Search Results

By Line search: By GARRETT COTE

By GARRETT COTE

WESTHAMPTON — Runs were at a premium through five innings between the Hampshire and Frontier softball teams on Friday afternoon, as star pitchers Ryanne Dubay (Raiders) and Raine Wonsey (Redhawks) dueled it out in the circle. Heading into the bottom of the sixth with the game tied at one apiece, Hampshire head coach Brian McGan turned to small ball – the exact way his team scored its first run.

By GARRETT COTE

AMHERST — Well, it didn’t take long for Division 1 men’s basketball players to take advantage of the transfer portal opening on Monday. As of Friday morning, there are already more than 1,000 total D1 men’s players in the portal. Some of them are still playing in the NCAA Tournament right now. Three of them have departed from UMass.

By GARRETT COTE

GRANBY — The Hopkins bats may have gotten off to a slow start on Thursday afternoon, but the Golden Hawks quickly shook off any early-season rust and came alive with seven runs over the final two innings as they went on the road to defeat Granby, 10-0, in the two programs’ season opener.

By GARRETT COTE

AMHERST — For nearly 30 years of his life, UMass offensive coordinator Mike Bajakian has been a football coach. He’s had stints at the high school, collegiate and professional levels, his most recent gig being at Utah – where he was the program’s offensive analyst and quarterbacks coach.

By GARRETT COTE

AMHERST — Tied 2-2 entering the bottom of the eighth inning, a dormant UMass baseball offense needed a spark – its only two runs coming from Albany miscues.

By GARRETT COTE

NORTHAMPTON — After watching for just 10 minutes, I reached for my phone, picked it up and texted as many of my friends who love the game of basketball as I could.

By GARRETT COTE

Not even three minutes into the NCAA Division 3 women’s basketball national championship game, it was clear Smith College had its hands full with undefeated NYU — the reigning Div. 3 champions which held a 61-game winning streak entering Saturday. The Pioneers were well aware of just how dominant the Violets are considering they lost to them in last year’s title game, but after NYU ripped off the game’s first nine points, the journey to the top of the mountain became even steeper.

By GARRETT COTE

For the third consecutive season, the Smith College women’s basketball team is headed to the NCAA Division III Final Four. The Pioneers held their send off outside of Ainsworth Gymnasium on Tuesday afternoon, as they walked through a crowd of supporters and onto their team bus, which headed to the airport where they took off for Virginia.

By GARRETT COTE

NORTHAMPTON — Ally Yamada and Sofia Rosa sat on the floor of Ainsworth Gymnasium behind the group of 16 Smith College women’s basketball players as Pioneers assistant coach Jen MacAulay broke down film on Smith’s NCAA Division III Final Four opponent, Wisconsin-Oshkosh, on Monday afternoon.

By GARRETT COTE

AMHERST — The stellar turnaround of Mike Leflar and his UMass women’s basketball team has earned them a chance to play postseason basketball, as their final season representing the Atlantic 10 isn’t over quite yet.

By GARRETT COTE

AMHERST — On two separate occasions this winter, Mullins Center staff spilled onto Jack Leaman Court as soon as the final horn sounded to end a UMass men’s basketball game. They aren’t typically in a huge rush to break down equipment, especially if the next event to take place in the arena is another basketball game, but the Minutemen hockey team had a game about five hours later – they needed to change the hardwood to the ice in time for warm-ups.

By GARRETT COTE

LOWELL — South Hadley girls basketball head coach Paul Dubuc said his team didn’t show up to the Tsongas Center for a moral victory. That very well could be true, but the Tigers did one thing that no other team in Division 4 had done in the postseason: put up a fight against No. 1 Cathedral.

By GARRETT COTE

LOWELL — It felt like history had repeated itself at the Tsongas Center on Sunday afternoon. A year ago, the South Hadley girls basketball team got off to a hot start before ultimately falling to No. 1 Cathedral in the MIAA Division 4 state championship game on the third Sunday of March.

By GARRETT COTE

Smith College is ‘elite’ once again.

By GARRETT COTE

SOUTH HADLEY — Paul Dubuc met with his senior captains – Ava Asselin, Caitlin Dean, CC Gurek and Maddie Soderbaum – prior to the start of the season back in late November. The South Hadley girls basketball head coach and his Tigers were coming off the program’s first-ever state championship appearance, where they lost to Cathedral in the Division 4 title game.

By GARRETT COTE

When the NCAA Division 3 Women’s Basketball bracket was released on March 3, Smith College was thrilled to be hosting yet another opening weekend, just as it had done the previous three tournaments. But despite earning the right to play first and second round games at home, the Pioneers were given an extremely rigorous path to a potential third straight Final Four.

By GARRETT COTE

AMHERST — When Joe Harasymiak accepted the UMass football head coaching job back in early December, a handful of members on the Rutgers staff – where Harasymiak was previously the defensive coordinator – were excited for him. They also wanted to go with him based on the relationships they had built with him over the course of their time together.

By GARRETT COTE

WORCESTER — After making the MIAA Division 4 state final and graduating only one senior from last season’s team, the town of South Hadley, all of western Mass. and competition across the state expected the South Hadley girls basketball team to end up in that same exact spot come March 2025.

By GARRETT COTE

The time has come for the UMass men’s basketball team, as it begins its trek through one final Atlantic 10 Conference tournament on Wednesday afternoon.

By GARRETT COTE

The Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame announced the 2025 Western Massachusetts Senior High School All-Star Game rosters Monday – and 12 Daily Hampshire Gazette area players made it across the three games scheduled to be played on Thursday, March 20 at the Hall of Fame in Springfield.

By GARRETT COTE

AMHERST — AJ Hairston dropped back to pass during the 11-on-11 live portion of the UMass football team’s first spring practice of the season Monday morning.