AMHERST — The Amherst Regional softball team picked up its first win of the season on Tuesday, beating Gateway Regional, 21-2.

The Hurricanes are near the end of a rebuilding season as most of its roster is made up of middle-schoolers, and against the Gators, one of those youngsters in pitcher Arianna Roberts – a seventh grader – -was instrumental in Amherst notching its first victory.

“We've faced a lot of adversity, especially [because] half our team is in middle school and I'm so proud of them,” Hurricanes head coach Mia Ely said. “Our starting pitcher, Ari, she's in seventh grade and she's been playing amazing and they're working so hard, so [the win] feels amazing.”

Roberts flashed promising signs from the rubber throughout the five-inning outing, occasionally delivering the ball over the plate with intimidating velocity. The 'Canes hurler sat down seven Gateway batters on strikes and scored three runs on the offensive side.

Eighth-graders Ava Eddy and Lily Powell contributed five hits between the two of them and scored a combined four runs en route to Ely's first ever win as Amherst's coach.

“I've never coached before,” Ely said. “I'm excited for this journey with them and I feel like all of their hard work has paid off. They show up every day, it hasn't been easy, but they have.”

Gateway (1-11) is in a similar situation. The Gators' lone win this season came against the 'Canes back on April 16 and head coach Abbey Keeler revealed after Tuesday's game that her team lost quite a bit of experience to graduation last spring.

“This is our building year,” Keeler said. “We lost about eight or nine people for our varsity team last year so we have a lot of girls coming in for the first time playing varsity, some were on the team but didn't play that much. We are definitely at the learning [phase].”

More upperclassmen are on Gateway's roster compared to Amherst and senior catcher Amy Fisk is the Gators' most experienced player, per Keeler. Fisk had one of the Gators' four hits against the 'Canes and did really well swallowing up wild pitches from behind the plate.

Like Ely, this spring marks Keeler's first season as her team's varsity head coach. Keeler served as Gateway's junior varsity coach the past three years and set her expectations more on maintaining her team's effort this season, knowing a large portion of the team entered with inexperience.

“That they would go out there and play hard every single game, really learn to work together and focus on that communication," Keeler said. "We've had a big focus on hitting. I think that's something we're definitely trying to get more of and get on the base more. Just working hard and try to work together. I'm growing and learning right beside them."

Ely expressed a similar sentiment when it came to how she approached her first season at the helm. Additionally, Ely revealed she likes to work on all areas of the game during practices, including strengthening the group's overall fortitude level.

“We also try and do a lot of team engagement and mental toughness stuff to get through those more difficult games," Ely said. "So we really do a mix of everything and my assistant and I both have a lot of experience that we want to give to them so we've been really trying to focus on drills specific to each player but also what we think the team as a whole is needing."

A former Division II college player at Davis & Elkins College in West Virginia, Ely is currently a graduate student at UMass and even though the wins and losses might not indicate it, she is enjoying her first go-around as a high school softball coach.

"They have just shown so much kindness and they've welcomed me in," Ely said. "I know it's not easy with a new coach, but I think we all clicked pretty quickly and I trust them and I think they trust me and my assistant."

Amherst didn’t get much time to soak in its first win Tuesday as it turned around and played Lenox in the second half of a doubleheader. The Millionaires claimed the night cap, 24-1, to remain undefeated at 16-0.

Agawam 9, Frontier 8 — The Redhawks led 8-5 going into the bottom of the seventh but the Brownies rallied and ended the game on a walk-off home run to take down Frontier in an independent contest in Agawam Tuesday. 

Skyler Steele homered and drove in two runs, Delaney Fifield finished with three hits — one a double — and knocked in a run, Ashley Taylor singled, Raine Wonsey and Addie Ehle each had an RBI while Wonsey struck out four in the circle in the loss.

Granby 10, Ware 7 (8) — It took extras, but the Rams’ bats prevailed with three runs in the top of the eighth as they got past Ware in a nail-biter on Tuesday.

Kaitlyn Curran (four runs, two walks, RBI), Cassie Flaherty (triple, three RBIs, two runs) and Katie Grabherr (triple, walk, two RBIs) each recorded two hits for Granby, while Ellie Szlosek and Meredith Bartosz added a hit and two runs apiece. Flaherty’s triple came in the eighth before Bartosz shut down Ware in the bottom of the frame to ultimately give the Rams the win.

Southwick 12, Smith Academy 0 (6) — Caitlin Graves recorded a hit for the Falcons, while pitcher Quinn Carlson struck out five Rams batters in the circle.

Easthampton 9, Ludlow 8 — Trailing by one entering the bottom of the seventh, the Eagles scored twice to walk it off in dramatic fashion and beat the Lions to snap a 14-game losing streak.

Tuesday marked Easthampton’s first win since April 2, its season opener against Mahar.

Belchertown 22, Hampden Charter 1 (5) — A 14-run second inning led to a blowout win for the Orioles, and pitcher Madeline Williams didn’t allow a hit in five innings of work in the circle. Williams struck out 10 and gave up one unearned run.

Williams (three), Sophia Mitus (three), Abby Almeida (three), Lila Roy (two), Kina Roy (two) and Valerie Williams (two) each drove in multiple runs for the Belchertown offense.

Hopkins 7, Mohawk Trail 3 — Lily Ellia notched three RBIs while Maggie Potter plated a pair to pace the Golden Hawks offense in a win on Tuesday in Buckland.

Hopkins is now 14-3 and still tied atop the Franklin County League East with Franklin Tech.

Baseball

Smith Voc 18, Commerce 0 (5) — James Lavallee spun a gem, striking out 10 in a five-inning no-hitter while allowing just one walk on Tuesday.

The Vikings’ offense offered plenty of support, scoring seven times in the first and seven more times in the second inning. Pat Millin mashed three hits and three RBIs while Lavallee, Kaleb Jorritsma and Brayden Kukucka all tallied a pair of hits in the win.

Belchertown 7, Holyoke 3 — The Purple Knights led 3-2 into the seventh inning, but the visiting Orioles scored five times in the frame to snatch control and capture a victory on Tuesday in Holyoke.

Ryan Gould and Thatcher Rudnik had two hits apiece for Belchertown, and Ian McDonald drove in a pair of runs. Gould and Jake Waller combined for 11 strikeouts on the mound.

Holyoke’s Aiden Robinson struck out 10 and pitched into the seventh.

Greenfield 9, Hampshire 6 — Jacob Sicard singled, doubled and drove in three for the Raiders, which fell to the Green Wave in Westhampton Tuesday. 

Riley Florek recorded two hits while Zach Phakos, Joe Moro and Cameron Hunsicker each tallied a hit in the loss. Hampshire led 4-1 early in the game before Greenfield rallied.

South Hadley 4, Wahconah 1 — A trio of runs in the top of the third broke a 0-0 tie and put the Tigers in the driver’s seat on Tuesday, as they hung on for an independent victory in Dalton.

Noah Carillon ripped three hits and had an RBI, Logan Carpenter had a hit, drove in two runs and scored one himself, and Jackson Keller and Ryan Netkovick each tallied RBIs for South Hadley. Justin Moskal struck out 10 and only allowed the one run in a strong outing on the bump.

Frontier 7, Turners 4 — The Thunder led 4-2 going into the sixth but the Redhawks rallied to score three in the sixth and two in the seventh to earn a comeback victory in Turners on Tuesday. 

Jack Cusson finished with a pair of hits and RBIs, Braeden Dion tallied two hits and an RBI, Kaden James singled and drove in two, Brady Poreda tripled while Shawn Baumann and Joey Hutkoski singled for Frontier. Max Skribiski-Banack struck out five in the win.

Girls lacrosse

Pope Francis 20, Granby 12 — The Rams trailed just 12-10 at halftime, but couldn’t keep the offensive firepower going in the second half in a loss on Tuesday.

Kalli White netted five goals for Granby, while Kelly Lynne Kennedy, Mylin Laliberte and Ava-Elizabeth Loughman all scored twice. Faith Ramos made seven saves.

Amherst 15, Lee 1 — The Hurricanes halted its two-game losing streak with the convincing victory on Tuesday. Amherst led 9-0 at halftime and got goals from seven different players to move to 11-4 on the season,

The ‘Canes received a trio of hat tricks as Emilia Leutjen, Caroline Carolla and Kiko Bhowmik all found the back of the net three times. Carolla dished out two assists as well to total five points, a team-high in this one. Sydney Holmes (three assists), Sylvie Walker (two goals), Claire Kennedy (two goals, assist) and Ava Carey (two assists) all earned multiple points for Amherst.

Eden Polak was also stellar in goal for the ‘Canes, picking up 10 saves.

Girls tennis

PVCICS 4, Frontier 1 — Elisa Shinn, Sabine Loinaz, and Lien Powers-Moren powered the Dragons in a sweep of singles play, then Eloise Tulia and Kendell Christensen won first doubles 6-2, 6-3 as they pushed their perfect record to 14-0.

Belchertown 4, Lenox 1 — Mia Corish and Gianna Picardi were strong in singles play, with Corish grabbing a second singles win (6-1, 6-0) and Picardi winning at third singles (6-0, 6-1).

Edith Audette and Katie Collins (6-0, 6-0) dominated at No. 1 doubles and Emma Kornbluth and Allie Randall (6-1, 6-2) won at second doubles.

Pope Francis 4, Northampton 1 — Ruth Pollin-Gray picked up a 6-0, 6-1 victory on Tuesday but was the lone Blue Devils winner.

Pollin-Gray defeated Victoria Parent at No. 2 singles.

Boys tennis

PVCICS 5, Frontier 0 — Lee Ferguson and Gabe Loinaz won first and third singles without losing a single game for the Dragons, while Teddy and James Scott were stellar in first doubles, winning 6-0, 6-2.

At second singles, Derek Ye nabbed a 6-0, 6-2 victory while the No. 2 doubles pairing of Ethan Wang and Simon Speek cruised to a 6-2, 6-2 triumph.

Northampton 4, East Longmeadow 1 — The Devils swept the singles matches, as Reilly Fowles (6-2, 6-0), Durrell Patrick (6-2, 6-4) and Eli Wool (6-4, 6-0) were all victorious on Tuesday.

Jackson Briggs-Nye and Kaz Sugihara teamed for a 6-1, 6-4 win at No. 2 doubles to cap the Northampton points.

Boys volleyball

Belchertown 3, Ware 2 — The Orioles averted disaster in its five-set victory after surrendering a 2-0 set lead to Ware, but closed out the match in the fifth set with a winning score of 15-10.

The first four set scores read 26-24, 25-16, 14-25 and 23-25.

Shea Maclean and Noah Yankson both hammered 13 kills for Belchertown, while Collin Mullen reached 20 assists. Nicholas Ibekilo also surpassed double figures in assists for the Orioles too with 15.

Belchertown wrapped up the regular season with a win to close out with a 5-14 record.

PV Christian 3, Frontier 1 — Tegan Dexter finished with 22 kills and came up with 14 digs for the Redhawks, which fell 23-25, 23-25, 25-23, 25-18 in Springfield Tuesday. 

Nate Rivera smashed 13 kills and made 17 digs, Will Reading recorded five kills, Tavo Vincent-Warner distributed 40 assists while Evan Maio made 14 digs in the loss.

Track & field

Belchertown 73, Easthampton 48 (boys); Easthampton 69.5, Belchertown 56.5 (girls) — On the boys side, George Wheeler led the way with two event wins. Wheeler threw well to earn first in the shot put (33-08 1/2) and discus (111-00). Easthampton was led by Jack Skowron (first in javelin, 120-00) and Liam Scott-Smith (first in 100, 11.90).

The girls were in a close battle, and a strong outing from the Orioles’ Fallon Clancy (two first-place finishes) in the long jump (15-07) and 100m (12.7) wasn’t enough to beat the Eagles on Tuesday.

Frontier 114, Greenfield 31 (girls) — Hannah Davis won the long jump (14-9.75), triple jump (32-3.5) and 100 hurdles (17.1) for the Redhawks in a victory over the Green Wave in South Deerfield Tuesday. 

Rounding out the Frontier winners were Lilly Novak in shot put (27-3.25) and discus (113-0), Bailey Cusson in javelin (98-4), Mary Burt in high jump (5-0), Elsa Brown in pole vault (8-6), Liv Christensen in the mile (6:10), Josie Fosnot in the 400 (1:03.17), Sylvie DiBartolomeo in the 2 mile (12:06.30) and Perla Ordaz in the 800 (2:43.8). Frontier won the 4x400 relay (4:39.3). 

Late Monday results

Girls tennis

Longmeadow 3, Amherst 2 — The ‘Canes had to work overtime to pick up a couple wins against the Lancers, as both match victories came in a third-set tiebreaker on Monday night in Longmeadow.

Katie Gromacki battled back from a 6-2 defeat in the first set to win a 2-6, 7-5, 10-3 thriller at first singles, while Amherst’s Mahima Ganesan earned a 6-4, 3-6, 11-9 triumph at third singles.

Girls lacrosse

Northampton 15, Wahconah 9 – A strong first half powered the Blue Devils to their third straight win on Monday night. Northampton netted 11 goals during the first two quarters to lead 11-4 at halftime.

Imanni Power-Greene garnered six points (two goals, four assists) to highlight the Blue Devils offense and was followed by Makayla Fydenkevez, who produced a hat trick. Maya Bergman-Lagier, Teagan McDonald and Kaydence Braman each scored twice for Northampton. 

Youth baseball

Amherst 27, Chicopee 2 — Every Hurricane reached base and scored at least once during a WMSBL Koufax Division bout on Monday evening at Szot Park in Chicopee.

Amherst scored nine runs in the first inning, with Isaac Lawrence Slavas singling home two to cap off the early rally. The offense continued to shine from there, with Tristan Feeley reaching base in all four of his plate appearances – highlighted by a long double to left field. Gus Garrett Peltier, Daniel Lebron and Oliver Howard split the pitching duties for Amherst.