June 23, 2011 The Wilbraham-Hampden TIMES Page 21 TURLEY PUBLICATIONS The deadline for submissions for this sports section is the Friday before publication by 12 p.m. To send information, contact Sports Editor Dave Forbes at 413-283-8393 ext. 237, send e-mail to dforbes@turley.com or send it through the mail to: Turley Publications c/o Sports Editor Dave Forbes, 24 Water St., Palmer, MA 01069. Falcons shock Spartans to take Western Mass title By Nate Rosenthal Turley Publications Sports Correspondent Wilbraham Funeral Home wins By Rick Sobey Turley Publications Sports intern EAST LONGMEADOW - Playermanager Kevin Farrell of the Wilbraham Funeral Home said the team is missing some talent early on in the 2011 TriCounty season due to a few players having previous commitments, so they don’t have their full squad yet. However, when the squad faced DiFranco Realty on Wednesday, June 15, it didn’t matter that the team was short a few players. Wilbraham Funeral Home got the lead in the first inning and never let it go, as they defeated DiFranco Realty 7-1 with a strong pitching performance from Sean Stevenson and clutch hitting from the middle of the lineup. Stevenson was dominant on the mound, pitching a complete game win with eight strikeouts and letting up only one run. The first hit he allowed was in the fourth inning, according to DiFranco’s scorer. It was a borderline base hit that could have gone as an error. It wasn’t until the sixth inning when Stevenson let up a clear hit, which was a double to right center field. “I started throwing first pitch fastballs and just trusted my stuff today,” Stevenson said. “My changeup was my go-to pitch for strikeouts, it always is. I felt good with it today. Occasionally, my slider was getting over. Just getting ahead of hitters is the key to getting strikeouts.” Stevenson let up only five hits on the day, with three of them coming in the final inning. He allowed four walks, but they never came back to bite him, as none of the walks resulted in runs. “He was phenomenal,” Farrell said. Please see WILBRAHAM, page 25 T he Minnechaug baseball team saved the best for last in their drive towards the Western Mass Division 1 Baseball champion- ship. By beating previously top-ranked East Longmeadow, 9-2 in the finals held at Szot Park, the Falcons completed a trifecta of beating the top three seeds, Agawam, Westfield and the aforementioned Spartans. In so doing, Minnechaug took its place as Western Mass champions for the first time since 1983. That set them up with a spot in the state championship. The Falcons took advantage of a very leaky East Longmeadow defense (five errors) and jumped to an early 3-2 lead. The Spartans got back into it with a pair in the third and threatened in the fourth, but Greg Heineman was as good as he had to be. He settled down nicely, retiring nine of the last 11 batters he faced. Meanwhile, the Falcons got those runs back and more, a three-run sixth being key. They added two more in the seventh to effectively put the game out of reach. This came at the expense of Steve Moyers, who many considered to be the best pitcher in Western Mass this year. What an unlikely scenario this would be. The Falcons were a solid, if unspectacular team in the regular season. Near the midpoint, they were 7-2 after a fourgame win streak and moving steadily towards a berth in the tournament. Then they lost six of their next seven, including four in a row and at 8-8, there was a question as to whether they would qualify at all. The Falcons won two of their final four and also took second in the Valley Wheel to secure their place in the playoffs, but the road ahead would be steep. Turley Publications staff photos by Dave Forbes The Minnechaug varsity baseball team won its first Western Mass title since 1983 by defeating East Longmeadow in the finals. They entered the tournament as the 10th seed and beat seventh-ranked Amherst in the first round, 6-4. That was followed by a 4-3 victory over number two Agawam in the quarterfinals. Then came the infamous three day “stop and start” with Westfield, the third seed. When they beat them 3-0, they were set up to face an East Longmeadow team that had everything going for them, including momentum. The Spartans had gone 17-3 in regular season play and had already beaten Minnechaug twice, the last coming in the final week. They had earned a bye and breezed through the quarters and semis. First by topping Northampton, 9Please see FALCONS, page 24 Minnechaug players Brady Forrest (11) and Kevin Sugermeyer (8) hoist the trophy among their teammates. Inaugural Run for Rice’s 5k Road Race WILBRAHAM - The inaugural Run for Rice’s 5K Road Race was held on Saturday, June 11 with Wilbraham’s Charlie Muse (16 minutes, 28 seconds) and Holyoke’s Abby Mahoney (17:03) leading the field of 86 runners to win the inaugural race. Jordan Leckey (16:39) and Colleen McMahon (21:19) won first place Wilbraham resident honors, while Ken Clark (16:39) and Barbara Bosworth (20:33) took home first place Master’s Division awards. While the course had to be altered in the days before the race due to tornado damage on the original route, runners from Wilbraham and the surrounding area braved the rain and had a great time participating in this event that raised nearly $3,000 for the Rice Nature Preserve Stewardship Fund. The Run for Rice’s Race Committee would like to thank the following race Please see 5K RACE, page 25 Minnechaug honors spring athletes, teams By Rick Sobey Turley Publications Sports Intern WILBRAHAM - The Minnechaug spring sports awards was originally planned for the day after the tornado struck. However, like every sport at the school, the award ceremony had to be delayed due to all the destruction around town. The school was able to reschedule it for June 16, as Minnechaug recognized its athletes, teams, and fans for another exciting season. Michael Roy, first-year athletics director, led the ceremony, discussing how each team fared over the spring season. He handed out plaques for Please see MINNECHAUG, page 25 Turley Publications photo by David Miles The first-ever Run for Rice’s 5K Road Race took place on Saturday, June 11. Pictured are (from left to right): Barbara Bosworth, Ken Clark and Charles Muse.