PITTSFIELD — Michael Locher knew Friday’s Western Mass Class C boys tennis championship match wasn’t going to come easy. The head coach of No. 2 Pioneer Valley Chinese Immersion Charter School came into it aware his team was shorthanded, as the Dragons were without their first doubles pair of James Scott and Teddy Scott – the team’s only two seniors – and their typical third singles player, Gabe Loinaz (injury).

So Locher shuffled the lineup around hoping to make something work ahead of PVCICS’ biggest match of the year – the Class C finals against No. 1 Lenox. He plugged in Devan Ye, who normally pairs up with Simon Speek at second doubles, into the third singles spot, and threw two tandems who don’t normally play together in at both doubles spots. Singles play mattered more than it ever had for PVCICS.

And the Dragons delivered.

Lee Ferguson breezed through his match with Lenox’s Alex Kolean at first singles (6-1, 6-1), Derek Ye marched through the Millionaires’ Aydan Shove at second singles (6-0, 0-2) and Devan Ye took a set to get comfortable at No. 3 singles – but found his serve and hit his stride in the second and third sets to win 3-6, 6-2, 6-1 over Edmund Pritchard, clinching PVCICS its third consecutive Class C crown with a 4-1 win over Lenox at the Bousquet Sport Fitness and Athletic Club in Pittsfield.

“I’m glad we are able to [three-peat] as Western Mass. champions,” Locher said. “It’s a good feeling. I’m sorry that my seniors aren’t here to enjoy it, because they’ve been to four straight finals. I’m sure they’ll be proud of the younger guys for pulling them out.”

Like Devan Ye, PVCICS’ first doubles team of Simon Speek and Ethan Wang also had to come back from a deficit. Speek and Wang won 2-6, 6-4, 10-7 over Sebastian Manrique and Sawyer Levin.

When Devan Ye walked off the court following his match-clinching victory, Speek and Wang were losing early in the second set as were the Dragons’ second doubles tandem of Jack Herman and James Ferrer. At the time, it seemed as if PVCICS wasn’t going to win either doubles match – so Devan Ye’s triumph was massive.

“Lee at first singles, I felt pretty confident in him, and Derek at second singles, he can play with anybody,” Locher said. “Third singles, I just didn’t know. It was a tight match and it went to three sets. I’m just glad Devan played his A-game today and came through, because we [thought we might struggle] in doubles. If my three singles players didn’t clinch, we’d be in trouble.”

The first set didn’t go according to plan for Devan Ye, but his serve caught fire in set No. 2, and he put Pritchard on his heels the rest of the way. Ye overpowered Pritchard, began painting corners and had him chasing around.

“First set, his serve wasn’t quite working and he just seemed a bit tentative,” Locher said. “He was missing balls. But he figured out he has to push Edmund back, and I think Edmund was getting frustrated by that and Devan just kept on doing it. That was the key to the match toward the end.”

Ferguson is only a seventh grader, the Ye brothers, Speek and Wang are all freshmen, Herman is in eighth grade and Ferrer is a sophomore. PVCICS has just one junior and the Scott brothers are the lone seniors. The Dragons clinched a third-straight sectional crown on Friday, and they’ll likely be back for a fourth with a ton of firepower returning next spring.

Although James and Teddy Scott couldn’t be there Friday, PVCICS is ranked No. 10 in the MIAA Division 4 boys tennis power rankings and is seeking a second-straight state semifinals appearance. The Dragons are hoping to make one last run with the Scott brothers – who were eighth graders on the inaugural PVCICS boys tennis team – before sending them off to graduation.

“They’ve been a huge piece of this program,” Locher said. “They joined when they were eighth graders when we started this program and have played the whole way through. They’re not really ‘tennis players,’ they’re just tremendous athletes and amazing individuals. They’ve been like father-figures for a lot of these kids.”

PVCICS awaits its opponent, date and time for the first round of the state tournament, but knows it will be hosting a first-round match next week.

Boys lacrosse

Class B semis

No. 2 Amherst 7, No. 3 Pope Francis 6 — As expected when the second and third seeds meet, Friday evening’s Western Mass. Class B semifinal bout between the Hurricanes and Cardinals was a rock fight. And for the second time this season, Amherst defeated Pope Francis by one goal – this time clinching the ‘Canes a spot in the Class B championship game.

Amherst will now play No. 1 Northampton on Tuesday, May 27, at West Springfield High School at a time to be announced.

Girls lacrosse

Class B semis

No. 3 Mount Greylock 14, No. 2 Amherst 8 — The second-seeded ‘Canes couldn’t overcome 7-4 halftime deficit as they dropped the Class B semis to the Mounties on Friday night under the lights at Amherst College.

Ava Carey led the way with four points (three goals, one assist), Claire Kennedy and Emilia Luetjen each had two goals and an assist while Zoey Candito (goal), Ursula Lundquist (goal, assist) and Kiko Bhowmik (two assists) all chipped in offensively in the loss.

Mount Greylock will move on to play No. 1 Northampton in the Class B finals while Amherst (14-6) shifts its focus to the MIAA Division 2 state tournament.