LEE — Unforced errors kept the first half close.
The Granby girls lacrosse team cleaned up its play in the second half and pulled away from Lee 11-9 on the road Thursday.
They had 10 unforced turnovers in the first half and trailed 5-4 with 9 minutes, 44 seconds left in the first half.
“Our mistakes were hurting us, simple things like throwing the ball out of bounds, throwing it over,” Granby coach Sallie Gilliland said.
Freshman Kaeleigh Croteau tied the game with an assist from Julia Frappier with 3:18 to halftime.
Seventh-grader Gabriella Walz, easily the smallest player on the field, snatched a 7-6 halftime lead for the Rams (5-3) after hustling for a ground ball and driving to the net.
“She really gets us ready to go and excited and motivated,” Croteau said.
Granby settled down at halftime then grabbed hold of the game at the start of the second half. The Rams scored four straight goals in 2 minutes, 21 seconds during the second half to build an 11-6 lead. Freshman Kaeleigh Croteau put two of her three goals in the net during that stretch.
“We started talking more, getting open more, cutting (to the net),” Croteau said.
Lee (2-5) then scored three straight goals after that to cut the lead 11-9 with 7:46 remaining. Granby called a timeout, settled down and held the ball for the rest of the game.
The Rams grabbed 21 ground balls compared to eight for Lee and won 21-of-25 draw controls.
Jenna Barthlow made seven saves for Granby.
Jessica Patruno also had three goals, while Madison Sexton scored twice, and Frappier and Kate Sarnacki each found the net.
Agawam 14, Amherst Regional 3 — Tea LaRaja, Rachel Kawall and Malia MacDonald (assist) each scored for the Hurricanes (1-8) in a home loss.
East Longmeadow 16, South Hadley 6 — Marley Medina notched two goals and an assist, but the Tigers lost on the road.
Briana Couture found the net twice, while Julia Melie and Natalie Patruno each scored once.
Sara Lacey dished out an assist, while Hanna Kopec made 13 saves for South Hadley (1-4).
Baseball West Springfield 5, Northampton 4 — Three errors in the first two innings spotted the Terriers three unearned runs, and the Blue Devils lost at home.
Devin Kellogg homered in the seventh to get Northampton within a run, but West Springfield brought ace Nick Dombkowski in to close out the game.
R.J. Safron hit a solo homer for the Blue Devils in the second inning, and Joe Pion added a RBI double in the fifth.
Ethan Salem pitched 2 ⅔ innings of relief and struck out four.
Belchertown 4, Smith Academy 2 — The Orioles (4-3) took advantage of nine walks thrown by the Falcons (1-6) in the road win.
Scott Kopacz went 1-for-4 for the Orioles, while John Ferrara doubled for the Falcons.
Freshman Zach Jenks only gave up two runs in a complete game victory for the Orioles.
Granby 12, Westfield Tech 1 — Dom Rosazza struck out six in six innings and picked up his first win of the season for the Rams, only allowing two hits.
Tyler Sullivan and Joe Bessette each had three hits and two RBIs for Granby (5-3).
Pope Francis 2, Amherst Regional 1 — Trevor Edwards struck out six in a complete game, allowing one hit in a road loss.
“Trevor was once again unbelievable,” Amherst coach Greg Vouros said. “Third start and he’s been great in all three.”
The Hurricanes picked up their run in the fourth inning when Julian Burgoff walked with the bases loaded for an RBI.
It scored Max Hopley, who also walked and had a hit for Amherst (1-6, 1-2 Valley).
Pope Francis scored both its runs in the sixth inning. The Cardinals had the bases loaded with one out when Edwards induced a ground ball to the shortstop. He flipped it to second, who fired it to first.
Both teams through it was a double play and began to leave the field. The umpire said he bobbled the catch, which let the two runs score.
“I don’t think it was a play where the Pope Francis coach would have thought about questioning the call,” Vouros said. “I don’t think he juggled it. Kind of a devastating call.”
Boys lacrosse Northampton 6, Agawam 4 — Tyler Allcroft scored four times, as the Blue Devils edged the Brownies to move within one win of clinching a spot in the postseason.
Jameson Miller had a goal and an assist for Hamp (8-1, 4-0 Valley League), while Henry Higgins had the other goal in front of Ryan Heng (11 saves).
Even Moulton added two assists, while Henry Attias added one.
Baseball
Belchertown 4,
Smith Academy 2
Belchertown 020 002 0 — 4 4 0
Smith Academy 200 000 0 — 2 6 2
WP—Jenks LP—Hession
Records: Belchertown (4-3); Smith Academy (1-6)
West Springfield 5,
Northampton 4
West Springfield 120 110 0 — 5 10 1
Northampton 011 010 1 — 4 7 4
WP—Cloutier LP—Safron S—Dombokowski
Records: West Springfield (5-1) :Northampton (6-2)
Granby 12, Westfield Tech 1
Wesfield Tech 000 001 0 – 1 2 5
Granby 008 130 x – 12 14 0
WP—RosazzaLP—Sparks
Records: Granby (5-3), Westfield Tech (2-3)
Pope Francis 2, Amherst 1
Amherst 000 100 0 — 1 5 0
Pope Francis 000 002 x — 2 1 1
WP—Donahue LP—Edwards
Records: Pope Francis (5-2, 2-2 Valley) Amherst (1-6, 1-2)