Boys lacrosse: Hoosac Valley holds off Northampton 9-8 in battle of WMass heavyweights

By RYAN AMES

NORTHAMPTON – Down a goal with less than two minutes remaining in regulation, the Northampton boys lacrosse team got a break.

HS Roundup: Easthampton baseball continues late-season success in win over Amhe

By RYAN AMES and GARRETT COTE

EASTHAMPTON — It didn’t take long for the Easthampton baseball team’s bats to get rolling, as the Eagles put up 10 runs across the first two innings against Amherst on Monday afternoon at Nonotuck Park.

Amherst, Northampton players shining for Ultimate Frisbee Association’s Boston Glory

By GARRETT COTE

For so long, the cities of Amherst and Northampton have been ultimate Frisbee hot spots. Talent pours out of the area, starting at the youth level and reaching the collegiate world at UMass. If the fact that the Amherst Regional and Northampton High ultimate teams compete for state titles every year wasn’t enough to stamp the area’s success, having double-digit players in the professional Ultimate Frisbee Association (UFA) certainly is.

Victory Lap with Jessica Lapachinski: Breaking the silence

Sport is a powerful platform for driving social change. We have witnessed athletes stepping beyond the lines of the field to use their voices and influence to bring awareness to issues that truly matter. From calls for racial justice to advocacy for gender equality, the sports world has served as a podium for broader sociocultural conversations.

MIAA power ranking updates for Hampshire County teams

By GARRETT COTE

The MIAA released its most recent power rankings of the 2025 spring season on Friday morning, and several Hampshire County teams are slotted pretty high in their respective sports/divisions. The Hampshire Regional softball team is the lone local squad to earn a No. 1 ranking, as the Raiders check in as the top seed in Division 4 after appearing at No. 2 in the previous edition.

HS Roundup: Granby boys volleyball edges Athol in 5-setter

By RYAN AMES and GARRETT COTE

The Granby boys volleyball team pulled off another five-set match victory with a five-set win over Athol on Friday.

UMass lacrosse: Minutewomen ousted by Princeton in NCAA tourney opener, 19-10

By RYAN AMES

Catrina Tobin put together a magnificent performance in goal for the UMass women’s lacrosse team in its 19-10 loss to Princeton during the first round of the NCAA Division I Tournament on Friday in Baltimore, Maryland.

Western Mass. Mother’s Day Half Marathon reaches 15th edition on Sunday in Whately

By THOMAS JOHNSTON

The 15th running of the Western Mass. Mother’s Day Half Marathon in Whately will commence on Sunday, with a large field of runners expected to participate.

Mother’s Day extra eventful on the diamond for Hampshire Regional softball super-mom Becky Dubay

By GARRETT COTE

WESTHAMPTON — Becky Dubay could never pack lunches for her four daughters without hearing some sort of complaint. Whether it was her oldest daughter, Josie, her twins, Raegan and Ryanne, or her youngest, Kalin, each of them would always let their mom know if something about their lunch wasn’t right before she shipped them off to elementary school.

HS Roundup: Josh Misiaszek blasts walk-off, 3-run home run to give Belchertown baseball eighth straight win

By GARRETT COTEand JEFF LAJOIE

Winners of seven straight games entering Thursday, the Belchertown baseball team hadn’t been tested in a while. The Orioles’ last six games were all victories by at least six runs. But against a visiting Agawam team, Belchertown found itself in a 2-1 hole entering the bottom of the seventh inning.

HS Notebook: Amherst girls track could have program’s ‘best team ever’

By GARRETT COTE

AMHERST — Throughout the entire spring season, the Amherst Regional track and field programs have had to hit the road for all of their dual meets. The track at the high school doesn’t meet the standards to host competition, as runners are forced to avoid small cracks and holes in the surface.

UMass women's lacrosse gears up for Princeton in NCAA Tournament

By RYAN AMES

It’s a Sweet 16 for the UMass women’s lacrosse team. Well, actually, not exactly.

HS Softball: Late rally powers Hampshire past Turners Falls in battle of WMass heavyweights

By THOMAS JOHNSTON

TURNERS FALLS — A pair of Western Mass. softball powers met at Gary Mullins Field Wednesday night. 

HS Roundup: Amherst track sweeps rival Northampton (PHOTOS)

By GARRETT COTE and RYAN AMES

NORTHAMPTON — It has been quite the spring season for the Amherst Regional girls track and field team, and Wednesday added to the Hurricanes’ undefeated campaign. Both the Amherst girls and boys defeated Northampton behind terrific performances both on the track and in the field. The Amherst girls won by a score of 103-33.

HS Softball: Franklin Tech holds off Hopkins Academy; Dion now one away from 400 Ks

By RYAN AMES

HADLEY – A near-milestone performance from Hopkins Academy pitcher Cassie Dion wasn’t enough as the Golden Hawks softball team fell to Franklin Tech, 4-2, on Wednesday. Dion needed eight strikeouts against the Eagles to become the first player in school history to reach 400 for her career, however the Hawks’ ace came up one short to sit at 399 career Ks following the defeat.

HS Softball: Belchertown hitting its stride, eyeing postseason

By RYAN AMES

The Orioles have taken flight.

HS Roundup: Agawam holds off Amherst boys lacrosse (PHOTOS)

By RYAN AMES and GARRETT COTE

AMHERST — For the second time this season, the Amherst Regional boys lacrosse team fell to Agawam, this time dropping a 16-10 decision on Tuesday.

Fit to Play with Jim Johnson: The dark side of sport

Bill Bradley, the great Knicks player and Rhodes Scholar, went up for a jump shot at the end of the game. As usual, it was good and put the Knicks up by eight points with almost no time on the clock. Rather than the usual cheer, Bradley heard some boos coming from the fans. Confused, after the game Bradley asked the trainer why some fans had booed him. The trainer told him that the spread on the game was projected at six points and that winning by eight had cost fans money.

HS Roundup: Granby boys volleyball falls to Sci-Tech

By RYAN AMES and GARRETT COTE

For the first time all season, the Granby boys volleyball team dropped consecutive matches as the Rams fell 3-1 to Sci-Tech on Monday evening. The first two sets were as close as it gets, but Granby couldn’t sustain its strong play for the entirety of the contest – losing 26-24, 24-26, 25-18, 25-19.

On the Run with John Stifler: Chocolatier runs Boston

The Boston Marathon has a pretty good system for keeping track of all participants. At the Boston Athletic Association’s website (baa.org) you can find, in the throng of approximately 30,000 runners, anyone who’s entered. During the race, you can see where on the course your runner is. Spending marathon day in the press room at the Copley Plaza Hotel, I searched for the runners from Hampshire County, and I found them all except for Kathie Williams, from Hatfield. I knew Kathie was entered. Why wasn’t she showing up on the screen when I typed her name? Because computers don’t always catch typos. As Kathie explained later, with appropriate amusement, she was so excited to be signing up on line for her first Boston Marathon that she typed her name wrong. If I had searched for “Kathie Willams” I would have found her, steadily making her way to the finish in six hours two minutes and 17 seconds.