The Greenfield Post 81 Junior Legion team entered the double-elimination regional tournament as the No. 1 seed but quickly found itself with its back against the wall after falling to West Springfield in its first postseason contest.

There was no quit in Post 81, who followed the loss with a win over North Adams before taking down West Springfield in a rematch to punch a ticket to the championship series against Westfield. With Westfield entering without a loss, Greenfield would need to beat them twice to advance to the state tournament.

Greenfield took care of business in the first game on Monday, earning a 10-0 victory on the road to return to Vets Field on Tuesday in a winner-take-all contest.

Post 81 roared out to a 7-0 lead after three innings and Conner Bergeron did the rest on the mound, keeping Westfield off the scoreboard as Greenfield took home the district title with a 12-0 victory in five innings.

“We had to win four straight instead of just winning two and being in the driver’s seat,” Post 81 coach Jesse Phelps said. “These guys perservered. They overcame some adversity and worked hard.”

Greenfield now enters the state tournament — which is scheduled for Saturday at Holy Cross — with a 21-2 record, having played dominant baseball throughout the summer.

“It feels great,” Phelps said. “We put a lot of work into this. Getting 21 victories is a lot in a summer season. It’s good for these guys.”

It’s never easy in summer baseball nowadays, as players have so many different options in terms of teams to play for as well as competing in other sports throughout the summer.

Add in that players come from all different schools, and it can be hard to develop chemistry in a short period of time. That wasn’t the case for Greenfield this summer, which came together to play at their best.

“They’ve come together really well and they’ve bonded,” Phelps said. “They’re having fun. That’s the most important thing with this. Baseball is part of it but we’re advocating for making better people and these guys are having fun doing it.”

After a shutout top of the first, Bergeron and George Gutierrez opened the bottom of the frame with walks before Hunter Donahue was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Urijah Jenness was also hit by a pitch to score Bergeron and put Greenfield on the board, Luke Connors walked to bring in Gutierrez before Hayden Girard singled to left to drive in Donahue and Jenness to give Post 81 a 4-0 lead after one.

Greenfield loaded the bases again in the second after Bergeron singled, Gutierrez walked and Chase Zraunig reached on an error, with Jenness hitting a sacrifice fly to score Bergeron and add to the lead.

Connors walked to open the third and Girard followed with a perfect bunt and beat the throw to first. It didn’t matter as the throw was offline, allowing Connors to score. Bergeron later grounded out to bring in Girard and make it a 7-0 game through three.

The Post 81 bats stayed hot in the fourth. Donahue led off with a single, stole a pair of bases and Zraunig knocked him in with a base hit. Jenness singled, Luca Siano drove in Zraunig with a base hit and Jenness scored on a wild pitch to make it a 10-0 lead.

Aiden Shea later drove in two with a single to give Post 81 a 12-0 edge going into the fifth.

Bergeron didn’t give Westfield much to work with on the mound, scattering four hits and striking out three to record the five-inning shutout. Pitching has been a strength of Greenfield’s throughout the tournament, with Phelps saying he hopes it continues at states.

“The pitching has been great,” Phelps said. “They’ve had some run support which has helped. Our defense, I don’t know if we’ve made an error. They’ve been great.”

The entirety of the state tournament will take place on Saturday. With a condensed format, Phelps said there’s one main thing that will be the difference.

“We have to play great defense,” Phelps said.

Post 81 takes down Westfield on Monday

Greenfield made it to Tuesday by taking down Westfield, 10-0, in six innings on Monday on the road.

Arthur Fitzpatrick pitched a six-inning shutout, giving up just two hits while striking out six. Luke Connors led the way with three hits and four RBIs, Chase Zraunig singled, doubled and drove in a run, Urijah Jenness singled three times and drove in two and Hunter Donahue singled for Post 81 in the victory.