It was a fast start from Lindsey LeBlanc, Sadey Lehtomaki and the Athol softball team on Monday against Franklin Tech.
Lehtomaki got on with a triple in the bottom of the first and LeBlanc brought her around with a home run blast to center field, helping propel the Bears to a 7-3 independent victory.
The win was the third in a row for Athol, which improved to 3-2 on the season after an 0-2 start.
“It was a good game today. Franklin Tech is definitely improved,” Athol coach Sharon Chauvette said.
Lehtomaki and LeBlanc each finished with two hits for the Bears, as did Emma Bacigalupo. Lexi Forte had a hit and an RBI, while Athol also received hits from Jenna Bonenfant, Alyssa Logan and Kassidy Swan. Abby Kirwan drove in a run. LeBlanc did the job in the pitching circle, amassing 11 strikeouts and just one walk in seven innings.
Lauren Ross got the start for the Eagles, tossing four inning and striking out four. Lilly Ross came on for the final two innings, striking out one and not allowing a run.
Kaitlin Trudeau had a pair of hits in the the loss, with Emily Eastman drilling an RBI triple and Lilly Ross and Lillian Day each hitting safely.
Frontier 16, Mahar 1 (5) — Melanie Ring went 2-for-3 with a home run and a triple, while Charlotte Doulette smacked two triples and drove in four runs to lead Frontier to a 16-1 win over Mahar in Franklin County League action Monday in Orange.
Doulette, who has driven in 12 runs through four games, also had a single and scored three times. Delaney Fifield was 3-for-3 with three RBIs, while CC Greene and Olivia Deane each ripped two hits. Jillian Apanell earned the win in the pitching circle, striking out six in four shutout innings.
Mahar’s Mackinley Drew had a hit and scored her team’s lone run, while Saylor Kegans also had a hit.
Frontier 125, Athol 7 — The Redhawks had the winner in each event, leading to a 125-7 victory over the Bears in an Intercounty Meet in South Deerfield on Monday.
Jack Vecellio broke his own school record in the pole vault, clearing 14 feet even to continue a dominant spring season for the Redhawks. He also took first in the 400-meter hurdles (61.3 seconds).
Jesse Kurkulonis won the javelin (117 feet, 4 inches) and the 110 hurdles (14.7 seconds), while Jackie Phong was a double-winner in the shot put (38-8) and discus (109-11). Erich Brown took first in the high jump (5-10) and 800 (2:18.6).
Putnam 3, Athol 0 — The win streak for the Bears came to a close on Monday, as Athol dropped a 25-21, 25-16, 27-25 contest to the host Beavers in a PVIAC East match.
“It was a rough day but we kept it close in the first and third set,” Bear coach Sean MacDonald said. “The inexperience on our side showed up at bad times and Putnam made some nice plays.”
Holden Girouard dished out five assists to go along with three aces and a kill for Athol. Luke Inniss had four aces and a kill, Raymond Castine had a pair of kills and Caleb LeBlanc came up with 12 digs in the loss.
Belchertown 4, Greenfield 1 — Greenfield’s Petru Cojocaru picked up a 6-1, 6-2 win at No. 1 singles over Oriole Ben Schrenzel but it was the lone victory the Wave had on the day as Belchertown pulled away for a 4-1 independent win on the road Monday.
Greenfield’s Daniel Pena-Chadee fell in a tight match to Tom Vinagre 6-2, 6-7, 7-5, in No. 2 singles and at No. 3, Matt Lavoine fell to Trevor Weiss, 6-0, 6-0.
Ethan Bross and Christian Larouche dropped their No. 1 doubles match to Colby Masse and Jacob Chaisson, 6-0, 6-0.
The Green Wave were forced to forfeit the No. 2 doubles match.
Four Rivers 15, Frontier 3 — Gavin Crehan and Aidan DeLorenzo played strong defense and helped key the offensive attack as the Otters picked up a 15-3 win over the Redhawks on Monday.
“Our experience was definitely key,” Four Rivers coach Terry Plotkin said. “Frontier is a young team and I think our defense was able to put pressure on them.”