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KEVIN GUTTING

Sean Sullivan, second from right, is congratulated by his South Hadley teammates after homering in the third inning of their George Perry Memorial Baseball Tournament game against Northampton at Arcanum Field Friday.

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KEVIN GUTTING

Northampton senior Mike Lentner delivers a pitch to South Hadley in the second inning of their George Perry Memorial Tournament at Arcanum Field Friday. Lentner tossed a three-hitter as Northampton won 6-2.

The defending Western Massachusetts Division 3 baseball champions will defend their title after all.

Anthony Laurenitis' sacrifice fly with one out in the bottom of the sixth inning scored Gary Grandonico from third to provide the winning margin in Frontier Regional's 3-2 win over Palmer that clinched a postseason berth for the Red Hawks, who finished the regular season at 10-10.

After losing to Mahar on May 14, Frontier fell to 6-10. Any loss over its next four games would have meant no postseason for the Red Hawks, who lost in the state final last year.

But wins over Mohawk (7-5), Athol (16-2) and Turners Falls (7-5) set the stage for Friday's showdown with the Panthers, who had already secured their place in the postseason.

Frontier led 2-0 after three innings, but Palmer scored one in the fourth and tied the game in the sixth, setting up Laurenitis' heroics.

A single and a stolen base put the tying run in scoring position with two outs for Palmer in the top of the seventh, but Grandonico, who struck out six and did not walk anyone, fanned Ian Sawicki to end the game.

Frontier coach Aaron Campbell said the must-win scenario helped prepare his team for the playoffs which will start next week.

"We feel like we're battled-tested. I feel like we just played four playoff games," Campbell said. "Every game in the last four was an elimination game. The kids have taken that approach. We're only 10-10, but we've beaten some good teams. Our kids are ready."

Frontier has now reached the tournament in 14 straight seasons.

Northampton 6, South Hadley 2 - The Blue Devils picked up the win at the George Perry Memorial Tournament at Arcanum Field, as both teams qualified for the postseason.

When East Longmeadow defeated Ludlow and Northampton beat the Tigers, it created a four-way tie in the Suburban League at 3-5 among Ludlow, South Hadley, Belchertown and Northampton behind the Spartans (19-1, 8-0).

Mike Lentner tossed a complete game three-hitter Friday for the Blue Devils (9-10). He gave up one earned run on four walks and struck out five.

Sam Barron was 3-for-4 with a double and two RBIs, and Max Talbot (triple) and Jeff Powers (single) each had RBI hits for Northampton.

Sean Sullivan hit a solo home run for South Hadley (7-12), and Kyle Grumoli was 2-for-3 with a double.

Tigers pitcher Paul Ciolek allowed six runs, five earned, on seven hits and four walks while striking out six.

Cathedral 2, Amherst Regional 1 - The Hurricanes (12-7, 7-3 Valley League) lost their bid for a league title as the Panthers came from behind and beat Kevin Ziomek at Arcanum Field in Northampton in the George Perry Memorial Tournament.

Cathedral (16-3, 8-2) earned the league title outright as Agawam (10-10, 4-6) qualified for the tournament with a 6-4 upset win over Westfield Friday.

Amherst finished tied for second with the Bombers (15-5).

Ziomek struck out nine and allowed four hits over six innings.

Dean Bonneau, Fred Shepard and Matt Musante each had a hit for Amherst.

John Hickson struck out three for the win, and Matt O'Herron got the save for Cathedral. The two combined for a three-hitter.

Smith Academy 4, Smith Vocational 0 - The Falcons turned the tables on the Vikings in the season finale for both teams in Hatfield.

Smith Academy scored all four runs on seven hits off Smith Vocational starter Mike Walkowicz and retained the Barbuto-Shaughnessy Bowl for a fifth straight season.

The silver bowl - named for retired Smith Academy coach Rocky Barbuto and current Smith Vocational coach Ed Shaughnessy - goes to one of the teams if it wins the two-game season series.

Walkowicz (4-4) defeated the Falcons 4-0 behind 11 strikeouts on April 29. Walkowicz, who went 2-for-3 at the plate, struck out five Friday and walked four over four innings.

Andy Blair struck out four, walked one and allowed one hit in two innings of relief for the Vikings.

Chris Sulda earned the complete-game win for Smith Academy (7-13, 3-9 Tri-County North). He struck out six, walked two and allowed five hits.

Sulda also went 2-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored to help his cause.

Tony Afflitto was 3-for-4 and scored a run for the Falcons, and Colin Dowd had one hit, one run scored and one RBI.

Hopkins Academy 11, Granby 0 - Bryan Pelchat went 3-for-5 with two runs scored as the Golden Hawks (13-7) cruised in their regular season finale in Granby.

Burke Bonneville went six innings, allowing three hits and four walks while striking out five to earn the win for Hopkins, and Tim Cooke tossed a perfect seventh.

Karl Kapinos was 2-for-3 with two runs scored and two RBIs for Hopkins.

Adam Majka took the loss for Granby (15-5). He allowed eight runs, six earned, on nine hits and seven walks while striking out four.

Mount Everett 5, Gateway Regional 4 - The Gators (11-9) scored four runs in the bottom of the sixth to take a 4-3 lead but the Eagles (13-3) answered with two runs in the seventh to win in Huntington.

Gateway put the tying run on third with two outs in the seventh, but Mike Miller struck out in a 14-pitch at-bat to end the game.

Trailing 3-0, Gateway loaded the bases with no outs in the sixth. Miller plated the first run with a single. Trevor Hamel then had an RBI-sacrifice fly and Korey Whitaker added a two-run single as the Gators took the lead.

Gabe Craig, Ray Bressette and Joe Simonowicz each had a single for Gateway.

Jeremy Tanguay struck out five and walked five for the Gators.