HATFIELD — Both Athol and Smith Academy came into Friday afternoon’s softball matchup looking for their first win of the season. 

It was a long roller-coaster of a contest, but ultimately the visiting Bears walked away with a 28-17 win.

Athol relied on strong relief pitching from Jenna Bonenfant, who was relatively new to being in the circle. 

“It’s not my first time (pitching), but I haven't started since this year. I [pitched] for the first time last Monday,” Bonenfant said. “This is like my second time pitching.” 

Considering her relative inexperience with the position, the former third baseman was impressive in her relief appearance, tossing 12 strikeouts after relieving starter Jaylynn Chapalonis midway through the first inning. 

It didn’t take long for either team to start scoring – the Bears notched five runs in their first opportunity at bat and the Falcons answered with four runs of their own. It was a constant back and forth battle all game long, but Athol had one or two more runs each inning, slowly pulling away and relying on Bonenfant’s strong pitching and the team’s stingy defense to keep the home team from catching up.

Athol scored six runs each in the second, third and sixth innings, and kept the Falcons off the board entirely in the final three frames.  

Their communication was an important part of their win – players were loud on Friday afternoon, calling out to each other to make sure everyone knew where to throw the ball in each new scenario. 

“One thing I really want to make clear is if you make an error, no big deal, but you need to communicate, need to talk to each other, need to know where you're going, what you're doing,” Athol head coach Jerry Duguay said. “I never like a silent field. I don't have to worry about that.” 

Kahlen Gregory, Hailey Cummings and Chapalonis led the way at the plate with two hits each for the Bears.

Franklin Tech 1, Lee 0 — Kylee Gamache sent the Tech fans home happy.

The sophomore delivered a walk-off single up the middle, plating Lilly Ross with the game’s only run in the bottom of the seventh inning to lift the Eagles to a 1-0 win over Lee  on Friday in Turners Falls.

Ross reached on an error to open the frame, took second on a fielder’s choice and moved to third on a wild pitch before Gamache delivered the winning hit.

Both pitchers dominated throughout the afternoon to keep the game scoreless into the seventh. Franklin Tech’s  Hannah Gilbert struck out 17 batters and allowed just one hit to go with seven walks in seven innings. On the other side, Lee ace Bri Lynch recorded 15 strikeouts and didn’t issue a walk, limiting the Eagles to just three hits.

“They both pitched outstanding,” Franklin Tech coach Joe Gamache said. “It was nice to see our girls battle to the end and get that run across.”

Kylee Gamache was 2-for-3 for Tech, while Kaitlin Trudeau had the other hit for the hosts.

Mohawk Trail 19, Mahar 3 — Rachel Pease cracked a pair of doubles and a single to help lift the Warriors to a Franklin County League East win over the Senators in Orange on Friday. 

Addie Loomis and Riley Giard each had a single and a triple while Kaylin Sumner and Abby Moffatt both hit safely for Mohawk Trail. Giard struck out seven in the win. 

Laura McGinnis struck out five and singled at the plate, Dakota Cleveland knocked a double while Katie McGinnis singled for Mahar. 

Greenfield 15, Wahconah 2 (6) — The defending state champs continue to hit the ball well at the plate, accumulating 16 hits on Friday in a six-inning Franklin County League West win over the Warriors at Vets Field. 

The Green Wave scored one in the second, one in the third, three in the fourth and three in the fifth before exploding for seven runs in the sixth to put the game away. 

MacKenzie Paulin went 2-for-4 with a home run and two RBIs for Greenfield. Rachel Dodge was 2-for-4 with a solo home run, Carly Blanchard was 3-for-3 from the plate while Anna Bucala had a pair of hits including a double and brought in three runs in the victory. 

Paulin got the win in the circle, striking out 10 and allowing just five hits. 

Taconic 12, Frontier 6 — The Redhawks led 5-4 going into the fourth, but a pair of errors allowed the Thunder to take a 6-5 lead before they put up five in the fifth to defeat Frontier in a Franklin County League West win in South Deerfield on Friday. 

Liv Machon finished with three hits, one a solo home run. Skyler Steele had a double, a home run and brought in two runs, Delaney Fifield knocked three hits and knocked in a run, Gabby Adams tallied a double and a triple and added an RBI, Ashley Taylor recorded a pair of hits while Hailey Hutkoski and Sophia Pinardi each hit safely in the loss. 

Machon struck out two in the circle for Frontier.

Hopkins 14, Pioneer 1 — Avery Johnson knocked in Kelly Baird with a triple for the lone run of the day for the Panthers, which fell to the Golden Hawks in Northfield on Friday. 

Baird tossed the opening two innings for Pioneer before Brailey Burgh came on to strike out four in five innings work. 

Mount Greylock 12, Turners 0 — Emma Newbury broke things open with a bases-clearing double in the third for the Mounties, with Greylock tacking on three runs in the fifth and six in the seventh to pull away with a Franklin County League West win over the Thunder in Turners on Friday. 

Cam Sweet held Turners to just three hits in the circle, with Madi Liimatainen knocking a double and a single while Janelle Massey hit safely in the loss. Liimatainen struck out 10 in four innings work while Holly Myers struck out two in three innings in the circle for Turners. 

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