GREENFIELD — Through four innings on Sunday, it appeared the Greenfield softball team’s season was going to come to a premature end in the MIAA Division 5 quarterfinals for the second straight year. 

The second-seeded Green Wave trailed No. 10 West Boylston 4-0 heading into the fifth inning of Sunday’s quarterfinal contest and to that point, Lions pitcher Kheria Ashey held Greenfield to just two hits. But the Green Wave bats didn’t stay cold during the critical moments of the game. 

Greenfield got one run back in the fifth inning and Gloria McDonald demolished a two-run home run in the sixth to cut the lead to 4-3 going into the seventh. 

MacKenzie Paulin kept West Boylston off the scoreboard in the top of the frame, and the Green Wave had one last rally in them in the bottom half. 

Madison Lemay led off with a single and Anna Bucala followed by blasting a double to put runners on second and third. Olivia Lemay came to the plate and cracked a base hit to score pinch runner Kayden Viencek, and while Bucala crossed home plate as well, she was called out due to interference with the shortstop, keeping the game tied at four. 

Paulin then came to the plate and smashed a ball to right field that sailed over the head of the Lions fielder. That allowed Olivia Lemay to come in for the game-winning run that sent Greenfield to the state semifinals with a 5-4 victory at Vets Field. 

“I was sitting there thinking I need to have my three hitter [Paulin] up twice,” Green Wave coach Ray Dodge said of his thoughts going into the fifth. “It feels awesome. This is where we got hung up last year so to get past it is great. I’m pretty happy.” 

The Green Wave (18-6) will play No. 3 Hopedale in the semifinals, the Blue Knights coming off a 2-1 win over Hoosac in their state quarterfinal. That game will take place Thursday at 6 p.m. at Westfield State University.

After looking like they had won the game following Olivia Lemay’s hit, Paulin said she had to lock back in for her at bat. 

“I got so hyped up thinking we won it the play before,” Paulin said. “I just had to regroup, resettle in and put my best foot forward for my team.” 

Greenfield was knocked out in the quarterfinals a year ago as the No. 1 seed, a loss that stuck with them all year. To overcome adversity on Sunday and pull through was something Paulin said will be a confidence boost moving forward. 

“We were down and knowing it happened to us last year, I just kept thinking we have to find a way through this no matter how ugly it is,” Paulin said. “We pulled it off and I’m so proud of my team. I’m proud of Gloria for getting us started and it feels really good to be back.” 

West Boylston (15-7) opened things up with a run in the top of the first, Isa Rivera reaching on a fielder’s choice and eventually being driven in off a base hit from Meg Glaherty to give the Lions the opening lead. 

The third inning belonged to West Boylston. After Paulin struck out the first two batters of the inning, Rivera singled, swiped second and Zoe Chila drove her in with a double. Flaherty singled Chila in and Emily Pitro cracked a double to bring Flaherty home and suddenly the Lions held a 4-0 lead going into the bottom of the third. 

Pitro’s double was the last hit Paulin gave up, as the senior didn’t allow a base runner over the final four innings. Paulin finished with 12 strikeouts, two walks and five hits. 

“In the past so far this season we haven’t dug ourselves out of that hole,” Paulin said. “It was great to see it happen today. We were playing team defense as well and to get the bats going when we needed to, I’m so proud of everyone.” 

Carson Farrell got the Wave going in the fifth, cracking a hit to right field that went through the fielder’s legs and Farrell used her speed to get to third on the play. Sophia Rotkiewicz followed with an RBI single to put Greenfield on the board. 

Olivia Lemay started the sixth with a single and after Paulin flew out, McDonald came to the plate and smashed a home run that gave the Green Wave hope and belief that they could pull off the comeback. 

“It felt amazing,” McDonald said. “All the adrenaline came to me and I was dialed in. It made everyone start cheering too which made it better. It definitely wasn’t looking good going into that inning but we just needed one hit to get going and that happened. I was a little scared there but we pulled it off and that’s all that matters.” 

With the Greenfield lineup hitting one-through-nine and the defense playing error free, Dodge said he has confidence in his group moving forward as it looks to win its third state title in the last four years. 

“You need the bottom three in your order to come through and that’s what happened,” Dodge said. “We didn’t make any errors today and we’ll have to keep doing that. No errors, good pitching and timely hitting can carry the day.”