Bats came alive in the third inning for the Belchertown Post 239 Senior American Legion baseball team, as a five-run frame brought it from down a run to ahead 5-1 in the blink of an eye. After Jake Waller held Monson Post 241 scoreless in the fourth, Post 239 added two more runs to give themselves a six-run cushion.

Brodie Funk came in and handled the rest from there, tossing three shutout innings while only allowing two base runners – securing Belchertown a 7-1 win on Wednesday night in Monson.

Jake Smith continued to swing well for Post 239. Smith knocked a pair of hits, including a double, and drove in two runs while scoring another to lead the offense, while Ian McDonald tallied two hits and an RBI of his own. Josh Misiaszek (double, run) added two RBIs, Chace Earle (hit, walk) reached base twice and plated a run while Spencer Waite (run) and Waller each hit safely in the victory.

Waller’s start lasted four innings, and he allowed four hits, two walks and one unearned run while striking out one.

Belchertown Post 239 (4-1) has the rest of the week off before taking on Aldenville Post 337 in a rematch of last year’s District 3 title game. That tilt is scheduled for Monday at 5:45 p.m. at Belchertown High School.

Central/West All-Star Game

Western Mass. All-Stars 7, Central Mass. All-Stars 5 — After trailing 4-0 through three innings, all seven of the West’s runs came in the top of the fourth and they hung on to defeat Central in the annual All-Star Game for seniors on Monday.

Four Hampshire County players were represented, including Hampshire’s Zach Phakos and the Belchertown trio of Thatcher Rudnik, Ian McDonald and Josh Misiaszek.

Rudnik tallied a hit, drove in a pair of runs and scored one himself, McDonald went 1-for-2 at the plate, Phakos walked and came around to score and Misiaszek struck out three in his two innings of work on the mound.

All four local athletes pitched in during West’s win on Monday at Shaw Field in Millbury.

Youth baseball

Northampton 11, South Hadley 4 — The Blue Devils (15-1) won their semifinal playoff matchup against the Tigers in decisive fashion despite South Hadley jumping out to a 2-0 lead in the second inning on a two run single by Lucas Magagnoli.

Northampton evened the score thanks to Tait Kennedy’s two-run single in the bottom of the frame. The Blue Devils then scored seven runs in the fourth inning to break things open. Dylan Lawrence-Riddell singled, driving in one run, and Easton Jewell singled to score a pair. Northampton piled up 15 hits in the game. Jewell led the team with three hits in three at bats. Lawrence-Riddell, Kennedy, Layne Nagle, Oliver Yau and Bradyn Rios collected two hits apiece for the Blue Devils.

Northampton didn't commit a single error in the field, playing solid defense behind Lawrence-Riddell – who earned the win on the mound for the Blue Devils. He allowed two hits and two runs over four innings, striking out six. Maceo Nteta pitched three strong innings in relief.

Connor Laliberte (double), Jacoby Dunn, Magagnoli and Jacob Carrasquillo each collected one hit for South Hadley, with Dunn and Magagnoli each driving in two runs. Landon Whalen started the game for South Hadley, pitching the first three frames and returning for the bottom of the sixth. Whalen allowed eight hits and two runs over four innings, striking out four and walking one.

Northampton’s next game will be for the championship of the Western Mass Suburban Baseball League on Saturday at 1 p.m. at Florence Athletic Fields. The Blue Devils will take on the winner of Friday’s semifinal between Amherst and Palmer.