ATHOL — It was a senior day to remember for the Athol baseball team on Friday. 

Taking on rival Mahar, things looked heading toward a pitching duel between Senator Sam Connors and Bear Logan Cormier, but Athol senior Gabe Hume decided to break things open in the bottom of the third. 

With the Bears holding a 1-0 lead, Hume smashed a bases-clearing double to right field, giving the hosts a 4-0 lead. Athol tacked three runs on in the bottom of the sixth, and Cormier allowed just two hits the entire game on the mound to help the Bears walk away with a 7-0 independent victory. 

“Of course it was Gabe Hume,” Athol coach Josh Talbot said. “His teammates love him and he’s the greatest human. He was a pretty good hitter last year, struggled this year, and hasn’t had as much opportunity of late because of that. He hasn’t changed his demeanor and we knew he was going to come through today. He smoked a couple balls. That’s why I love that guy. He always puts his best foot forward.”

To open the bottom of the third, Shea Brennan got on with a single, Cormier walked and James Williams singled to score Brennan and give the Bears the opening lead of the game. Mark Gauthier then walked to load the bases for Hume, who came through with the type of hit the Bears (3-14) have been searching for all season. 

“That’s the name of the game,” Talbot said. “How we hit unlocks the game. If we can get [a run] in early it lets you breathe and we haven’t been able to get that big hit early on. We’ve gotten one or two but we never really opened things up with a big hit.”

It was a tough day at the plate for Mahar (8-7), which came in on a three-game win streak. David Vitello got on with a base hit to lead off the fifth and Connors singled in the top of the seventh, but that’s all the Senators were able to muster off of Cormier. 

“He threw the ball great,” Talbot said. “We saw Mahar last time [an 11-4 loss] and we knew we were going to have to mix speeds and change speeds. He does that really well. He’s a baseball guy, he’s a gamer and he’s a competitor. He wanted the ball and loves the showcase. He’s the kind of guy who’s going to ball out on a day like today. We’re grateful we have him for another two seasons.”

That isn’t to say the Sens didn’t have chances. Mahar put runners on the corners in the third inning but Cormier got Nate Danielson to fly out to end the inning. The Senators then put runners on second and third in the fourth but Cormier got a flyout and a strikeout to end the inning. In the fifth, Mahar had runners on first and third but Morgan Softic was cut down at home following a passed ball to end the inning. 

“He did a good job on the mound all day,” Senators coach Dan Guertin said of Cormier. “When we got guys on and got traffic he did a good job pitching his way out of it. That’s the good sign of a pitcher.”

Athol was able to put the game out of reach in the sixth. Aedan Erickson and Jacob Knowles opened the inning by cracking back-to-back doubles. They moved up a base on a passed ball and Riley Young came up and drilled a single that scored both to give the Bears a 6-0 advantage. 

Young stole his way to third and was brought home on a single to right field from Cormier to give Athol a 7-0 lead going into the seventh. 

Knowles, Shea Brennan, Hume, Mark Gauthier and Erickson were the five seniors honored on senior day for the Bears, and Talbot said he’s happy each of them contributed to the win. 

“Senior day is a big day,” Talbot said. “Especially for the kids who commit themselves in an era where kids don’t commit themselves all the time. The first week of tryouts I had a conversation with this group and was frank and told them the only thing I could guarantee them was May 12. This was a day they were looking forward to to be able to play in front of their friends, their families and their teammates. They all contributed today. Despite our struggles they’ve been great humans and supportive throughout the growing process. They’ve grown into great young men and I’m super proud of them.” 

Connors finished with eight strikeouts for the Sens, which sit two wins away from earning an automatic bid to the MIAA Div. 5 state tournament. As for what they’ll need to do the rest of the way to get into the field?

“We just need to find consistency,” Guertin said.

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