H.S. Roundup: Amherst girls tennis notches fifth straight win, blanks Belchertown

AMHERST — The Amherst girls tennis team continued its winning streak, taking home its fifth victory in a row with a 5-0 sweep over Belchertown on Wednesday night.

After losing their first match of the season, the Hurricanes have gone undefeated since, now with back-to-back victories against the Orioles in consecutive matchups.

The closest competition of the night came on the third singles court, with Amherst’s Mya Glace taking on Belchertown’s Harper Chotkowski. Glace took the first set 6-2, before the two battled back and forth in a tough second.

After some long rallies, each side looked as if they could take the win. Glace squeaked out the victory, winning 7-5

“Give a lot of credit to Belchertown, their third singles player really didn’t give up at all,” Hurricanes head coach Claire Cocco said. “That was a fun match to watch, and I think everybody was enjoying the long points.”

Emma Learned-Miller defeated Amanda Murray for Amherst in No. 1 singles 6-0, 6-1, while Mahima Ganesun won over Edith Audette 6-0, 6-0 in No. 2 singles for the Hurricanes.

Success on the singles courts has been huge for Amherst during its now five-match winning streak. The dominance on Wednesday was more of the same for the group, continuing to improve over the course of the season.

“We’ve had a successful season so far, and that’s really a lot of credit to the kids coming out every day to practice, and taking it really seriously,” Cocco said. “… We work hard in practices, and the kids are also telling us they’re having fun, which is what we want.”

Marin Carlyon and Micayla Shefftz formed the first doubles pairing for the Hurricanes on Wednesday, taking home a 6-2, 6-1 win against Emma Kornbluth and Allie Randall.

The second pairing for Amherst included Cynthia Tian and Amrita Das, facing off against Gianna Boisjolie and Charlotte Perry from the Orioles. The Hurricanes duo came away on top, winning 6-2, 6-1.

With a bunch of moving pieces throughout all of the spots for Amherst, the team has stayed consistent in their play, finding success no matter the role.

“Almost every match we play, we have a little bit of a different lineup, depending on who’s available that day,” Cocco said. “So I’m proud of my kids for being flexible.”

The loss for Belchertown puts its record at 1-9 on the season to this point, looking to get back on track on Monday, May 4, at 4 p.m. on the road against West Springfield for the third contest of a five-match road trip.

Amherst improves to 5-1 on the year with Wednesday’s win, looking for redemption against the one team they’ve lost to this season when it takes on Longmeadow on Thursday, April 30, at 5:30 p.m. on the road.

Baseball

Hopkins 7, Agawam 6 (nine innings) — Wyatt Cook’s walk-off single gave the Golden Hawks their sixth straight win in the marathon against the Brownies.

Derek Gromacki scored the game-winning run, after reaching base via walk. A stolen base and a single from Harry West moved Gromacki 90 feet away from the plate, before Cook drove him in.

Aiden Keeling-Lococo stayed hot in the batter’s box, finishing 3-for-4, while West went 2-for-3.

Tucker Russell lasted 7 2/3 innings and struck out five and walked four, but the win went to Gromacki, who went the final 1 1/3 innings.

Gateway 18, Putnam 2 — Weston Anderson’s 2-for-4 night with a triple and five RBIs at the plate helped lead the Gators to their 10th straight win to start the year.

Bow Briggs also played a big part, going 3-for-3 at the dish with a pair of RBIs, while Theo DeAngelis-Page and Jacob Maynard combined for five scoreless innings pitched with 14 strikeouts.

Smith Academy 3, Sci-Tech 2 — Harrison LaFlamme threw seven innings on the mound in the Falcons’ one-run victory, allowing two earned runs while picking up nine strikeouts.

Owen Lauder led the way for Smith Academy at the plate, finishing the night 1-for-2 with a walk, two runs driven in and a run scored.

Boys Volleyball

Belchertown 3, Putnam 1 — Gavin Couchon’s 17-kill performance led to a big win (25-12, 20-25, 25-20, 25-18) for the Orioles. The junior added 18 digs, four aces and a block to his productive night.

Arda Cayan did well to set his teammates up for kill opportunities from his spot as the squad’s setter, tallying 30 assists in the win. Dara Mao was efficient on the backend, picking up 19 digs of his own.

Softball

Belchertown 14, Pope Francis 1 — Samantha Letzrisen led the Orioles in an offensive outburst from the squad, going 3-for-4 with four RBIs in Wednesday night’s dominant victory.

Lila Roy was a flawless 4-for-4 at the dish, tacking on three RBIs, with Kina Roy nearly matching the production, finishing her night 4-for-4 as well with two RBIs of her own.

Smith Academy 25, Mahar 16 — The Falcons came out on top of Wednesday’s slugfest, led by Millie Barszcz, who had two singles and one double, four runs scored and three RBIs.

Lily Harrington had two hits, two runs scored and three RBIs of her own, while Madelyn Barrett had two hits, two runs scored and two RBIs. 

Northampton 28, Central 0 (five innings) — The Blue Devils demolished the Golden Eagles on the road in a game that featured 17 hits from the visitors.

Rosie Simmons (four hits, six RBIs) and Ryleigh Pease (four hits) starred for Northampton at the plate.

Emily Kajka threw a one-hitter in the circle as the Blue Devils’ starter, until Avery Hicks pitched the final two innings in relief.

Girls Lacrosse

Amherst 10, South Hadley 6 — Ava Carey’s four-goal performance led the Hurricanes to a narrow victory over the Tigers on Wednesday night.

Kiko Bhowmik picked up two goals and an assist, while Claire Kennedy tacked on two goals of her own for Amherst. Kelcey Zrauniq, Lauren Montemangni and Nora Vaughn all tallied two goals each for South Hadley.

Northampton 11, Agawam 6 — A second-half surged helped the Blue Devils snap their three-game skid.

Northampton outscored the Brownies 7-3 in the final two quarters after taking a slight 4-3 lead into halftime.

Makayla Fydenkevez was on fire on offense, tallying five goals and assist for the victors.

Late Tuesday Results

Outdoor track

Jaybriel Rivera-Soto had a record-breaking meet for the Purple Knights boys’ team in their 93-43 dual-meet loss to Ludlow at the Robert Sports Complex.

Rivera-Soto set a new program record in the 110-meter hurdles, winning the race in 15.20 seconds. The senior also placed third in the 200 and fourth in the 100.

On the girls side, Addison Rodriguez won three events to pace Holyoke in its 95-41 defeat. Rodriguez won the shot put, discus and javelin in a dominant day on the field.