SOUTHWICK – Although it was only the first game of the 2018 season, the Southwick High School baseball team appeared to be in midseason form.
“We had a lot of hustle, our pitching was excellent, our defense was sharp, and we swung the bats well,” Southwick baseball coach Bill Dupre said.
Southwick pitcher Bart Shea tossed a 3-hitter over six innings, striking out seven batters, walking two, and allowing just one run as the Rams edged Granby 2-1 Wednesday. Danny Burnett struck out two batters, allowed no hits and walked one in picking up a save.
Burnett also delivered offensively. He went 3-for-3, finishing a triple short of the cycle with a single, double, and fifth-inning solo homer.
Nick Kavrakis (hit, RBI) and Sam Mizanoglu (2-for-3, 2 doubles), and Dalton Bessette (1-3) contributed for Southwick (1-0) too.
Defensively, Southwick’s Jack Fairlie made a nice catch on a sinking line drive and doubled off a runner at first base.
Westfield’s Shane Kiendzior (18) crushes a serve against West Side Wednesday night.
(Photo by Randy Burlingame)
In JV action, Southwick overwhelmed Granby 17-1 in six innings.
Southwick pitcher Nick Michael tossed a complete game win with 13 strikeouts, allowing only one run while going 3-for-3 hitting with four runs. Rams’ Zack Karetka (2-for-2, double) and Zack Goodwin (2-for-3, 2 runs).
SOFTBALL
Bombers club Terriers
Westfield 4, West Springfield 1
Westfield’s bats came alive with 12 hits to earn their first victory of the season on the road at Mitteneague Park.
Haley Moniz (3-for-4, 2 runs), Maddie Robitaille (3-for-3, walk, run, RBI), and Morgan Zabielski (2-for-4, run) led Westfield with multi-hit efforts. Bombers’ D Daly had a hit and two RBIs.
Moniz tossed a solid game for Westfield. She allowed just three hits, struck out four batters, and one run.
Tigers roll
Westfield Technical Academy 19, Renaissance 7
Cheyenne Slack, Hannah Massoni, and Taya Allen helped Westfield Tech charge past Renaissance in a season opener at Whitney Field.
Slack had three hits and three RBIs, Massoni was the starting pitcher and had one hit, Allen had two hits and two RBIs, and junior reliever Leilani Marsh had two hits, including a double.
Westfield Tech also turned a beautiful 4-6-1 double play.
Gamble clubs Pioneers
Gateway 16, Pathfinder 4
Gateway senior pitcher Audrey Gamble fanned 10 batters and helped herself out at the plate, delivering a 3-run home run in the fifth inning.
Eighth grade outfielder/catcher Steph Paiva delivered the defensive play of the game. Paiva caught a bullet at mid-level in center field, and, on the fly, threw a rocket nearly 175 feet to double off the runner at first base and halt a mini-rally.
Paiva and Alli Manos also two hits apiece for Gateway.
“It’s a nice little start for us,” said Gateway softball coach Matt Bonenfant, whose team enjoyed consecutive victories to open the season. “We hope to keep on rolling.”
GIRLS LACROSSE
Buchanan leads the way
Westfield 15, Northampton 11
Westfield junior Kylie Buchanan recorded six goals, Hannah Jarvis finished with two goals and four assists, and Jordan Kowalski had two goals and one assist to help the Bombers bounce back from a loss in their prior outing.
Westfield goalie Liz Clark made 11 saves.
BOYS VOLLEYBALL
Bombers sweep Terriers
Westfield def. West Springfield 25-14, 25-19, 25-21
Luis Castro (15 assists, 2 aces), Shane Kiendzior (8 kills, 4 aces), Eric Yurtuc (11 assists), Gabe Santos (5 kills), James Pavlyuk (7 kills, 5 digs) led Westfield, a winner of four straight to start the season.
Rams sweep Red Raiders
Southwick def. Commerce 25-15, 25-22, 25-18
Nick Brown (27 assists, 2 blocks, 1 ace, 1 dig), Chance Tang (11 digs, 1 ace, 1 kill), Nolan Winch (8 kills, 1 ace, 1 dig), Kacper Kisala (5 digs, 3 aces, 3 kills, 1 assist, 1 block), and Chris Baker (4 kills, 4 blocks, 1 ace), Tim McGrath (6 kills, 1 dig), and Zach Thorne (4 kills, 2 digs, 1 block) fueled Southwick’s home sweep.
BOYS TENNIS
Saints battle, fall
Holyoke 5, St. Mary’s 0
St. Mary’s No. 1 singles Dom Nomakeo and No. 2 Jared Rusin each lost a pair of tough matches by the scores of 4-6, 6-3, 3-6 and 4-6, 6-3, 3-6.
The Saints first doubles pair, Kevin Lu and Aaron Kielbasa fell just short, 6-4, 4-6, 4-6.
