High schools: Amherst baseball downs Northampton in season finale

Amherst’s Neil Cunniffe had two hits to help the Hurricanes beat Northampton 11-1 on Wednesday.

Amherst’s Neil Cunniffe had two hits to help the Hurricanes beat Northampton 11-1 on Wednesday. STAFF PHOTO/DAN LITTLE

Staff Reports

Published: 05-22-2024 9:31 PM

Knotted up at one apiece after two innings, the Amherst baseball team jumped on its biggest rival, Northampton, with six runs in the bottom of the third to pull away for good. The ‘Canes went on to score in every inning the rest of the way while limiting the Blue Devils to just two hits – good for an 11-1 win in the Battle of the Bridge on Wednesday afternoon.

Amherst’s Thatcher Rudnik fanned 10 ‘Hamp batters on the mound, surrendering two hits and one run on just one walk through all six innings of work. 

Neil Cunniffe led Amherst with two hits while Matt Hockman and Spencer Waite each drove in two runs. Waite and Rudnik walked twice while Waite and Cunniffe each stole multiple bases.

Aiden Zera got the nod for Northampton, and he allowed four runs, four hits and two walks over two innings of work.

Both the Hurricanes and Blue Devils have concluded their seasons this spring.

Belchertown 18, South Hadley 7 (6) — The Orioles rattled off three or more runs in four of their six innings at the plate en route to a run-rule win over Hampshire County-foe South Hadley on Wednesday.

Derek Gould (four hits, three RBIs), Jake Waller (four hits, two runs, one RBI), Ian McDonald (three hits, three RBIs, two runs), Chris Rivers (two hits, two RBIs, one run) and Ryan Gould (two hits, one run, one RBI) all had huge offensive days to help Belchertown to victory.

The Tigers matched Belchertown’s three first-inning runs with three of their own, as their offense was led by Burke Belsky (one hit, four RBIs) and Matt Drobiak (two hits, one walk).

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Gateway 20, Commerce 4 (6) — It was a tie game (4-4) heading into the fifth inning, then the Gators’ offense exploded for eight runs in the frame and added eight more in the sixth to end the contest in six innings – Gateway’s third win in three days to officially qualify them for the state tournament.

Levi Savoy tallied three hits and scored twice, Weston Andersen (two runs) notched a pair of hits including a double and Jacob Maynard had two hits and crossed home plate as that trio buoyed the Gators to victory.

Softball

Smith Academy 8, Southwick 7 — Emma Moynihan’s (two runs, one RBI) two-hit day helped the Falcons beat the Rams on Wednesday in a consolation bout. Emilia Neves hit a triple, scored one run and had one RBI while Alexa Jagodzinski recorded an RBI double and scored a run.

Caitlin Graves and Emma Tisdell collected one hit and one run apiece as well. 

Putnam 15, Northampton 13 — The Blue Devils couldn’t hold on to their 13-10 lead as the Beavers scored five in the top of the seventh inning to come from behind and win on Wednesday afternoon.

Lily Pelis went 4-for-4 with three RBIs and two runs scored to lead the way for Northampton while Sasha Rodriguez (three hits, three runs, one RBI), Caroline Riordan (three hits, three runs, two RBIs), Haly Doucette-Kaplan (two hits, two runs) and Jayda Alejandro (two hits, two runs, two RBIs) each recorded multiple hits in what was one of the Blue Devils’ (17 hits) best offensive performances this season.

Belchertown 25, Renaissance 11 (5) — All 25 of the Orioles’ runs came in the first three innings as they cruised to a consolation win on Wednesday.

Belchertown drew 27 walks at the plate and recorded eight hits, with Lila Roy collecting three of them. Keira Ryan, Brenna Raines and Lorelai Smith each had one hit and two RBIs in the win.

Boys volleyball

Belchertown 3, Southwick 1 — After losing the first set, the Orioles buckled down and cruised to a gentlemen’s sweep on Wednesday. Set scores were 21-25, 25-14, 25-19, 25-21.

Shea MacLean (15) and Brian Burns (13) combined to put down 28 kills, Rainer Kristensen added 27 assists and four aces while Noah Yankson and Gavin Couchon each had five kills in the win for Belchertown.

Late Tuesday results

Baseball

Gateway 12, Smith Academy 11 (9) — The Gators outlasted the Falcons in a full-length major league game on Tuesday, with Weston Andersen providing the game-winning hit in the ninth inning.

Levi Savoy (three), Theo Deangelis Page (two), Dalton Savoy (two) and Andersen all tallied multiple hits for Gateway.

Smith Academy’s Harry LaFlamme reached base four times and scored four times, Robert Slysz tallied two hits and Garret Willard added a base knock and two runs.

Belchertown 12, Smith Vocational 2 (6) — Ten runs across the second and third innings (five apiece) propelled the Orioles to a six-inning win over the Vikings in a Hampshire County independent showdown on Tuesday.

Josh Misiaszek nabbed three hits (single, double, triple) and two RBIs, Ryan Gould had three RBIs and a base hit and Evan Ferguson and Kamden Houle each tallied two hits and an RBI for Belchertown. Ferguson struck out eight and walked one in a complete game on the bump.

Jared Baer ripped two of Smith Voc’s three hits, James Lavallee added the other, as well as an RBI, and Corey Kirkendall collected an RBI.

Girls lacrosse

Northampton 10, Pope Francis 9 — Teagan McDonald (four), Makayla Fydenkevez (three) and Imanni Power-Greene (two) netted multiple goals to help the Blue Devils squeak past the Cardinals on Tuesday.

Olivia Wright added a goal and an assist while Ainsley Dawson recorded 11 saves in the cage for Northampton.

Westfield 12, Belchertown 10 — The LePage sisters were on fire on Tuesday, with Kenzie LePage scoring five goals and Madysen LePage tallying three goals and four assists to pace the Orioles offense.

Paige Magner notched four points of her own (two goals, two assists) and Emma Almeida collected seven saves.

Youth sports

13U baseball

Northampton 7, Southampton 6 — Trailing 6-3 heading into the bottom of the last, the Blue Devils stormed from behind to earn a thrilling walk-off victory. Oliver Yao brought home Bradyn Rios on a hit-and-run to score the winning run in the sixth inning.

Dylan Lawrence-Riddell’s clutch two-run single put Northampton in the position to walk it off. He also came on in relief to stymie a strong Southampton lineup, earning him a win on the mound. Iggy Piotrowski (two), Maceo Nteta, Alex Visentin-Laing and Easton Jewell all picked up hits for the Blue Devils.