 00 — 0 2 4
Easthampton ….. 334 05 — 15 12 1
Hits: (P) Potter, McGraw. (E) Arroyo 2, Kugler, Lloyd 2, Culpack 2, Vallencourt, Joulicouer 2, Soucy 2.
2B: (E) Arroyo, Culpack.
RBI: (E) Lloyd 2, Culpack 3, Morse, Joulicouer, Robbins, Patel.
SB: (P) Mousseau. (E) Arroyo, Lloyd, Culpack, Joulicouer, Soucy.
WP: Morse (4ip, 2k, 2bb), n/a (1ip, 0k, 0bb).
LP: Hubbard (2ip, 2k, 0bb), Emond (1ip, 0k, 6bb), Jas. Quinn (2ip, 2k, 1bb).
Turners Falls 4, Hopkins 1
Hopkins …………… 000 010 0 — 1 6 1
Turners Falls ……. 200 200 0 — 4 9 0
Hits: (H) Feltovic 2, Higgins 2, Scanlon-Dean, Ishidu. (TF) Whiting 3, Campbell 3, K. Dodge, Lehtomaki, J. Dodge.
HR: (H) Feltovic.
RBI: (H) Feltovic. (TF) Whiting, Campbell, K. Dodge, Fritz.
SB: (TF) Whiting, Campbell.
WP: J. Dodge (7ip, 5k, 3bb).
LP: Hanscom (6ip, 1k, 1bb).
Greenfield 4, Belchertown 1
Greenfield …………… 000 020 2 — 4 6 0
Belchertown ……….. 100 000 0 — 1 6 1
Hits: (G) Carey, Phelps, Campbell 2, Peabody, C. Baird. (B) Carpinsky, Torna 3, Tilton, Bohnet.
2B: (G) Carey, Phelps, Campbell. (B) Carpinsky, Bohnet.
RBI: (G) Phelps 2, Peabody 2. (B) Torna.
SB: (G) Carey, Campbell 2.
WP: Peabody (7ip, 7k, 0bb).
LP: Jenks (4⅓ip, 4k, 5bb), Bohnet (2⅔ip, 3k, 3bb).
FC Tech 14, PV Christian 3
PV Christian ……….. 100 101 0 — 3 4 3
FC Tech ……………… 540 212 x — 14 15 0
Hits: (PVC) Connor 2, Davis, Wininger. (FT) Cole 4, Charest 3, Sciandra 2, Maniatty, Pelletier, Patnode, Leh, Demers, Taylor.
2B: (FT) Charest.
3B: (FT) Cole.
RBI: (PVC) Connor, Davis, Wininger. (FT) Charest 3, Cole 3, Pelletier 2, Patnode 2, Leh.
WP: Cole (4ip, 8k, 3bb), Sciandra (1ip, 2k, 2bb), Fritz (1ip, 0k, 0bb), Taylor (1ip, 2k, 0bb).
LP: Connor (4ip, 4k, 2bb), Wininger (2ip, 1k, 1bb).