WESTFIELD — Greenfield ace MacKenzie Paulin didn’t know if she was going to be able to play in Wednesday’s Western Mass. Class C final against Franklin Tech. 

The senior was feeling under the weather throughout the day and almost didn’t make the trip down to Westfield State University. She powered through the illness and put together a dominant performance in the pitching circle. 

The Eagles came into the game red hot, winners of 13 in a row. They had scored 10 or more runs in each of their last five games but were unable to get anything going against Paulin, who made it through all seven innings and struck out 16 while allowing just one hit. 

Greenfield scored one in the first and that was enough to get the job done, as the top-seeded Wave took home the Class C title with a 1-0 victory. 

“I was debating coming down,” Paulin said. “I was not feeling well and when I was warming up, I wasn’t sure how far I’d be able to make it into the game. Coach told me to let him know if I needed to come out but I battled through. I think adrenaline took over.” 

The win gives the Green Wave (15-6) four-straight Class C titles, and Paulin has taken home the Gary Stacy MVP award in each of those victories. 

“It feels great to be part of it,” Paulin said. “I’m proud of how far this specific team has gone this year. To do it for a fourth time in a row is awesome. We set our minds to it at the beginning of the season — especially after being upset in states [last year] — to go on a revenge tour. Getting Western Mass. four-peat feels great.

“It feels really good to accomplish that against a team that has been playing so well,” Paulin added. “They just upset Lenox 16-0 and put up crazy numbers. I knew I had to bear down out there.” 

With Paulin and Franklin Tech’s Hannah Gilbert in the circle, a pitching duel was expected. That’s how it played out, as Gilbert was more than up for the challenge herself, the senior allowing just four hits while striking out 12. 

“Hats off to Greenfield,” Eagles coach Joe Gamache said. “MacKenzie pitched great, Hannah pitched great. It was everything a championship game should be.” 

Gilbert knocked the lone hit of the game for Franklin Tech (17-4) in the first inning. She reached third following a pair of wild pitches but Paulin struck out the next two batters to get out of the inning unscathed. 

Greenfield rallied with two outs in the bottom of the first. Olivia Lemay got things started with a double and Gloria McDonald blasted a base hit that scored Lemay from second to give the Wave the 1-0 lead. 

“That was obviously a very big run because it was the only run,” Green Wave coach Ray Dodge said. “Jumping on them like that and shutting them down in the first inning was huge.” 

The Green Wave had their chances to extend the lead, but Gilbert was able to record key outs to keep the deficit at one. 

Grace Laurie walked in the third, stole second and reached third on an error but Gilbert was able to force a groundout to end the inning. Paulin singled in the fourth and Charlee Vera-Fellows, running for Paulin, made it to third but Gilbert struck out the next two batters to get out of the jam. 

Anna Bucala singled in the fifth and stole second with one out but Gilbert again came up with back-to-back strikeouts to keep the Wave from adding to their lead. 

After Gilbert’s single in the first, only Sandra Johnson was able to get on base for the Eagles, walking in the fifth with one out. Paulin recorded consecutive strikeouts to keep Tech off the scoreboard. 

“We were prepared that whichever team could string together a few hits and avoid a costly mistake would be the team that would win the game,” Gamache said. “We thought that would be the difference. The girls battled. I’m super proud of how far we’ve come.”

The game was a rematch of the 2024 Class C final, which Greenfield won as well. Dodge noted how impressed he was with Paulin’s ability to neutralize a tough Eagle lineup.  

“She knows how to throw against most of them,” Dodge said. “Sixteen strikeouts is kind of par for the course. They’re all good kids and that’s a good team but she has their number.” 

The Green Wave enter the state tournament with confidence, earning the No. 2 seed in the Division 5 field. Greenfield won states in 2022 and 2023 and are determined to bring another state title home this spring. 

“Our confidence is pretty good right now,” Dodge said. “We’ve been playing well these last few weeks, even if we didn’t win our game we were still playing solid. I’m happy with where we’re at heading into states.” 

Franklin Tech is the No. 7 seed in states and will also be looking to make a run to a title game. As it lines up, if both teams can avoid an upset the Eagles and Green Wave would play again in the state quarterfinals. 

“We still have more softball to play,” Gamache said. “We ended up on the same side of the bracket and may see them sooner than later. It was a great effort all around. We’re going to have a short memory. Hopefully we start another winning streak here.”