GREENFIELD — The 2018 Western Massachusetts Division 2 Softball Tournament will begin the same way the 2017 one ended for Easthampton: facing Hampshire Regional.
Easthampton (16-4) grabbed the No. 4 seed and will host the fifth-seeded Raiders, the four-time champions, Monday.
“The good part is that it’s going to be at home, it’s going to be in our house,” Easthampton coach Homar Gomez said. “After the last loss, we really wanted to play them again.”
Hampshire beat Easthampton in last season’s semifinals, and again when the teams matched up in the 2018 regular season. The Raiders (10-8) were hoping for a home game, but weren’t too upset with a short trip.
“All the girls have played on that field before,” Hampshire coach Kevin Kavanaugh said. “Easthampton was a game at the beginning of the season that we really wanted. It’s a great rivalry between the two schools.”
Though Hampshire has won the past four sectional titles and two state championships in that span, Kavanaugh isn’t putting the pressure of repeating on his young squad.
“This is a new team,” he said. “We don’t have those core players.”
Greenfield (16-2) is the tournament’s top seed with Hoosac Valley (15-3) No. 2.
Frontier Regional returned to the tournament after a one-year absence. The sixth-seeded Red Hawks (12-8) will face No. 3 Wahconah (14-6) on the road Monday.
No. 3 Northampton has to win one game to return to the semifinals. The Blue Devils (17-3) are hosting No. 6 East Longmeadow (10-10) at 4 p.m. Friday.
“If we play the way we’re capable of playing, we can play with anybody,” Northampton coach Andy Pelis said.
Northampton swept two meetings against the Spartans during the regular season, winning both by four runs.
The Blue Devils feature five seniors, including pitcher Anna Kerwood and catcher Abby Pelis.
“The tournament’s a completely different ballgame. For younger people, that can be stressful,” Andy Pelis said. “Having leaders that have been in those situations before is key.”
Pittsfield (19-0), which beat Northampton 12-0 to close the regular season, is the top seed. Minnechaug (16-2), which split two games with the Blue Devils, is No. 2.
No. 6 Hopkins Academy (12-6) ended a six-year playoff drought and will host No. 11 Smith Vocational (9-11) in the first round at 4 p.m. Thursday.
“It’ll be a huge benefit to be playing on our own field where we’re very comfortable and feel very relaxed,” Hopkins coach Paula Cristoforo said. “I have a lot of girls who play a lot of tournament ball in the offseason, so they’re used to high-pressure situations.”
That game’s winner has a date with No. 3 McCann Tech (16-4) in Monday’s quarterfinals.
Smith Academy (14-4) and its high-powered offense seized the fifth seed. The Falcons will travel to No. 4 Mount Greylock (12-8) on Monday.
Gateway Regional (14-6) is the seventh seed and hosts No. 10 Westfield Tech (8-6) on Friday at 4 p.m. The winner will play No. 2 Mount Everett (13-6).