TURNER'S FALLS — The Franklin Tech baseball team got the job done on offense in the first two innings of Tuesday's game against Turners Falls at the Bourdeau Fields Complex.
The Eagles scored three runs in the top of the first inning and added three more in the third to extend their lead to 6-0. The Thunder tied the game up with four runs, but Tech added one run in the fifth inning and Ben Dodge hit a two-run homer in the seventh, giving the Eagles a 9-5 Bi-County North victory.
Kyle Begos pitched four innings on the mound, striking out four and giving up nine hits in the win. Mason Lehtomäki pitched the final three innings, allowing three hits and recording three strikeouts.
“I can't say enough about Kyle and Mason's pitching,” Franklin Tech coach Dan Prasol said. “We performed well enough in the field and with the bat. Mason and Kyle were just coming in. Most of their runs came in rough innings. Getting through that is a big part of the mental game. I'm proud of the kids for overcoming that and not letting that bad inning dictate the flow of the game.
“Hats off to the Turners,” Prasol added. “They're a great ball team. The errors you saw were not indicative of how well they play.”
It was a mistake that cost the Thunder early. An error gave the Eagles the lead in the game, and two errors allowed Franklin Tech to score three points in the third.
“We got down early with some mistakes,” Turners Falls coach Scott Minkler said. “It made it hard to fight back. We put up four runs in the fourth inning, but the kids didn't give up. I'm glad they hung in and didn't get discouraged. We pulled within two. [runs] But I just couldn't get over the hump. ”
Hunter Donahue started the game with a base hit for Tech. Alex Quezada struck out Tyler Yetter, but his throw to first base missed and Donahue, who had stolen second earlier, scored on the play to put the Eagles ahead.
Dodge scored Yetter with a double and Lehtomäki singled to bring Dodge home and Franklin Tech got one back for a 3-0 lead.
The Vigos struck out on a wild pitch, and Dodge was hit by a pitch, leaving two runners on third base. Jacob Martin's ground ball throw error allowed Zaydrien Alamed, running for Begos, to score. With the bases loaded, Brody Hicks hit a single down the first base line that hit Dodge and Martin, giving the Eagles a 6–0 lead after three innings.
Turners started in the fourth. Joey Mosca reached on an error, Cam Barnett hit a single, and Deven Sloan bunted after his throw to first missed, allowing Mosca to score.
Jackson Cogswell grounded out, but Barnett scored in the process, cutting the lead to 6-2. Brody Girard put the ball in play, but a throw error put him ahead, bringing in Sloan and scoring. Alex Quezada then hit a base hit and a fielder's choice scored Daylen Richardson, taking the lead 6-4 going into the fifth inning.
Lehtomäki got on base with a hit in the fifth inning, then advanced to third base after Martin hit a double and scored on a passed ball to extend the Eagles' lead.
It looked like the Thunder would fight back again in the sixth inning. Cogswell got on base with a hit, Girard bunted, Quesada reached for a ground ball, and Girard was thrown to second base.
Quesada stole second base and Kainen Stevens hit a hit into the left field seats to put runners on second and third base. Quesada attempted to score from second base, but Dodge beat Quesada with a perfect pitch, ending the inning with Tech holding a 7-5 lead.
Begos gave out a walk before Dodge hit a home run over the fence into the left field seats in the seventh inning. Derek Wisman hit a double in the bottom of the seventh inning, but Lehtomäki got three consecutive outs to seal the victory.
“Ben Dodge, that home run was huge,” Prasol said. “That gave us a little bit of leeway at the end of the game. Ben worked really hard to fix his swing. Ben gave us a three-run swing between the home throw and the two-run home run. Ben. It’s a great job.”
Quesada pitched the first five innings, striking out nine and allowing six hits. Richardson pitched the final two innings, striking out three and allowing two hits.
“It's still early in the season,” Minkler said. “We still have 15 regular season games left. We have plenty of time to turn this around, but we need to do it. It starts tomorrow in a rainy gymnasium. They're going to throw a ton of ground balls. They will take it away.”
Mahal 10, Mohawk Trail 3 — The Sens defeated Bi-County North in Orange on Tuesday, holding a 6-1 lead after four innings before scoring four runs in the bottom of the sixth to pull away.
Lucas Islow had two doubles and scored a run, Morgan Softik had a double and four RBIs, Matt Vitello had a single and double for a run, Luke Connors had two hits and a run, and Hunter Brooks also had the winning double. .
Vitello started and had four strikeouts, and Will Burns added three strikeouts for the win.
Jackson Lilienthal had two hits and one RBI, Weston Den Orden had an RBI, and Logan Moore and Brady Gunkers had safe hits for Mohawk Trail. Moore pitched six innings on the mound and had five strikeouts.
Pioneer 11, Easthampton 0 (5) — Ben Warner led the Panthers to a five-inning victory in the season opener Tuesday at Nonotuck Park in East Hampton, allowing just two hits and striking out seven batters in five innings pitched.
Braden Chipenyuk (3 runs), Hugh Syhowski (3 runs), and Evan Chipenyuk all had two hits and scored two runs in the first inning, three runs in the third, and three runs in the fourth in the Pioneer victory (1-0). He scored one run and scored five points in the fifth inning. The fifth step is to put things away.
Westfield Tech 20, Pioneer 5 — Kelly Baird had a great day at the plate for the Panthers, adding a double and hitting two home runs in the Pioneers' lone loss to the Tigers on Tuesday at Northfield.
Jacobia Tyminski hit a triple and Abby Ray and Layla Goulston had safe hits. Jaelyn Borisky had three strikeouts in his first varsity appearance for the Panthers.
Frontier 3, Greenfield 2 — Araceli McCoy and Esther Ealy beat Greenfield's Maddie Mosher and Adele Bross in No. 2 doubles, 6-0, 6, in Frontier's Green Wave matchup in South Deerfield on Tuesday. He won by -1, helping Frontier to a close victory.
Frontier's Hasini Ratnatunge defeated Amy Mikhailichenko 6-4, 1-6, 6-3 for No. 1 singles, and Ella Sibley defeated Karinna Kostov 6-3, 6-4 for No. 3 singles. won.
Izzy Semonelli and the duo of Lydia Wood and Rebecca Kovalenko won in Greenfield. Semoneri defeated Makayla Craig 6-2, 4-6, 6-1 in the No. 2 singles match, while Wood and Kovalenko defeated Tanushi Ratnatunge and Aylen Shaw 6-2, 6-1 in the No. 1 doubles match. .
