Jeff Fields of Pittsfield received the Peter Mazza Award at the Westfield State College varsity sports awards banquet. This award is given annually to an outstanding student-athlete who best represents the ideals of Mazza, former vice-president of student affairs at Westfield State.

The ideals include: character, leadership, sportsmanship, athletics ability, academics, personal development and community service. Fields was a four-year starter for the Owl baseball team and led them to three MASCAC championships and three NCAA Tournament berths. He was an all-conference selection as both an infielder and outfielder and the ace of the pitching staff during his freshman season. This past season Fields led the Owls in hitting with an even .400 average. He was a first-team MASCAC all-conference selection and an All-New England third-team pick.

 WESTERN MASSACHUSETTS TOURNAMENTS

BASEBALL

DIVISION I

Eighth-seeded Taconic takes on top-seeded Cathedral on Monday in a quarterfinal game at 2 p.m. 

DIVISION II

No. 8 Mount Greylock, the defending Western Mass. champion, travels to No. 1 Monument Mountain for a quarterfinal contest on Tuesday. The game is set to begin at 4 p.m. It was originally scheduled for Monday, but it was pushed back due to poor field conditions.

No. 3 Hoosac Valley hosts No. 6 Southwick in a quarterfinal on Monday at 4 p.m.

DIVISION III

No. 13 Mount Everett is at No. 4 Sabis on Monday at 3 p.m.

SOFTBALL

DIVISION II

After defeating No. 4 Monson 6-0 on Thursday, No. 5 Hoosac Valley cemented its spot in the semifinals. The Hurricanes will take on the winner of No. 1 Wachonah/No. 8 Belchertown, who will play Monday at 4 p.m. in Dalton.

In other quarterfinal action on Monday, No. 6 Drury plays at No. 3 Hampshire at 4 p.m., while No. 10 Monument Mountain is at No. 2 Frontier at 4 p.m.

DIVISION III

No. 6 Mount Everett will find out its semifinal opponent on Monday after No. 2 Franklin City Tech squares off with No. 7 Ware. The Eagles advanced to the semis after defeating Westfield Vocational 7-2 in the quarterfinals and crushing Putnam 15-0 in the first round.

BOYS' TENNIS - DIVISION III

Two Berkshire County teams are in action Tuesday afternoon in semifinal contests. No. 3 Lenox is at No. 2 South Hadley, while No. 4 Monument Mountain is at No. 1 Belchertown. Both games start at 3:30 p.m.

GIRLS' TENNIS - DIVISION III

No. 4 Mount Greylock hosts No. 5 South Hadley on Monday in a quarterfinal. On Tuesday, top-seeded Lenox hosts No. 9 Mohawk. Also on Tuesday, No. 3 Lee will take on the winner of Monday's Cathedral/Palmer match. Times have yet to be announced.

Mitch Graves, who plays on the Hoosac Valley Coal & Grain/Adams Co-operative Bank team in the Adams Babe Ruth league, pitched a no-hitter over Elks. He had 10 strikeouts with only one walk in an 11-0 victory.

Also, a big congrats goes out to the Mount Greylock boys' lacrosse team, which won its second consecutive Berkshire County Lacrosse Assocation (BCLA) championship on Wednesday night with a 13-8 victory over Lee. Senior Andy Budz led the Mounties with five goals. Marson Albert notched two goals and two assists, while Kyle Quagliano had two goals and one assist.

Other point-scorers were: Jason Pilot (one goal, four assists), Gus Colonna, (one goal, two assists), Noah Kelly (one goal, one assist) and Connor Field (one goal).

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — David Bond is keeping busy, and that's the way he likes it.

Splitting time as a local business owner and a city councilor, Bond accepted a new role this past year by becoming the the second president of the North Adams SteepleCats. He officially took the reins last December, succeeding John B. DeRosa.

The SteepleCats open their season Friday night against the Bristol Collegiate Baseball Club at Joe Wolfe Field. First pitch is slated for 6:30 p.m.

Some of the 'Cats arrived on Monday morning, but to Bond's surprise, only 13 showed up (out of the 26 listed on the 2010 roster). Some were scheduled to arrive later in the week, while several are still competing with their respective college teams in postseason tournaments.

"This is all part of the puzzle," Bond said, not sounding too concerned.

While there have been some nerve-racking moments leading up to the season — especially when it came to finding ways to fund the team — the payoff for Bond came on the first day of practice.

"When I heard the crack of the wood bat, I knew that it's something very special," he said. "The most exciting thing is having this quality of baseball in town. This is our community's team, our region's team. This is a chance to see some great talent before they play at the major-league level. To have this type of product is exciting."

There are several new promotions this season, including a giveaway contest for a 50-inch television. One fan's name will be randomly drawn at each home game, then the contestants will take to the field on July 31 (the last regular season home game). The TV will be placed at home plate, and each fan will be handed a remote control. Only one of the remotes will turn on the TV, and that lucky fan can take it home.

There will be a bounce castle at every home game, as well as a "Know Your Speed" pitching tunnel.

Check back with iBerkshires.com later for coverage of Thursday night's "SteepleCats media night" at Joe Wolfe Field.

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — With more than 31,500 miles accrued on his car and almost $5,000 of his life savings spent, Dylan Dethier has made it home.

The 18-year-old played a round of golf at the Taconic Golf Club on Tuesday, capping a cross-country journey, which began on Sept. 1, to play 18 holes of golf in each of the 48 contiguous states. Dethier is a graduate of Mount Greylock Regional High School (Class of 2009) and he will attend Williams College this fall after deferring for a year to travel the U.S.

During the last nine months, Dethier has been documenting his travels on his Web blog, Eighteen in America.

Dylan Dethier, center, enjoys a round of golf Tuesday with his brother, Evan, left, and his friend, Taylor Foehl, right.

Dethier's stretch in the month of May was particularly busy as he played a round of golf in 30 of the 31 days. He completed his quest on Tuesday, playing 18 with his older brother, Evan, and his close friends, Taylor Foehl and Sam Garivaltis.

Dethier arrived back in town Monday, and to celebrate their son's return — and Memorial Day — David Dethier and Nancy Nylen hosted a barbeque and welcomed more than 100 guests. Dethier said there were lots of hugs and an abundance of questions about his trip.

"It's awesome to be home," he said. "[Monday night] was perfect. It's cool because everyone is coming back from college [for the summer], so it's nice timing."

Dethier said he plans to relax for a week, then he'll start working on a book about his trip. Some might assume that he'd be sick of golf, but quite the contrary; he said he'll be on the course a lot this summer because he's going to try out for the Williams College golf team.

He admitted that going back to school this fall is "a little daunting," considering he hasn't taken a class since the spring of 2009. His brother, Evan, who will be a senior at Williams, said it's a relief to have his brother back in Williamstown.

"I was the most nervous when he got into New England," Evan said. "Anytime you can see the finish line, you tend to lose a little focus. To travel 30,000 miles and for nothing [bad] to happen, it's kind of miraculous.

Dethier eyes his putt on the 11th hole at the Taconic Golf Club on Tuesday afternoon.

"It's been a long year. You could never really rest easily. There are so many factors out of your control."

Evan won't be the only familiar face on the Williams campus for Dethier. Foehl, who is graduating from Mount Greylock this month, will attend the college in the fall. Foehl expects there will be no lull in conversation between him and Dethier, not after the cross-country adventure he just undertook.

"I'm looking forward to hearing stories about the trip for the rest of our lives," Foehl said. "There will be a lot of 'oh, this one time,' for years to come."