Athol softball ace Lindsey LeBlanc continued her impressive season in the circle on Thursday.
Taking on Pioneer, the junior struck out eight batters and allowed just two hits to lead the Bears to a 6-0 shutout in a Franklin County League game in Northfield.
Despite the loss, the young Panther squad continues to make strides forward this season.
“We’re making improvements,” Pioneer coach Tina Riddell said. “We played Turners the other night and was able to keep the board for a few innings and kept it close with Athol today. The improvements are there. We just have such a young team but we’re headed in the right direction.”
Athol (6-3, 5-3 FCL) held a 1-0 lead after one inning, tacked three runs on the board in the third and added a pair of insurance runs in the top of the seventh to secure the win.
Sadey Lehtomaki hit an inside-the-park home run for the Bears, and Sam Kenniff added a pair of hits and two RBIs. LeBlanc helped herself by getting a hit, Lexi Forte had an RBI single and Emma Bacigalupo hit safely in the win.
Sofia Holden had a strong game in the circle for the Panthers (2-7, 2-7 FCL), striking out seven batters and giving up just one walk. Holden added a single at the plate, with Charlotte Kahler recording Pioneer’s lone other hit.
Franklin Tech 15, Gateway 4 — After putting just one run on the board through four innings, the Eagles offense caught fire in the fifth inning.
Emily Eastman —who finished 3-for-5 with five RBIs — crushed a home run over the left fielders head to start the rally in the top of the fifth for Franklin Tech.
The Eagles proceeded to score three runs in the fifth before exploding for five runs in the sixth and six runs in the seventh inning to pull away with a 15-4 Tri-County North victory in Huntington on Thursday.
“It was a tight game until the fifth then we pushed some runs across,” Franklin Tech coach Joe Gamache said. “Gateway certainly has improved since we last saw them. We struggled to get the bats going early but they came alive in those last few innings.”
Lauren Ross had a big game on her birthday for the Eagles (7-2, 6-0 Tri-County North), going the distance in the circle and striking out seven batters. On the offensive side, she went 4-for-5 with a pair of triples and two RBIs.
Lilly Ross had three hits and two RBIs in the win, with Kaitlin Trudeau also recording three hits. Jillian Crowningshield and Lillian Day each had a pair of hits while Mackenzie Martel hit safely for Franklin Tech.
Franklin Tech 11, McCann Tech 0 (5) — The bats were alive and well for the Eagles on Thursday.
Franklin Tech put multiple runs on the board in each inning while Jake Whitney allowed just one hit as the Eagles cruised past the Hornets, 11-0, in five innings in a Tri-County North contest.
“It’s nice when you work on something for the last couple weeks and to see it pay off,” Franklin Tech coach Dan Prasol said. “Our bats woke up, we hit the ball well and our defense was lockdown.”
Jake Croteau went 3-for-3 with a pair of RBIs and two stolen bases in the win. Joe Boyden also went 3-for-3, adding a stolen base and an RBI while Ty Sadoski went 2-for-3 with a pair of RBIs and a stolen base for the Eagles (7-6, 6-2 Tri-County North).
Austin Buda had the lone hit for McCann Tech (4-3, 4-3 Tri-County North).
Pioneer 10, Athol 8 — The runs came across the board early and often for both the Panthers and Bears on Thursday in Northfield.
Athol lit up the scoreboard twice in the first inning, but Pioneer answered with three runs itself. The Bears added two runs in the second to take a 4-3 lead, but the Panthers tied it up 4-4 in the bottom of the third.
The fifth inning proved to be the difference in the game, as Athol scored a run but Pioneer scored three to take control with a 7-5 lead. The Bears then snatched the lead back with a three run sixth inning, but the Panthers countered with three runs of their own to go ahead, 10-8. Pioneer’s Troy Emond came on and didn’t allow a run in the top of the seventh to secure a 10-8 Hampshire League East victory for the Panthers.
“Right off the bat you could tell both teams were going to hit the ball well,” Pioneer coach Jordan Branson said. “It was a back-and-forth game the whole way.”
Jason Quinn went six innings on the mound for the Panthers (6-3, 6-2 Hampshire East), striking out three. At the plate, Emond went 4-for-4 with an RBI, Quinn hit a single and a double and Jalen McGraw brought in a pair of runs in the win.
Keegan Lutz went 4-for-4 with an RBI for Athol (4-5, 4-4 Hampshire East), with Dylan Fountain adding a single, a triple and two RBIs. Jack Bonenfant had a pair of hits in the loss.
Mahar 5, Smith Academy 2 — After scoring two runs in the first inning, the Senators were able to rely on the pitching of Liam O’Donnell to preserve the lead the rest of the way.
O’Donnell did just that, going the distance, striking out eight Falcons and giving up just four hits as Mahar pulled away with a 5-2 Hampshire League East win on Thursday in Orange.
Jake Tenney and Noaha Chabot each had two hits and an RBI for the Senators (3-5, 2-5 Hampshire East), with O’Donnell and Eli Spencer each adding RBI singles.
Tenney, Chabot and O’Donnell also stole bases in the win.
Easthampton 4, Mohawk Trail 1 — Matt Pollen had an RBI that brought Shawn Davenport home in the first inning, but it was the lone run the Warriors would score as the host Eagles came away with a 4-1 Hampshire League East win on Thursday.
Tyler Dubreuil had a pair of hits while Davenport and Wyatt Edes each hit safely in the loss for Mohawk Trail (2-8, 1-8 Hampshire East).
Winter Roske, Nick Lloyd and Andrew Thompson each had an RBI for Easthampton (9-2, 8-2 Hampshire East).
Hopkins 13, Turners 0 (5) — The Thunder were unable to crack the pitching of Golden Hawk Andrew Ciaglo on Thursday.
The senior tossed a five-inning no hitter, striking out seven along the way, to lead Hopkins to a 13-0 win over Turners in a Hampshire League West contest.
Joey Mosca had a pair of strikeouts while Jake Jurek struck out a batter for the Thunder (0-11, 0-10 Hampshire West).
Ciaglo added a pair of hits and an RBI while Braeden Tudryn, Patrick Fitzgibbons, Jacob Smith, Colin Earle and Cody West each hit safely for the Golden Hawks (8-1, 8-1 Hampshire West).
Turners Falls’ Isabella Vachula-Curtis’ name was incorrectly listed in the Thursday edition of the Recorder. Isabella won the 100-meter hurdles with a time of 27.6 seconds in a girls’ track and field meet against Mahar in Orange on Wednesday. We apologize for the error.