TURNERS FALLS ― For a team as young as the Golden Hawks, calm and composed are not words one would expect to accurately characterize this team.
But despite facing an early deficit against strong competition, No. 14 Hopkins Academy softball fought back to defeat No. 12 Franklin Tech, 5-3 on Thursday.
The Eagles started sharply, putting multiple runners on base in the top half of the first two innings. Two runs came across the plate off four hits and two walks, a welcome lead that could have been much greater.
On the flip side, Hannah Gilbert started strong for the Eagles in the circle, allowing just three hits and no runs through the first three innings.
The Golden Hawks’ middle order squeaked across an unearned run in the fourth off an RBI single from Olivia Earle to get within two. In the fifth, with Hopkins entering its third time through the lineup, the Golden Hawks’ offense finally sparked.
Allison Skwicz reached first on a walk to start, followed by back-to-back singles from Lily Ellia and Cassandra Dion to level the score and put the go-ahead run on third. Maggie Potter stepped up and drove in the run by hitting into a fielder’s choice, opting for the force out at first.
Alayna Bailey’s sac fly then brought in the runner from third, padding the visitors’ lead.
Gilbert got the Eagles rolling immediately in the fifth with a leadoff double, her third hit of the day and her second for extra bases. After Kylee Gamache moved her over with a fly out, Gilbert came across to score on a sac fly from Alison George.
Dion struck out the next batter to end the fifth. Hopkins could not add to its lead in the sixth, but despite giving up a leadoff single, Dion shut the door on the inning with three straight strikeouts to give herself 12 for the night.
Skwicz opened the seventh for the Golden Hawks by reaching on base with her third walk of the day. After advancing to second on an Elias single and advancing to third on Dion’s fielder’s choice, Potter knocked her second RBI of the day with a single to left field.
Maggie Potter at bat against Franklin County Tech on Apr. 17, 2025.Kenneth Manoj
With two runs behind her again, Dion shrugged off another leadoff single in the seventh to wrap the win for Hopkins.
This marks the fifth win in a row for the Golden Hawks, with the streak including a win over the defending Div. V state champs, No. 4 Turners Falls, on Monday.
When facing a high-quality pitcher, a team’s ability to learn from their mistakes at the plate the first time through the lineup can make all the difference.
“When we were first up, we were swinging at (bad) ones, we were giving her some pitches,” Dion lamented after the game. “So moving forward, our coach was telling us to focus on our (pitch) and I think we really started doing that towards the end.
“It’s definitely an adjustment (facing high-speed pitching), I think we all have to make sure (we are) watching the pitcher, that we’re getting timed up… but I think a lot of the girls too on our team play tournament style (softball) all-year round, so they’re getting used to going from a slower pitcher to a faster pitcher like today.”
The Golden Hawks made the most of their scoring opportunities, but the effort on defense underpinned their winning performance.
“Same thing that we did (against) Turners – keeping a strong defense,” Hopkins coach Linsdey Lord said. “I think we only had one or two errors (today), which is what really determines – especially at this level – who’s going to win the game. I think a lot of times it comes out to who makes the most errors first.”
Both starting pitchers posted over 10 strikeouts, but Dion came out on top in a hard-earned victory for the sophomore, maintaining her cool despite the early deficit and buying her offense time to climb back.
“I definitely try and control what I can control, not worry about hits because I can’t dictate what happens out there,” Dion said. “I really like to focus on my part of the game and I can trust everyone else to do theirs.”
Hopkins Academy (6-2) will look to extend its streak to six when it takes on Easthampton on Saturday, Apr. 19 at 4 p.m.
Franklin Tech (4-3) will look to bounce back when the Eagles take on Blackstone Valley Tech on Tuesday, Apr. 22 at 1 p.m.
“It’s an early season game, we still have a long way to go (and) so do they,” Franklin Tech scoach Joseph Gamache said. “We’re still figuring out who’s going to be in certain spots, our lineup’s a bit of a work in progress, we’re (only) seven games in now.
“We’re starting to get a better idea of who can do what and who can play where… all-in-all, it’s a learning experience. We knew thy were a good team coming in, we anticipated us being a pretty good team as well so just let this one go and we’ll move on to the next one.”
