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.

32nd Amherst Ultimate Invitational: Hometown Hurricanes capture Div. 1 girls title

By RYAN AMES

AMHERST – As dark clouds rolled over the fields behind McGuirk Alumni Stadium on Sunday afternoon, the Amherst Regional and Four Rivers Charter School girls ultimate varsity teams put on a show during the Girls Division 1 championship at the 2025 Amherst Ultimate Invitational. Tied 8-8 after regulation, both teams traded possessions for at least 20 minutes in sudden-death overtime, before the Hurricanes finally broke through and found the end zone to win 9-8 and punch their ticket to the National Invitational Tournament.

UMass women's lacrosse breezes past St. Joseph’s for Atlantic-10 tournament title

By RYAN AMES

Champions once again.

HS Roundup: Lockdown defense propels Granby boys lacrosse to 7-2 win over Monson (PHOTOS)

By GARRETT COTE and RYAN AMES

SOUTH HADLEY — Under a sun-filled field at South Hadley High School, the Granby boys lacrosse team used swarming defense and a tenacious effort to win nearly every ground ball en route to a 7-2 victory over Monson on Friday afternoon.

UMass women’s lacrosse: Minutemen advance to A-10 title game following 16-11 victory over Richmond

By RYAN AMES

The UMass women’s lacrosse team punched its ticket to the Atlantic 10 championship game following its 16-11 win over Richmond on Friday at Robins Stadium in Richmond, Virginia.

HS Roundup: Olivia Machon drives in winning run in extras to propel Frontier softball past Greenfield, 6-5

By RYAN AMES and GARRETT COTE

It was an extra-inning thriller in South Deerfield on Thursday between the Frontier and Greenfield softball teams. 

HS lacrosse notebook: Northampton boys open season with 11 straight wins

BY RYAN AMES

Everything changed when Charlie Edwards took over the Northampton boys lacrosse team in 2024. The Blue Devils had five straight seasons with a losing record prior to Edwards’ arrival and interest in the program was low from prospective athletes.

UMass women’s lacrosse: Minutewomen take on Richmond in A-10 semifinals Friday

BY RYAN AMES

Another year, another regular season Atlantic 10 title for the UMass women’s lacrosse team. The Minutewomen captured their fourth consecutive outright regular-season crown following their 10-0 record in league action and head into the A-10 playoffs winners of 11 in a row.

HS Tennis: PVCICS boys sweeps Belchertown, 5-0 (PHOTOS)

By RYAN AMES

AMHERST – On a beautiful, sunny day at Hampshire College on Thursday, the Pioneer Valley Chinese Immersion Charter School swept Belchertown, 5-0, in boy’s tennis action. The Dragons (8-2) put together a near flawless performance as they shut out the Orioles in the majority of the total games played for their third match victory in a row.

U.S. Open Local Qualifier takes place at Crumpin-Fox Club Thursday (PHOTOS)

By THOMAS JOHNSTON

BERNARDSTON — Golfers from all over flocked to Crumpin-Fox Club on Thursday for the 2025 U.S. Open Local Qualifier, hoping to get one step closer to achieving their dreams of competing in the 2025 U.S. Open at Oakmont Country Club in Pennsylvania. 

UMass lacrosse: Minutemen fall to No. 1 Richmond, 14-4, in Atlantic 10 semifinals

By GARRETT COTE

The No. 1 seed in the Atlantic 10 men’s lacrosse tournament looked every bit the part against No. 4 UMass on Thursday afternoon in Philadelphia.

UMass football: Several Minutemen get chances to go pro

By GARRETT COTE

AMHERST — Although former members of the UMass football team who put their name into the NFL Draft didn’t hear their name called over the course of the three-day event, several of them still received an opportunity to play football at the next level.

HS Roundup: Juliana Albo wins three events as Amherst girls track defeats Minnechaug, 96-49

By RYAN AMES and GARRETT COTE

Claire Fortin and Juliana Albo each had huge days to help the Amherst Regional girls track and field team to a 96-49 victory over Minnechaug on Wednesday afternoon in Wilbraham.