TURNERS FALLS — The Turners Falls baseball team consistently put runners on base on Tuesday against Smith Academy, though runs proved hard to come by. 

The Thunder stranded runners on base in all but one inning, while the Falcons put together a four-run sixth inning to take command of the game. Visiting Smith Academy ultimately walking away with a 7-4 Bi-County League North win at the Bourdeau Fields Complex.

“We couldn’t come up with the big hit when we needed it,” Turners coach Scott Minckler said. “We’d get runners on second and third and have parts of our lineup up that should put the bat on the ball. We did the same thing against Greenfield where we had runners on second and third and just needed a base hit to win the game. This one we needed a couple base hits to flip the score and gain a little confidence.” 

Tied 2-2 going into the fifth, the Falcons got a base runner on to ultimately take the lead. Logan Graves knocked a single and stole his way to third. Ryan Belina then struck out on a ball in the dirt, and following the throw over to first, Graves was able to head home to give Smith Academy a 3-2 lead. 

The runs continued in the sixth for the Falcons. Harry LaFlamme got on with a leadoff walk and moved to second after Griffin Goldman cracked a single. The pair moved up a base after a passed ball, with both ultimately making it home on wild pitches to give the Falcons a 5-2 lead. 

Cody Brock got on with a walk, moved to third on a those wild pitches and made it home off a Belina single. Belina then stole his way around the bases, making it home on a wild pitch to give Smith Academy a 7-2 lead going into the bottom of the frame. 

“It was a pretty even game,” Minckler said. “We had some wild pitches and passed balls that hurt us. We’d move the runner on first to third with a passed ball or a wild pitch and then they’d score on a wild pitch or passed ball.”

Turners scored the opening run of the game in the bottom of the first after Alex Quezada got on with a single, stole second and third and made it home on a passed ball. 

The Falcons tied it up in the second. LaFlamme struck out on a wild pitch that made it to the back stop, allowing him to reach first. He stole second and third and reached home on a wild pitch. 

The Thunder regained the lead in the bottom of the frame. Joey Mosca reached on a fielder’s choice, making it to second on an error throw while Smith Academy tried to turn a double play. Quezada came up and smashed a double that scored Mosca to make it a 2-1 Turners lead going into the third. 

Once again, the Falcons were able to knot the game up during their next at bat. Belina launched a double, stole third and was brought home off a base hit by Griffin Smiarowski to tie the game at two. 

The Thunder attempted to rally in the bottom of the seventh, but it was too little, too late. Derek Wissmann got on with a two-out walk and Kainen Stevens came up and blasted a home run over the left field fence to cut the deficit to 7-4. Smiarowski came on to get the final out on the mound for the Falcons to prevent any more damage done. 

Late rallies in innings were the story of the game for Turners. Wissmann singled and Stevens doubled in the first to put runners on second and third with two outs, but neither were brought home. 

Stevens and Jackson Cogswell each knocked two-out singles in the third but neither reached home, Quezada was stranded at third in the fourth and Cogswell was left at third after doubling with two outs in the fifth. 

“We couldn’t get anything going until we had two outs in an inning,” Minckler said. “Most of our hits came with two outs and we couldn’t capitalize. Kainen’s home run came with two outs. We couldn’t get anything going with no outs or one out. We need to come out and put a better performance on against Mohawk on Thursday.” 

Quezada tossed the opening five innings for Turners, striking out nine on a rainy day in Turners. Dylan Shinall pitched the final two innings, recording three strikeouts. 

LaFlamme went six and two-thirds for the Falcons, striking out four. 

Franklin Tech 15, Palmer 5 (5) — Sam Knight went 2-for-3 with a double, Kyle Begos added a double while Jack Gancarz and Tyler Yetter each cracked two hits to lift the Eagles to an independent five-inning win over the visiting Panthers on Tuesday. 

Mason Lehtomaki got the win on the mound while Gancarz, Ty Sadoski and Alex Sulda also pitched for Franklin Tech. 

Softball

Turners 9, Taconic 2 — Madi Liimatainen held the Taconic bats down on Tuesday, as the sophomore went the distance, struck out 16 and didn’t allow a walk as Turners picked up a Franklin County League West win under the lights at the Bourdeau Fields Complex.

It was the third win in a row for Turners (7-4), which scored three in the first, three in the second, two in the fourth and one in the fifth.

Taconic (6-3), which lost its third in a row after a 6-0 start, scored one in the sixth and one in the seventh. 

Liimatainen helped herself at the plate, going 3-for-3 with two doubles and an RBI. Madisyn Dietz tallied three hits, Morgan Dobias had a pair of hits and drove in three runs, Holly Myers finished with a pair of hits and RBIs, Janelle Massey recorded two hits while Marilyn Abarua hit safely for Turners. 

Nina Maloney had three hits including a double for Taconic. 

Boys volleyball

Frontier 3, Athol 1 — Behind 15 kills from Brady Burch and 18 assists from Tavo Vincent-Warner, the Redhawks pulled away with a 25-6, 25-15, 16-25, 25-11 victory over the Bears in Athol on Tuesday. 

Owen Babb tacked on seven kills, Jesse Kurkulonis put down four kills and five aces, Ngawang Deter dished eight assists while Thelonius Sargent tallied six aces in the victory. 

Late Monday results

Softball

Mohawk Trail 14, Pioneer 8 — Aileen Moffatt knocked a double and a single, Addie Loomis smashed a home run and added two singles while Maddie Consentino tallied two hits to lead the Warriors past the Panthers in a Franklin County League East contest. 

Riley Giard struck out seven in the win. Kelly Baird struck out eight while Brayleigh Burgh knocked a triple for Pioneer. 

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