Tunnel City Freight Holds Off Pirates in BABL Playoff Opener

By Ben McDonoughiBerkshires.com Sports
02:23PM / Saturday, August 08, 2026Print Story | Email Story

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. -- Tunnel City Freight Saturday picked up a 4-2 victory over the Pirates in the Berkshire Adult Baseball League playoffs, overcoming an early deficit with four unanswered runs.

The teams will meet again at Joe Wolfe on Sunday morning at 10 for Game 2 of the best-of-three series; the third game, if necessary, is scheduled for 1 p.m.

The Pirates struck first in the bottom of the first inning. After Jason Ryan struck out to begin the inning, Phil Sullivan singled and Chad Walker reached on a fielder’s choice, allowing Sullivan to advance to third. Ryan Nalepa then delivered an RBI single to bring Sullivan home and give the Pirates the lead.

After a walk, Norm Sweet followed with an RBI single to extend the Pirates’ advantage to 2-0.

Tunnel City Freight answered in the top of the third. Jared Martin drew a walk before Nate Feder singled, and Nolan Brassard also walked to load the bases. DJ Clark was then hit by a pitch, bringing home a run. Kevin Lamb followed with a double play that ended the inning, but not before another run crossed the plate, tying the game at 2-2.

Tunnel City took the lead in the fourth. After a leadoff walk and a double put runners in scoring position, a sacrifice fly brought home the go-ahead run. Tunnel City added another baserunner with a walk, but the Pirates escaped the inning trailing 3-2.

The Pirates had opportunities to respond, including a pair of singles in the bottom of the fifth, but Tunnel City worked out of the inning without allowing a run.

Tunnel City added an insurance run in the sixth. After a single and stolen base, a strikeout briefly put the Pirates one out away from escaping the inning. However, a wild pitch allowed the runner to score, pushing the Tunnel City lead to 4-2.

The Pirates could not find an answer in the final two innings. Tunnel City retired the side in order in the bottom of the seventh to secure the 4-2 victory.

Ryan Nalepa started on the mound for the Pirates, while Matt Clark got the start for Tunnel City Freight.

The Pirates received offensive contributions from Sullivan, Nalepa and Sweet, while Tunnel City’s offense steadily built its lead after falling behind early.

Tunnel City ended the regular season as the No. 1 seed in the six-team 33-and-older division of the BABL. This weekend's other 33-yo semi-final involves the Pontoosuc Lake Monsters and Dalton Moneymakers, who play their second and, potentially, third game on Sunday at Mount Greylock Regional School.

The league's 20-year-old division semi-finals also are this weekend. The top-seeded and unbeaten GB Millers are taking on the Pittsfield Patriots; the Berkshire Thunder and Housatonic River Monsters are squaring off in the other half of the bracket.

The semi-final winners in both divisions will meet Aug. 15 and 16.

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MCLA Kicks Off Fall Term With New President, Full Dorms

By Tammy DanielsiBerkshires Staff
05:41AM / Wednesday, September 09, 2026

President Diana Rogers-Atkinson says she's excited to be at MCLA and impressed by the work done by the college's faculty and staff.

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts kicked off the school year last week with fully occupied dorms and its "lucky 13th" president.

Diana Rogers-Atkinson welcomed the gathering of staff, faculty and student representatives in the Venable Hall gymnasium for the traditional convocation breakfast on Tuesday, along with several trustees and Mayor Jennifer Macksey. Theater arts professor Laura Stanley sang the alma mater, starting a new tradition.

"This is a great time of the year. It's a time of new beginnings on many levels for us this year, and I'm really excited," said the college's new leader. "I hope everyone is prepared for an exciting school year ahead. I am constantly impressed by the work that the MCLA staff and faculty do every day. You work tirelessly to provide our students with a fantastic education and a home away from home. I want to thank you on behalf of our board for your dedication, determination, and hard work."

The hard work is paying off as the college's enrollment continues to climb out of the hole it dropped into during the pandemic.

The college has 162 first-year students and 89 transfer students, Richard Glejzer, provost and vice president of academic affairs, said, up from 219 last year.

"We also have an additional student pool that we've kept separate in our count because it's a one-time pool," he explained. "As we are serving as a teach-out partner for two [closed] institutions, Anna Maria College and Hampshire College, we have two students coming from Anna Maria, and we have 20 students coming from Hampshire College. That brings us up to 272 new students, up 24 percent when you add all this together from this from last year and 29 percent from the year before."

He held up his hand to halt the applause to "add one more thing": looking at a "slice" of graduate student numbers, the college is expecting 105 to be enrolled, up from 92 last year.

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