Mahar second baseman Lincoln Gagnon awaits the throw from catcher Tyler Woodard that nailed Mount Everett base-stealer Tom Danz, who was out in the second inning Tuesday in Orange. The visiting Eagles bounced the host Senators from the WMass Division III Baseball Tournament with a 5-1 quarterfinal win.
Recorder/Mike Phillips
WMass Baseball Mahar sent packing, 5-1
By JASON BUTYNSKI
Recorder Staff
ORANGE — Wyatt Ronan may not have had the start that he wanted but the finish couldn’t have been any better.
After giving up a home run to the first batter he faced, the Mount Everett Regional High School starting pitcher allowed only three more hits the rest of the way, keeping the Mahar Regional School off-balance all game to help the Eagles advance to the Western Massachusetts Division III Baseball Tournament semifinals with a 5-1 quarterfinal victory.
Ronan, a junk-balling lefty, was staked to a 2-0 lead in the top of the first but he quickly gave one run back to Mahar leadoff hit Lincoln Gagnon in the bottom of the inning. After throwing a first-pitch curveball for a ball, Ronan left a fastball over the plate and Gagnon made him pay with a solo home run to right field. Blayne Calcari followed with a loud out to deep center before Kyle Cellana and Tyler Woodard hit backto- back singles to put runners on first and second with only one out. Mike Pierson then ripped a line drive that was snagged by second baseman Will Danz and thrown to first to double off Woodard and end the threat.
“We missed an opportunity early on,” Mahar coach Art Billings admitted. “We could have maybe put some pressure on them and maybe taken an early lead. But I’ve got to give it to them. They made the plays.”
From there, Ronan settled down, allowing a second-inning Matt Bardsley single, then a Gagnon bunt single to lead off the third. On the Gagnon bunt, Ronan threw the ball wide of first for the Eagles’ lone error, allowing Gagnon to advance to second. Calcari then sacrificed Gagnon to third but Cellana lined out to short and Woodard flew out to center to end the inning. The three outs in the inning became a common site over the remainder of the game. Ronan didn’t allow another Senators baserunner, setting down the final 15 batters.
“I think the difference between the first inning and the rest of the game was that I was spotting pitches,” Ronan said of his adjustments. “Toward the end I was moving the ball in and out and was really able to put the ball where I wanted it with my fastball, and I think I got a little more comfortable with my curveball.”
The loss marked the fifth straight time the Senators have been eliminated from the tournament by a Berkshire County school, beginning in 2004 when the Senators lost to St. Joseph’s-Central High School in the Division III semifinals. Mahar went on to lose to St. Joseph’s in the quarterfinals in 2005 and then, after missing the tournament in 2006, the Senators were again eliminated by St. Joe’s in 2007 in the semifinals. After missing the tourney in 2008, the Senators were upset by McCann Technical School last season in the first round.
Trying to buck that trend, the fifthseeded Senators (15-6) came into the game against 13th-seeded Mt. Everett (14-8) with senior Kyle Cellana on the bump, but the Eagles got to the right-hander early. Tom Danz was hit by a pitch to lead off and the baserunner set in motion something that would become a common sight when an Eagle player got on base as he swiped second and third bases. Mt. Everett went on to steal eight of nine attempted steals.
With Danz on third, Ronan singled to center to plate the first run of the game and later scored what proved to be the game-winner on a Dylan Wheeler single.
Mahar responded with the run in the bottom of the first but Mt. Everett got it right back in the top of the second, when Kassell Night singled with two outs, stole second, went to third on a wild pitch and scored on a wild pitch all with Danz at the plate. The score remained that way until the fifth when Night hit a groundball to first base that Pierson fielded and tossed to Cellana, who was covering first on the play. Cellana recorded the out but came up limping, suffering a groin injury. After throwing a few practice pitches, Cellana said he could continue. That brought up Danz and the Mt. Everett hitter deposited the second pitch he saw from Cellana over the fence in left to give his team a 4-1 lead. After one more batter reached base, Cellana was pulled in favor of Blayne Calcari. Cellana’s final line was 4 2-3 inning pitched, five hits, three strikeouts and one walk.
The Eagles added another run in the sixth inning on Colby Rueger’s RBI single but that wasn’t the highlight of the inning. With runners on second and third and one out, Night hit a chopper back to Calcari and the pitcher threw home to Woodard, who steadied himself in front of the plate to tag out Eagle baserunner Will Danz, who was freight-training home. Making no attempt to avoid contact, Danz plowed into Woodard, sending the catcher flying. A shouting match ensued around the plate before Danz was ejected by the umpires (in high school, rules state that baserunners must try to avoid contact). Danz will now be ineligible for the next two games.
The play appeared to fire-up the Senators, who got out of the inning without giving up any more runs. The momentum didn’t carry over, however, as Mahar grounded out twice and flew out to center in the sixth.
In the final inning, Pierson and Bardsley each flew out before Greg Richard ended the game on a groundout to short. Ronan finished with two strikeouts and no walks.
“He just kept us off-balance,” Billings concluded. “The kids were trying, they kept swinging, it wasn’t like we were watching pitches. It was just one of those frustrating days against a crafty lefty.”
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Saturday, 5/29/10
School Baseball
Mahar 5, Athol 2 — Brent McGrath hit a pinch-hit, tworun triple to deep center in the seventh inning and Mahar Regional School finished off a successful regular season with a 5-2 win over Athol High School in an HL game on Saturday in Athol.
Lincoln Gagnon and Mike Pierson also tripled for the Senators (14-5, 12-4), which will find out their seed in the WMass Division III Tournament this week. Blayne Calcari and Matt Bardsley each finished with two hits and one RBI in the win, while Kyle Cellana singled and drove in one run. Calcari earned the win, striking out four in 6 1-3 innings. Pierson struck out the final two batters of the game for the save.
Dakota Melanson singled and doubled for the Red Raiders.
WMass Boys’ Track
Senators’ sophomore a sprint champion
By JUSTIN FELISKO
Gazette Contributing Writer
WESTFIELD — Mahar Regional School sophomore Trent George admitted he felt a little nervous competing against Division 1 athletes heading into the Western Massachusetts Track & Field Championships Saturday at Westfield State College. He has no reason to worry anymore.
George won the 200-meter dash crown by crossing the finish line in 22.41 seconds, defeating Mohawk Trail Regional School junior Xavier Whitaker (23.01) by less than a second.
“I just thought to myself, ‘Just do your best and do whatever you can to win,’” George said. “I just gave it my all on the second 100 in the finals because I knew I was going against better people, division-wise.”
Senators coach Jim Woodward said that his team was feeling a little bit of pressure during the meet, competing against some of the Division I teams a week after winning the Western Massachusetts Division II championship.
“It’s small-town guys coming up to the big time,” Woodward said. “I told them that we’re here to enjoy ourselves, have fun and do the best you can do. They put enough pressure on themselves.”
Mahar was the highest-placing local Division II squad, finishing eighth with 23 points. Northampton and Longmeadow high schools 0tied for first place with 46 points.
The Senators’ 4×100-meter relay team placed fourth with a time of 44.68 seconds. Mahar senior Tom Powell had a fine day, finishing third in the shot put with a toss of 46 feet, 6 inches, and fifth in the discus with a 127-foot, five-inch throw. Yet, Powell wanted to perform better.
“In the shot put I just didn’t get it right,” Powell said. “I was hoping to throw 49.”
William Anderson, another Senators senior, placed sixth in the shot with a 43-foot put. In the team competition, Athol tied for 19th with 10 points, Franklin County Technical School and Mohawk Trail Regional High School tied for 25th with eight points, Frontier Regional School was 31st with four points and Greenfield High School finished 34th with 1.5 points.
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School Baseball
Wednesday, 5/26/10
Narragansett 12, Mahar 0 — Danielle LeBlanc and Kimmie Morris combined on a one-hitter as Narragansett blanked Mahar, 12-0, in an independent softball game on Wednesday in Baldwinville.
Hayley Zisk belted a solo homer for the Warriors. Megan LeBlanc added a single and double.
Tasha Polana had the Senators’ only hit. Tia Polana suffered the loss.
Mahar finished its season 4-14.
Mahar 8, Narragansett 0 — Mahar Regional School banged out 10 hits and took advantage of seven Narragansett Regional High School errors to whitewash the host Warriors, 8-0, in independent baseball action Wednesday in Baldwinville.
Lincoln Gagnon paced the Senators with three hits and one RBI. Tyler Woodard added a pair of singles, Blayne Clacari belted a triple and Matt Bardsley stroked a double.
Mike Pierson fanned six and walked two in five innings to earn the win. Woodard finished off the shutout by striking out three and walking one in two innings.
Mahar (13-5) closes out the regular season Saturday at 11 a.m. at Athol High School.
School Baseball
Tuesday, 5/25/10
Panthers surprise Senators
Recorder Staff
Kyle Platner answered the challenge from head coach Tom Conway and pitched the Pioneer Valley Regional School baseball team into the Western Massachusetts Tournament.
Platner spun a masterful 65-pitch, four-hit shutout as the Panthers shocked Hampshire League co-leader Mahar Regional School, 7-0, on Tuesday in Northfield.
“It’s about time he threw it this consistently,” said Conway. “I told him, ‘you need to man up’ and he did it.”
After scoring once in the first, Jordan Stempel stroked a two-out, RBI single during a two-run second to extend the Panthers’ lead to 3-0.
The Panthers (10-7, 9-5 HL) added three more insurance runs in the fourth on a bad-hop error that scored two runs and John Keir’s RBI double.
Platner struck out five and walked no one in his gem. Derek Thayer and Casey Blanchard both collected two hits.
Greg Richard had two of the Senators’ four hits. Kyle Cellana suffered the loss.
“We needed to beat a tournament team to qualify,” said Conway, whose squad finishes with Monson, Mohawk Trail Regional and Greenfield high schools, as well as Mahar. “The monkey’s off everybody’s back now. We’re not going to be an easy out for anyone (in WMass).”
Frontier 9, Easthampton 5 — An eight-run fourth-inning eruption propelled Frontier Regional School to a 9-5 HL victory over Easthampton High School Tuesday in Easthampton Kirk Gross started the fourth-inning uprising with a double and scored. Then he capped it off by blasting a two-run home run.
Gross and Justin Nartowicz both finished with two hits for the Red Hawks, while Dan White pitched six innings for the win.
Tad Boruchowski’s double was one of six hits for the Eagles. John Volpe took the loss.
Frontier (6-12, 6-8) travels to Greenfield High School Friday night at 7.
Saturday, 5/22/10
WMass D-II Boys’ Track
Senators (88 points) destroy D-II boys’ field
BUCKLAND — Tom Powell and William Anderson gave the Mahar Regional School boys’ track team just the shot it needed to win the PVIAC Western Mass. Division II Championships.
The Senator teammates finished first and second respectively in the shot put to lead their team to 88 points and cruise to an easy win in the team standings Saturday at Mohawk Trail Regional High School.
Southwick-Tolland Regional High School finished a distant second with 51 points.
Powell won a pair of events, taking the shot put with a distance of 48 feet, 4¾ inches, and the discus, at 123-7, to pick up two of his team’s four wins on the day. Afterward, Powell said he was happy to earn the wins but most proud of the fact that it helped his team to the victory.
“It’s huge toward the win for the team and that’s what we’re really looking for,” he explained. “It’s important because we’re undefeated so far and we’d like to stay that way. We’ve had a good season, we’ve got a good all-around team, and we want to keep it going.” Anderson finished second in the shot at 44-8¼, bettering his best throw of the season by two feet. Like Powell, Anderson echoed the team sentiment afterward.
“I didn’t really expect this,” he explained. “I’m glad that I could take second place for the team.
“I guess I’d attribute it to practice,” he said of his throw, “because over the course of the year your form really changes.” The Senators, who won the Intercounty League title and finished 11-0 this season, also received a win in the 200 by Trent George (22.63) and picked up a victory in the 4×100 relay with a time of 44.86. Travon Godette picked up a third-place finish in the high jump at 5-10. The Senators’ 4×800 team placed second on the day (8:54.72), while the 4×400 team took third (3:43.95).
Wednesday, 05/19/10
Pioneer 6, Mahar 2 — Katelyn Gaffigan struck out 10 to lead Pioneer Valley Regional School to a 6-2 win over Mahar Regional School in a FCL softball game Wednesday night in Northfield.
Gaffigan went the distance in the win, allowing only three hits and one walk. The Panther offense staked her to an early lead as Leah Gexler (two hits, one walk) hit a tworun single in the first inning and Alyssa Hill (two hits) hit a two-run single in the second to put Pioneer on top 4-0 early.
Mahar (4-11, 4-10) cut the deficit in half, as Olivia Smith hit an RBI triple in the third, and Hanna Pultorak smacked an RBI double in the fourth, but Pioneer (7-9, 7-7) scored the final two runs in the sixth on an RBI single by Kristina Weld.
Christy Cominoli doubled for Pioneer, while Jackie Lafleur added a single.
Sabrina Lysieuk added a single for the Senators. Smith suffered the loss, striking out two and walking 10 in six innings.
Tuesday, 5/18/10
Mahar 94, Turners 51 — Mahar Regional School tuned up for the upcoming Western Massachusetts Division II Championships as it defeated Turners Falls High School, 94-51, in a Franklin County League girls’ track meet on Tuesday in Turners Falls.
Amanda Johnson earned firsts in three events for the Senators (6-2, 5-1). She won the long jump (16-5), triple jump (33-7¾) and 400 (65.5). Emma Woodcock added victories in the 800 (2:45.7) and mile (5:58.8).
Libby Nicotra led the Indians (3-3, 2-3, FCL) with wins in the 200 (29.3) and high jump (4-8).
Monday, 5/17/10
Senators rebound with 2-1 victory
After giving up 11 runs in a loss to Greenfield High School Friday night, Mahar Regional School needed a solid pitching performance to get back on track against a Mohawk Trail Regional High School baseball team that came into the day winners of five straight.
Kyle Cellana gave the Senators exactly what they were looking for by holding the Warriors to one run on the day and leading Mahar to a 2-1 Hampshire League win in Orange.
Mahar (11-3 overall, 10-2 HL), which hadn’t lost an HL game since April 13 until Friday’s 11-3 setback at Greenfield, got single runs in the first and third innings to support Cellana. The senior made the two runs stand up as he struck out four and allowed four walks and five hits in 6 2-3 innings. The performance was exactly what Senator coach Art Billings was looking for.
“I saw a lot of leadership on the mound out of him, especially after the Greenfield game on Friday,” the coach explained. “We needed this to get us back on track.”
Mohawk (8-7, 7-5) cut the deficit to one run in the fifth inning when Ben Popowich scored on a wild pitch. In the seventh the Warriors threatened to tie the game when Cellana, who recorded two outs in the inning, allowed a walk and a single. Billings lifted the starter, who had thrown 110 pitches to that point, for Mike Pierson and, after Pierson hit Scott Mitchell to load the bases, the move paid off when the reliever struck out Alex Dawicki to end the game.
The Senators scored the first run of the game in the first inning. Lincoln Gagnon doubled and later scored when Cellana reached on an error. In the third, Matt Bardsley hit an RBI single to plate Blayne Calcari with the eventual game-winning run.
Friday, 5/14/10
Mahar 12, Greenfield 4 — Christine Richardson collected five hits and drove in two runs to help Mahar Regional School earn a 12-4 win over Greenfield High School in a Franklin County League softball game Friday night in Greenfield.
Richardson homered and doubled as part of her five-hit performance. Tasha Polana singled and drove in two runs, while Hanna Pultorak singled and drove in one run. Shaunna Woessner struck out one and walked seven in the complete-game win.
Jocelyn Dennett and Tylor Narkewicz each finished with two hits and one RBI for the Green Wave.
Wave buries Senators, tightens HL race
Things got a little tighter in the Hampshire League race.
Greenfield High School took advantage of five errors by Mahar Regional School to take an 11-3 win in a HL baseball game Friday night at Veterans Memorial Field in Greenfield.
The Green Wave (11-4 overall, 7-4 HL) scored four times in the first inning to jump out to an early lead and never looked back. Pitcher Austin Finck struck out five and allowed seven hits and two walks in the complete game win. Conor Nolan collected four hits and one RBI, while Garrett McHugh, Ian Leonard and Adam Wroblewski each added one hit and one RBI.
Blayne Calcari walked three and struck out five in 4 1-3 innings to suffer the loss. Kyle Cellana finished with three hits and two RBIs.
The loss leaves Mahar (10-3, 9-2), which leads the HL, only a half-game ahead of Hopkins Academy in the HL. The next four teams after Mahar in the standings are now within two games of the league lead.
Recorder Staff







