A pair of Franklin County rivals with a spot in the state championship on the line?

Local sporting fans will want to get to Westfield State University on Wednesday afternoon.

Top-seeded Greenfield looks to continue its outstanding season when it tangles with No. 21 Frontier in the MIAA Division 5 softball semifinals at 3 p.m. at WSU’s Hagan Field.

The Green Wave (18-6 overall) are one win away from just their second state final in program history. Greenfield’s only other appearance in a state title game came back in 1986, when the club dropped a 10-0 decision to East Freetown Apponequet in the Div. 2 final.

“We talked about that the other day, and I reiterated to the kids that this doesn’t happen every year,” Greenfield coach John Hickey said. “You can make the postseason most years and give yourself a chance, but to make a deep run, it doesn’t always happen. So take advantage and enjoy it, but don’t take it for granted.”

Standing in Greenfield’s way is a familiar foe. The Redhawks (8-16) have been the Cinderella story of the 2022 tournament season, winning three consecutive road games against higher-seeded foes to punch a spot in the state semifinals for the first time since 1999. Frontier won the Western Mass. title that year, edging Pioneer 2-1, and ultimately reached the state final before falling to North Reading 5-0. It was the end of a string of four state championship game appearances in five years for the Hawks — they went 0-4 in those finals.

“I think we can do it. I have faith,” Frontier pitcher Ashley Taylor said. “Greenfield’s a tough team… number one in the state. They can all hit the ball. But if we can make plays and all do our thing, I think it’ll be good. It’s going to be a close game.”

Frontier’s path to Wednesday’s state semifinal was full of redemption tales along the way. After losing twice during the regular season to both Mount Greylock and Franklin Tech, the Hawks flipped the script and handled both teams in the tourney. First they blanked Greylock in the Round of 16 via a whopping 15-0 margin, and then followed it up with a tidy 7-1 victory over Franklin Tech in the quarterfinals on Friday.

“Greylock, we lost to them twice, third time we just beat them (in the Round of 16),” said Taylor. “Same thing with Tech, we had to go into it like we know we can. We all had confidence at the plate and we made sure of it.”

It’s been quite a ride for Frontier, which was just 3-14 through 17 games and toiling in the bottom of the very difficult Franklin County League West. But despite the record, the Hawks were still in position to earn a state tournament berth because of that difficult strength of schedule. Frontier coach Gary Deane said the MIAA’s weekly power rankings release helped keep his team motivated when things weren’t going according to plan.

“The state rankings helped us so much,” began Deane. “As soon as they came out, we were 3-12 or something, and I told them, ‘girls, you are playing in the best league, with the best pitching, and look at us. We were [ranked] like 25 at the time. There are 79 teams [in Division 5], we’re 25th. We just kept with it, saw it go up and down after wins and losses. And that helped a lot, cause our record just made us seem we were the doormats.”

Records don’t mean much once the single-elimination format of a state tournament begins. Nor do regular season scores, as Frontier proved against both Greylock and Tech, but Greenfield has certainly had the Hawks’ number so far this season. The Green Wave scored victories over Frontier of 18-2 on April 25 and 22-2 on May 5, though Hickey said he knows those lopsided wins don’t mean much on Wednesday.

“It’s a new season. We can’t look back at previous games because the most important one is the next one and it just happens to be against a team we’ve played twice already,” Hickey said. “If we swing at strikes and put the ball in play, hit the ball hard, I’m comfortable with our chances.”

Greenfield survived a test in the Round of 16, edging No. 16 Maynard 3-2 before thumping No. 9 Hopedale in the quarterfinals on Friday night, 15-0.

Frontier’s run as the 21st-seeded team in the field has turned heads across the state. The Redhawks are the lowest-seeded team remaining in the softball semifinals across all five divisions. The next-lowest seed remaining comes in the Division 1 bracket, where No. 9 Peabody is still alive thanks in part to top-seeded Bishop Feehan being ousted in the Round of 16 by No. 16 Newton North.

NOTES: Fans looking to attend Wednesday’s state semifinal at Westfield State will need to purchase tickets online prior to entry. The MIAA said no cash will be accepted at the door. All tickets cost $10 and are available at gofan.co — search for your school to find the correct matchup. … The state final is set for either Friday or Saturday at Sortino Field on the campus of UMass. Neither school has ever won a softball state title. … Wednesday’s game is the first of a doubleheader at Westfield State. The Division 4 semifinal between No. 2 Amesbury and No. 3 Wahconah will follow at 5:30 p.m. … Westfield High School is also still alive in the state tournament, as the fourth-seeded Bombers play in the Division 2 semifinals on Wednesday against top-seeded Billerica (4:30 p.m., Worcester State University).

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