Jackson Hicks and Cam Lococo kept Mohawk Trail Regional High School’s postseason hopes alive Thursday afternoon.
Lococo fired a four-hit shutout and Hicks drove in the game-winning run in the seventh inning as the Warriors upended Athol, 1-0, in a Hampshire League East Division baseball game in Buckland.
Both teams finished with four hits but two of the Warriors’ hits came in the final frame. Tyler Dubreiul led off the seventh with a walk against Athol starting and losing pitcher Nick Bousquet, who struck out 13 but also walked seven. Shawn Davenport followed with a single to left and a double steal moved both runners into scoring position. Hicks then hit a dribbler in front of the plate with the infield in but Dubreiul beat the throw home to score the walk-off run.
Mohawk (5-9, 4-2) sits alone in second place in the HL East and can make the postseason even if it does not finish with a .500 record.
Lococo went the distance to earn the win, striking out three and walking one. The Mohawk defense did not commit an error.
“He pitched very well,” Mohawk assistant coach John Finck said. “He limited his pitches, pitched to contact and the defense played well behind him.”
Bryce King had two hits for Athol, which fell to 9-5 overall, 3-3 in the HL East.
Greenfield 4, South Hadley 0 — Kyle Devlin fired a three-hit shutout and Greenfield clinched a postseason berth with a 4-0 victory over South Hadley in a HL West Division game Thursday in South Hadley.
The win gave the Green Wave (10-5) a sweep of the two-day, home-and-home series between the two teams after Greenfield beat the Tigers, 9-3, on Wednesday.
The teams were at a standstill through the first five innings before the Green Wave finally put a crooked number on the board in the sixth with three runs. Joel Peabody had the big hit in the sixth with a two-run single to score Owen Phelps and Hunter Campbell. Greenfield added one final run in the seventh.
It was plenty for Devlin, who has emerged as a top pitcher for the Green Wave this season. The senior struck out six and did not walk a batter.
David Carey singled and tripled in the win, while Peabody had two hits and two RBIs. Campbell had two hits, Phelps and Devlin each had one RBI, and Jared Hart, Jake Sak and Cam Rice each had a hit.
Mahar 10, Pioneer 6 — Mahar scored seven times in the first two innings and went on to beat Pioneer, 10-6, in a HL East baseball game Thursday afternoon in Northfield.
The Senators (8-7) beat the Panthers (8-8) for the second straight day as both teams are making a late-season push to get into the postseason. Charlie Barnes had three hits and three RBIs for the Senators, while Noaha Chabot had one hit and two RBIs. Jake Tenney singled and doubled, Will Peredina doubled and drove in a run, and Aidan Herk and Logan Dodge each had one hit and one RBI. Herk struck out two and walked three in 4⅓ innings to earn the win.
Jared Hubbard had two hits including a double and drove in three runs for the Panthers. Ryan Potter singled, doubled and drove in a run, while Nate Mousseau, Jack Loud and Troy Emond each added a hit. Mousseau suffered the loss.
Frontier 17, Turners Falls 0 — Frontier scored seven times in the first inning and 10 times in the second en route to a 17-0 win over Turners Falls in a HL West baseball game Thursday night in the Powertown.
The Red Hawks ended a two-game skid in the process. The Hawks took advantage of nine walks and 11 hits. Jacob Bryant hit a grand slam in the second inning and finished with three hits and six RBIs to pace the Frontier offense.
Connor Waitkus and Kalen Evans each had two hits and two RBIs for the Red Hawks (12-3), while Corbin Blight had a hit and two RBIs.
Kyle Dodge had two hits for Turners.
Evans, Waitkus and Garrett DeForest combined to strike out 10 in five innings for the shutout. They allowed five hits and did not walk a batter.
James Robison suffered the loss.
Mahar 10, Pioneer 6
Mahar ……………….. 520 003 0 — 10 10 5
Pioneer ………………… 020 020 2 — 6 7 1
Hits: (M) Tenney 2, Peredina, Barnes 3, Herk, Dodge, Chabot, Berry. (P) Mousseau, Loud, Emond, Hubbard 2, Potter 2.
2B: (M) Berry, Tenney, Peredina. (P) Hubbard, Potter.
RBI: (M) Barnes 3, Peredina, Herk, Dodge, Chabot 2. (P) Hubbard 3, Potter.
WP: Herk(4⅓ip, 2k, 3bb), Berry (2⅔ip, 5k, 0bb).
LP: Mousseau (2ip, 1k, 1bb), Emond (3⅔ip, 6k, 5bb), Jac. Quinn (1⅓ip, 2k, 1bb).
Mohawk 1, Athol 0
Athol ……………….. 000 000 0 — 0 4 1
Mohawk ………….. 000 000 1 — 1 4 0
Hits: (A) Lutz, King 2, Tarbell. (M) Davenport, Hicks, Lococo, Jacobs.
RBI: (M) Hicks.
WP: Lococo (7ip, 3k, 1bb).
LP: Bousquet (6ip, 13k, 7bb).
Greenfield 4, South Hadley 0
Greenfield ………….. 000 003 1 — 4 9 2
South Hadley …….. 000 000 0 — 0 3 1
Hits: (G) Carey 2, Campbell 2, Peabody 2, Hart, Sak, Rice. (SH) Evans, Arroyo, Garvin.
2B: (SH) Arroyo.
3B: (G) Carey.
RBI: (G) Peabody 2, Phelps, Devlin.
WP: Devlin (7ip, 6k, 0bb).
LP: Earle (5ip, 4k, 2bb), Sears (2ip, 0k, 2bb).
Frontier 17, Turners Falls 0
Frontier …………. 7(10)0 00 — 17 11 0
Turners Falls ……….. 000 00 — 0 5 2
Hits: (F) Bryant 3, Waitkus 2, Freeman 2, Blight, Evans 2, Barnes. (TF) K. Dodge 2, Carme, Burnett, Labelle.
2B: (F) Bryant, Evans.
HR: (F) Bryant.
RBI: (F) Bryant 6, Waitkus 2, Blight 2, Evans 2, DeForest, Barnes.
WP: DeForest (2ip, 5k, 0bb), Evans (2ip, 2k, 0bb), Waitkus (1ip, 3k, 0bb).
LP: Robison (1ip, 1k, 1bb), Putala (0ip, 0k, 3bb), Waldron ⅔ip, 1k, 5bb), K. Dodge (3⅓ip, 2k, 0bb).