Entering the season, a claim could be made that the top three softball pitchers in all of MIAA Division 5 reside in Franklin County.
They are Mackenzie Poulin of Greenfield, Maddie Liimatainen of Turners Falls and Hannah Gilbert of Franklin Tech.
Before the state tournament begins, all three juniors will have a chance to show off their skills on Wednesday when the Green Wave, Thunder and Eagles compete for the Western Massachusetts State Championship at Westfield State College.
Top-seeded Turners Falls will open the day’s action by taking on No. 2 seed Lee in the Class D final at 3 p.m. Following that game, No. 1 seed Greenfield will battle No. 2 seed Franklin Tech for the Class C title, with first pitch scheduled for 5 p.m.
The Green Wave and Eagles are two schools located just one town apart, but haven’t played each other much in recent years.
Wednesday’s Class C championship game will mark the third meeting between the two teams in the past three years, with Tech looking to find a way to win against the back-to-back state champions.
To do that, the Eagles would have to solve Poulin.
Greenfield (19-1) and Tech (18-2) met in the Class C semifinals last year, with Poulin striking out 20 and allowing just one hit and no runs in a 10-0 victory for the Green Wave, who went on to win the Class C title and ultimately the state crown.
Poulin had a similar performance when the two teams met earlier this month, striking out 19 batters and allowing just one hit in leading Greenfield to a 1-0 victory.
Poulin has been dominant so far in the Western Massachusetts Tournament. In the quarterfinals against Westfield Tech, the junior struck out 14 batters and allowed just two hits but no runs in Greenfield’s 12-0 victory. On Saturday against McCann Tech, Poulin pitched a no-hitter, struck out 16 and led the Green Wave to a 6-0 semifinal victory and a trip to the finals. Poulin has certainly played a big role in Greenfield’s victories in the past two Class C finals.
Gilbert was also very impressive in this year’s regular season against Greenfield, allowing only two hits and striking out eight. In the Class C quarterfinals against Lenox, Gilbert struck out 16 and allowed only one hit to lead the Eagles to the next stage. In the semifinals against Drury, the junior struck out eight and allowed only two runs as the Eagles comfortably won 20-2 to advance to the finals.
With two aces on the mound Wednesday, the game is expected to be low-scoring. Hits and baserunning won’t come easily.
“We know the outcome will come down to who attacks the opposing pitcher the most and plays the cleanest defense,” Green Wave coach Ray Dodge said after Saturday’s semifinal win over McCann Tech. “Both pitchers are going to be effective, and we’re going to have to take advantage of every opportunity.”
Despite a 1-0 loss in a match earlier this month, both Greenfield and Franklin Tech have the offensive firepower to score quickly.
With Anna Bucala, Ainsley Flynn, Gloria McDonald, Carly Blanchard, Elise Benitez and Ivy Ray returning from last year’s state championship team, the Green Wave will have plenty of tough opponents to compete against. Greenfield is averaging 7.7 points per game this season but has only topped 10 points once in her last 11 games.
Kate Trudeau, Lily Ross, Kylie Gamache, Cordelia Guerin, Kayla Goodell and Gianna DiSciullo have been mainstays for Franklin Tech the past two years, with the Eagles scoring 11.9 points per game this year. The only two games Franklin Tech failed to score in were two 1-0 losses to Greenfield and Turners.
“Hopefully we can keep hitting,” Eagles coach Joe Gamache said after the win over Drury. “It’s the postseason and we’ve got to get something going.”
No other softball team has won more Western Massachusetts state titles than the Turners, who will be looking to win their 24th district championship when they face Lee in the first game of a doubleheader Wednesday.
Since 2000, Gary Mullins’ squad has missed out on the Western Massachusetts title just three times (2003, 2013 and 2022), taking home the title last year after defeating Hopkins Academy.
The Thunder started the season strong, winning their first nine games. Back-to-back losses to Greenfield and a loss to Mount Greylock slowed their momentum mid-season, but the Turners rallied back to win six of their final eight games. Their only losses came against Hampshire, who will play in the Class B championship game on Thursday, and Wachusett, who was atop the MIAA Division 1 power rankings at the time.
Liimatainen was dominant on the mound in the Thunder’s Western Massachusetts title game.
The top-seeded Turners were in danger in the quarterfinals against Mount Everett when the Thunder’s offense struggled to get going against the Eagles, but Liimatainen saved the team by pitching a no-hitter and striking out 15 batters to lead the Turners to a 1-0 victory.
The Thunder’s offense pitched well against Hopkins in the semifinals, while Liimatainen struck out 14 batters and allowed just two hits as the Turners won 5-0 to advance to the finals.
With Liimatainen on the mound, the Thunder don’t need to score many runs to win games. Mia Marigliano, Holly Myers, Madisyn Dietz and Janelle Massey are experienced hitters the Turners will rely on going forward. The Thunder are averaging 7.1 runs per game this season.
“It’s good to be in the Western Massachusetts finals again,” Mullins said after the win over Hopkins. “We’ve been working hard and practicing hard. The kids have been putting in extra time on their hitting. The kids put in extra effort before and after practice and it showed today. We made some good contact.”
Lee enters Wednesday’s final with a 16-2 record this season. The Wildcats advanced to the final with a 2-0 win over No. 7 Gateway in the quarterfinals and a 4-2 win over No. 3 Hoosac Valley in the semifinals.
Lee is ranked 11th in the MIAA Division 5 power rankings and holds a 138-39 scoring margin against opponents. The Wildcats have held opponents scoreless nine times this season and entered Wednesday riding an 11th straight win.
