Amherst College men’s ice hockey coach Jack Arena to retire after 42 years

By RYAN AMES

AMHERST — Jack Arena, the longtime Amherst College men’s hockey coach, has announced his retirement, the Mammoths’ athletic department announced on Monday.

South Deerfield’s Keith Burch advances to Final Qualifying Round for 2025 U.S. Senior Open

By GARRETT COTE

LONGMEADOW — The 2025 U.S. Senior Open Local Qualifier at Longmeadow Country Club took place on Monday, with the top 15 players and two alternates advancing to the Final Qualifying Round for the 45th U.S. Senior Open Championship, which is scheduled for June. 25-29 at Broadmoor Golf Club in Colorado. 

Baseball: Greenfield’s Conner Bergeron holds Granby to one hit to lead Wave to 10-0 victory (PHOTOS)

By RYAN AMES

GRANBY — It was the Conner Bergeron show on Monday afternoon as the eighth-grader led the Greenfield baseball team past Granby, 10-0, at the Granby Baseball Diamond in a five-inning affair.

UMass Men’s Basketball: Florida standout joins UMass men’s hoops roster

By GARRETT COTE

AMHERST — Frank Martin has finalized his roster, and the fourth-year UMass men’s basketball coach went out with a bang for his final commit.

High School Sports: Games to watch this week

By GARRETT COTE

April Vacation is in the rear view and thanks to the rain-filled start to the season, local teams will be playing a lot these next couple weeks to get all their games in before the deadline to finish the regular season arrives.

Former UMass star Dans Locmelis making immediate impact with AHL’s Providence Bruins

By RYAN AMES

SPRINGFIELD – Drafted college hockey players have the unique ability to jump to the professional ranks days after their college team’s season ends. Cale Makar did it in 2019, joining the Colorado Avalanche during the Stanley Cup Playoffs immediately following UMass hockey’s first ever trip to the Frozen Four.

HS Roundup: Smith Vocational baseball erases late deficit, defeats South Hadley in extra innings to remain unbeaten (PHOTOS)

By GARRETT COTE

Another game, another win for the Smith Vocational baseball team on Friday afternoon in South Hadley, but the Vikings had to work extra for this one.

Softball: Granby offense stays red-hot in dominant win over Smith Academy (PHOTOS)

By GARRETT COTE

HATFIELD — The Granby softball team has averaged 14.8 runs per game over its last seven contests. The Rams’ bats have been on a tear. That average went up on Friday.

Are goggles enough? Area girls lacrosse coaches and players weigh-in on the safety/equipment issue of their sport

By RYAN AMES

Believe it or not, lacrosse is the oldest team sport in North America. Dating back to the 17th century, the modern-day game originated from Indigenous tribes in Canada. The sport didn’t pick up in popularity in the United States until the 19th century, which also happened to coincide with the first-ever game to feature women.

HS Roundup: Frontier boys volleyball holds off Belchertown rally for five-set win (PHOTOS)

By GARRETT COTE

SOUTH DEERFIELD — The Frontier boys volleyball team watched its 2-0 lead evaporate in a heartbeat. The Redhawks led the third set 23-21 but Belchertown scored the next four points to steal the set and extend the match. In the fourth set, the Orioles squeaked out another 25-23 victory to force a fifth and final frame.

UMass basketball: Minutemen land UMBC guard Marcus Banks Jr.

By GARRETT COTE

AMHERST — Many UMass men’s basketball fans were waiting patiently for a fourth-year head coach Frank Martin to make a big splash in the transfer portal, and on Thursday afternoon, he certainly did.

Hampshire Regional softball coach Brian McGan to be inducted into New York Baseball Hall of Fame

By GARRETT COTE

The Albany Twilight League has been around for almost 100 years, and fields some of the best former professional and college baseball players from across the country. Hampshire Regional head softball coach Brian McGan played in the Twilight League back in the 1980s for nearly a decade once his professional playing days came to a close.

HS Notebook: Local tennis teams impressing during month of April

By GARRETT COTE

While baseball and softball typically dominate the conversation of spring sports in western Massachusetts, there have been a number of tennis teams across Hampshire County quietly putting together outstanding seasons as we close in on the end of April.

‘We knew he was going to be special’: Deerfield Academy alum Elic Ayomanor set to hear his name called during 2025 NFL Draft

By THOMAS JOHNSTON

The Deerfield Academy football program has turned into a power under Brian Barbato, sending numerous players to compete at the Division I level. 

HS Roundup: Granby boys volleyball sweeps SICS to improve to 7-2

By RYAN AMES

GRANBY — The Granby boys volleyball team picked up its third clean sweep of the season in its 3-0 win over Springfield International Charter School on Wednesday. The Rams won by at least seven points during each set (25-18, 25-18, 25-17) to improve to 7-2 on the season.

Granby’s Cassie Flaherty records 100th career hit in win over SICS

Cassie Flaherty has been starting for four years on the Granby softball team, and on Wednesday, she stamped her name in the Rams record book.

Baseball/softball Notebook: Smith Vocational off to unbeaten start behind James Lavallee’s dominance

By RYAN AMES

The Smith Voc baseball team is enjoying one of its best starts under head coach Luis Bonilla this season. The Vikings have not lost as the month of May closes in, and their pitching has been stellar through the first month of the schedule.

HS Roundup: Smith Vocational’s James Lavallee records 200th-career strikeout in win over Franklin Tech

By THOMAS JOHNSTON

NORTHAMPTON — Smith Vocational ace James Lavallee entered Tuesday's game against Franklin Tech needing 10 strikeouts to reach the 200-strikeout mark for his career. 

Girls lacrosse: Imanni Power-Greene scores 100th career goal in Northampton’s win over Belchertown (PHOTOS)

By GARRETT COTE

BELCHERTOWN — Imanni Power-Greene thought she’d never do it. One hundred goals seemed so far away after tearing her ACL her freshman year. But countless hours of rehab and hard work allowed Power-Greene to come back stronger than ever, and the Northampton girls lacrosse junior entered Tuesday afternoon just one goal shy of the century mark.

Hadley’s Beau Elson thriving in first year as Fordham University relief pitcher

By GARRETT COTE

Beau Elson couldn’t feel a thing.