WMass softball: Hampshire Regional claims back-to-back Class B championships with win over Frontier

WESTFIELD — The tradition of excellence continued for the Hampshire Regional softball team on Saturday afternoon. The top-seeded Raiders dispatched second-seeded Frontier Regional, 11-6, in the Western Mass. Class B championship game at Westfield State to capture their 12th sectional title in program history.

The Raiders are back-to-back champions and now have won five out of the last six seasons. Hampshire coach Brian McGan is quick to point out the reason for the sustained success.

“It’s the kids,” McGan said. “They come into the school and come in as young kids. I have eighth graders out there now. They come in and know the game. The talent is always there. I am fortunate. The kids, they love this game. These guys love softball. For me that’s the key.”

Ryanne Dubay won the Gary Tracy MVP Award with 12 strikeouts in the circle. In the regular season meeting against Frontier, Dubay had 15 strikeouts and didn’t give up a run. The Redhawks jumped out to a 1-0 lead on a double by Raine Wonsey in the top of the first.

“They were on me,” Dubay said. “They were battling every pitch. Before I think they didn’t know what I could throw this year. They were looking at more pitches. Today they were swinging every time they saw a good pitch. Good for them. They had a little more intensity than the first game. I think they wanted it. But we wanted it more.”

The pressure is there for the Raiders, but they rely on each other to keep the team level.

“It feels good,” Dubay said. “It’s a lot of pressure sometimes. What helps me through it is my teammates calming me down and everybody being there. I think it’s great winning back-to-back, it’s awesome. It’s an amazing feeling. We get to go to school, flaunt it a little bit and that’s great.”

Hampshire Regional now sets its sights on the Division 4 state tournament, where the Raiders rank second in the latest MIAA power rankings. The last state champion team was 2016 for the Raiders.

“It’s great for momentum but it starts over again,” McGan said. “These are fun to play in, but we have to go back to the drawing board. You never know who you are going to play, you just put your head down and keep working hard and take it one game at a time.”

Offense came from multiple spots for the Raiders. Mariah Pacinella led the way, going 3-for-4 with two RBIs. Pacinella’s two RBI single in the fourth inning gave the Raiders the lead for good.

Wonsey gave up 13 hits with six strikeouts for the Redhawks. Frontier is fourth in the Division 4 power rankings. Skyler Steele went 0-for-1 with a flyout but walked three times. One of the walks was intentional.

“They are really fun to play,” Frontier coach Gary Deane said of Hampshire Regional. “They are a great team. They hit one through nine. We have to be on our toes the whole lineup defensively. They run bases. They are smart and aggressive and that’s why they are fun. They are like us in that way.”

Frontier took the lead in the third inning. Lexi Hawkins and Adelaide Ehle opened the inning with singles and eventually scored on an error.

The Raiders scored six runs in the sixth inning to pull away. Rachael Hickox opened the inning with a double before an RBI single by Lucy Trombley. Allison St. Pierre knocked in two more runs later in the inning with an RBI single.

Olivia Peabody had an RBI on a sacrifice fly in the top of the seventh for Frontier. Raegan Dubay registered an RBI with a sacrifice fly in the third inning for Hampshire. Haly Doucette-Kaplan added an RBI single in the top of the fourth to give Frontier a 4-3 lead.