A pitcher’s duel in Hadley went down to the wire on Monday.
Hopkins Academy’s Liam Flynn and Smith Academy’s Griffin Smiarowski went toe-to-toe on the rubber, but it was the host Golden Hawks that held on for a 2-1 victory in the Western Mass. Class D quarterfinals.
No. 2 Hopkins will host No. 3 Ware in the semifinal round on Thursday.
Seventh-seeded Smith Academy led 1-0 after scoring a run in the top of the fourth inning. Logan Graves walked and eventually scored on an RBI single from Smiarowski.
“We had a really competitive start to the game, and that set the tone for us,” Smith Academy coach Mike Afflitto said. “We talked about it, this would be a game where one or two [runs] might be enough. My guys really bought into that, it’s just Hopkins made a few more plays than we did.”
Hopkins rallied with both of its runs in the home half of the fourth. Flynn singled and Chace Earle dropped down a bunt that resulted in an error to tie the game. Earle eventually scored the game-winning run when he touched home on a wild pitch.
“I don’t think we’ve been a small ball team all year, but we can adapt, and if that’s what we have to do, we can do it,” Flynn said.
Flynn struck out nine batters in a complete-game victory for Hopkins.
Smiarowski struck out three but allowed just three hits in another standout outing on the mound for the Falcons.
“This team feels much more mature than last year’s. Yeah, everybody’s a year older, but that was a big response. Young teams don’t do a lot of that,” Hopkins coach Dan Vreeland said.
Class B quarters
No. 7 Hampshire 9, No. 2 Pittsfield 8 — A seven-run top of the seventh inning propelled the Raiders to an improbable quarterfinal victory on the road in the Berkshires on Monday.
Trailing 8-2 and down to its last three outs, Hampshire’s offense got to work. The Raiders took advantage of five Pittsfield walks over the final two innings, and Jacob Sicard came through with the game-winning, two out RBI single that plated Jack Boyle for the 9-8 advantage.
Liam Pond was 3-for-4 in the win while Drew Thompson had a hit and two RBIs and Sicard finished with two hits and two RBIs.
The Hampshire bullpen allowed just one run in three innings to set the stage for the come-from-behind win. Cody Gaida earned his first varsity win in relief of Jack Boyle and Edward Przybyla. Drew Thompson struck out two in the seventh to record the save.
Hampshire will play at No. 3 Monument Mountain the Class B semifinal round.
No. 5 Wahconah 4, No. 4 Belchertown 3 — The host Orioles rallied with a run in the sixth and one more in the seventh, but the Warriors held on as pitcher James Rabuse finished off a complete-game outing to send Wahconah into the Class B semifinals.
Wahconah, which will play top-seeded Taconic in the semis, led 4-0 into the bottom of the fourth inning. Rabuse struck out seven while allowing six hits and two walks.
Belchertown starter Josh Misiaszek also went the distance, notching seven strikeouts and just one walk while allowing six hits. The Orioles committed three errors on the afternoon.
Tyler McDonald had two hits and scored a run for Belchertown, while Misiaszek added a hit and drove in a pair of runs. Aidan Torna doubled and drove in a run of his own.
Class C quarters
No. 1 Smith Voc 7, No. 8 Mahar 1 — James Lavallee tossed another gem, and the top-seeded Vikings opened their postseason run with a solid 7-1 victory on Monday at Arcanum Field in Northampton.
Lavallee struck out eight and allowed just two hits and two walks to pace Smith Vocational (18-1). The Vikings scored one in the first, one in the second, one in the third and two more in the fourth. They tacked on a pair in the bottom of the sixth to put things out of reach.
Rosco Palmer was 4-for-4 (2B, 3B) with three RBIs to pace the offensive effort, while Lavallee had two hits. Carter Blanchette also had a hit and scored twice, while Jared Baer, Caden Payne and Caelan Finnie all had a hit and an RBI.
No. 3 Frontier 3, No. 6 Greenfield 2 (9) — The Redhawks rallied with two runs in the bottom of the seventh inning to force extras, and Miles Ferreira scored the game-winning run on an error off a bunted ball off the bat of Brady Poreda to send them to the semifinals with a 3-2 victory at Valiton Field.
Frontier (13-6) will host its semifinal contest against Pathfinder, after the No. 7 Pioneers upset No. 2 Drury, 2-1, on Monday. That game will get underway at 4 p.m. on Thursday in South Deerfield.
Trailing 2-0, Wyatt Edes got the rally started in the bottom of the seventh for Frontier, reaching after a throw to first was offline. Eathon Bryant and Ferreira followed it up with singles to load the bases for Jesse Dubreuil, who blasted a line drive to short. Jackson Campbell was on the spot, however, snagging the liner and tagging second before Bryant was able to get back to get the second out of the inning.
With runners on first and third, Alex Gochinski came to the plate and hit a hard ball to third. That throw to first was offline, which allowed Edes to come home and cut the deficit to 2-1. Nico Fasulo then cracked a ball to third that was mishandled, allowing Ferreira to score and tie the game.
Girls tennisClass B semis
No. 2 Ludlow 3, No. 3 Amherst 2 — Sofia DaSilva-Askew was a 6-2, 6-1 winner at No. 1 singles for the Hurricanes, which fell just short of a spot in the Class B final.
The first doubles tandem of Emma Leonard-Miller and Janaki Groton won a marathon match, scoring a 7-5, 3-6, 10-5 victory. Ludlow will play No. 1 Belchertown in the title match.
Non-playoff gamesGirls lacrosse
South Hadley 13, Belchertown 9 — Raquel Losty tallied five goals for the Tigers in a 13-9 victory on Monday.
Emily Piligian added a hat trick for South Hadley.
Belchertown’s Paige Magner, Samantha Pacunas and Michelle Zaluga each tallied twice.
Mount Greylock 22, Granby 5 — The Mounties built an 11-3 halftime lead en route to Monday’s victory.
Kalli White scored three goals for the Rams, while Ella Laliberte and Kelly-Lynne Kennedy also tallied. Faith Ramos made six saves in net.
Boys tennis
Belchertown 3, Pope Francis 2 — Trevor Weiss was a 6-0, 6-1 winner at No. 1 singles for the Orioles.
Cam Kazowka and Jake Gormely (7-5, 6-4) took a win at No. 1 doubles, while Belchertown also won at second doubles where Luke Dudek and Tyler Burrows were 6-1, 6-4 winners.