Sports
Amherst softball holds off Trine, advances at NCAA Division III National Championship
By MATT VAUTOUR
After seven scoreless innings, the Amherst College softball team’s offense broke out in the top of the eighth before its defense held on in the bottom of the inning.The Mammoths advanced to the winners’ bracket of the Division III National...
Wednesday’s high school softball: Northampton rallies, walks off with win over Longmeadow
Staff reports
Down two going into the bottom of the seventh, the Northampton softball team never made an out turning four hits and an error into three runs and a walk-off 7-6 win over Longmeadow, Wednesday.Emilia Pelis led off the seventh with a single and Zoe...
Wednesday’s high school baseball: Mike Curran delivers walk-off two-run single to lift Hopkins over Greenfield
Staff reports
Mike Curran hit a two-run, walk-off single for the Hopkins Academy baseball team in a 11-10 win over Greenfield, Wednesday in Hadley.Curran’s hit capped a five-run rally in the bottom of the seventh.Jon Morrison went 2-for-3 with three RBIs and a...
Wednesday’s high school tennis: Belchertown rallies to beat Amherst Regional
Staff reports
The Belchertown boys tennis team was on the verge of dropping its match with Amherst Regional on Wednesday.But Jon Vinagre rallied to win at first singles, and the Orioles’ double teams followed suit for a 3-2 win over the Hurricanes.Vinagre trailed...
Matt Vautour: Now a coach, Emma Mendoker is loving softball again
By MATT VAUTOUR
There was a time that needing a break from softball would have been unfathomable for Emma Mendoker.But the former Amherst Regional star and current Williams College pitching coach needed to step away last year. She gave up her remaining eligibility at...
Amherst College softball team headed to OKC for Division III Championships
By MATT VAUTOUR
The Amherst College softball team hasn’t looked like a team filled with players who’d never been to the NCAA Tournament before. Amherst hasn’t been to the tournament since 2012, but the Mammoths have played like veterans and have a chance to turn...
Cavs coach defends LeBron after ‘weird’ loss
By TOM WITHERS
INDEPENDENCE, Ohio — LeBron James was nowhere to be seen, staying behind the scenes, keeping a low profile.Just as he did in Game 3.James did not address the media Monday, hours after one of the worst postseason games of his career, an 11-point,...
Monday’s high school baseball: Hampshire walks off with extra-inning win over Southwick
Staff reports
Max Weir hit a sacrifice fly to score Ben Fitzpatrick in the bottom of the eighth inning, and the Hampshire Regional baseball team beat Southwick 1-0 on Monday in Westhampton.Fitzpatrick led off the inning with a single then advanced to second on a...
Easthampton softball clinches Bi-County West title with heads-up baserunning, clutch pitching
By KYLE GRABOWSKI
EASTHAMPTON — Bases loaded, one out and a two-run lead with a chance to clinch the league title.There’s no one the Easthampton softball team would rather have on the mound than freshman Rachel Robinson.“We have a lot of confidence in her,” classmate...
Northampton girls ultimate, Amherst boys take home Pioneer Valley Tournament titles
By Elliot Weld
NORTHAMPTON — Amherst Regional took first place in the boys division and Northampton won the girls division at the fourth annual Pioneer Valley Invitational ultimate tournament, Sunday.Northampton reached the finals after beating Radnor, 11-6, at the...
Bradley hits last-second shot, Celtics stun Cavs 111-108
By TOM WITHERS
CLEVELAND — Avery Bradley’s 3-pointer danced around the rim and dropped in with less than a second left and the Boston Celtics, blown out in the first two games of the Eastern Conference finals and playing without star Isaiah Thomas, stunned the...
District F&G Division 1 Boys Track: Northampton dominates 400 en route to championship
By KYLE GRABOWSKI
HOLYOKE — Something about the 400-meter dash suits the Northampton boys track and field team.The Blue Devils took three out of the top five spots in the event and four of the top eight at Friday’s District F & G Division 1 Championship at Holyoke...
Cavs send Celtics to record loss, 130-86, lead series 2-0
By JIMMY GOLEN
BOSTON — LeBron James scored 30 points, Kevin Love had 21 points and 12 rebounds, and the Cleveland Cavaliers steamrolled the Boston Celtics 130-86 on Friday night to take a 2-0 lead in the Eastern Conference finals and tie an NBA record with their...
Friday’s high schools: Rested Jon Morrison pitches Hopkins past Turners and into postseason
Staff reports
The Hopkins Academy baseball team is under .500 on the season.But, a win Friday over Turners Falls, a Division 4 team, would qualify the Golden Hawks for the postseason. Since Hopkins plays most of its games against non-Division 4 teams, all the...
Friday’s high school tennis: Northampton aces West Springfield
Staff reports
The Northampton girl tennis team beat West Springfield, 5-0, on the road Friday.Caitlyn Richmond defeated Ally Fontaine in first singles 6-1, 6-0.In No. 2 singles, Jordan Kuhr bested Hailey MacDonald 6-2, 6-2.The Blue Devils (8-10, 1-5 Valley Wheel)...
District F&G Division 1 Girls Track: Northampton overcomes small numbers to place third
By FRAN SYPEK
HOLYOKE — The Northampton girls track and field team was up against teams with much deeper numbers.Despite having only 14 athletes, the Blue Devils forged on and placed third Friday night in the District F & G Division 1 Championships at Holyoke High...
After 30 years leading UMass baseball, Mike Stone is ready to walk away
By MATT VAUTOUR
AMHERST — There is no hint of finality from Mike Stone. The start of Wednesday’s practice looked a lot like the thousands of others he’s run at Earl Lorden Field.The Minuteman coach hung the day’s workout plan near the third-base dugout’s two good...
UMass basketball gets a commitment from Aussie guard Kieran Hayward, an LSU transfer
By MATT VAUTOUR
The newest member of the UMass men’s basketball program might have the distinction of being the player who traveled the furthest to play for the Minutemen.Kieran Hayward, a 6-foot-4 guard from Sydney, Australia, played one season at LSU before...
Northampton runs away from inexperienced Easthampton
By ELLIOT WELD
NORTHAMPTON — The Northampton baseball team beat Easthampton in its biggest blowout of the season, 21-0, in a mercy-rule shortened five-inning game, Wednesday.Northampton’s 21 runs were a season high. The Blue Devils sent 18 players to the plate with...
Betts, Bradley go deep to lift Red Sox over Cardinals 6-3
By NATE LATSCH
ST. LOUIS — Mookie Betts homered and drove in two runs, Jackie Bradley Jr. also went deep and the Boston Red Sox beat the St. Louis Cardinals 6-3 on Tuesday night to take the opener of a two-game interleague series.Bradley had two of Boston’s six...
