NAFD/NAPD Advances to Finals of Women's Softball League

By Stephen DravisiBerkshires.com Sports
08:13PM / Thursday, August 20, 2026Print Story | Email Story

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. – Anna Dix Thursday went 3-for-4 with a double and a pair of runs batted in to lead North Adams Fire Department/North Adams Police Department to a 14-9 win over Alternative Living Centers and a berth in the North Adams Women’s Softball League Championship Game.

Abby Lear was 3-for-5 with a double for the first responders, who survived the losers bracket in the double-elimination tournament and will face Belle Ame Lashes on Monday at 6 p.m. at DiSanti Field in the first game of the title round.

A win for NAFD/NAPD on Monday will force a winner-take-all game; Lashes is just one win from the championship.

On Thursday, NAFD/NAPD jumped on top early with an eight-run top of the first and never looked back.

Kalley Vanuni singled up the middle, and Lear doubled to left to bring home the game’s first run.

Heather Morris and Carrie Brassard each singled to keep the rally going, and Dix and Kenzie Dobbert delivered two-out hits before each scored on an outfield error to make it 8-0.

ALC managed just one run against Dobbert in the circle through the first three innings.

Meanwhile, the first responders got a run in the second and three more in the fourth to go ahead, 12-1. Dix had an RBI double in the fourth-inning rally.

In the bottom of the inning, Jaycee Blenke hit a solo home run for ALC.

But NAFD/NAPD got that run back plus another in the fifth to take a 14-2 edge going to the bottom of the inning.

That is when Alternative Living Center’s bats came alive.

After a pair of walks to start the inning, Casey Alvarez, and Rachel Desrosiers each singled, and Laura O’Neil hit a sacrifice fly to make it 14-4 and leave two on base with one out. Blenke (2-for-2, two walks) then hit her second homer of the game, a three-run shot that went off the top of the fence to make it 14-7.

In the circle, Blenke held NAFD/NAPD scoreless over the final two innings to keep her team in the game.

And, in the bottom of the seventh, O’Neil (2-for-3) singled and Blenke walked ahead of Karen Horton’s two-run single. Another walk put two runners on base, but a hard shot by Mary Scanlon was speared by Lear at third for the first out of the inning.

Then the first responders turned the game’s first double play on a ground ball up back to Dobbert to end the contest.

Photos from this game to come.

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Berkshires Remember First Responders, Military Personnel Lost at 9/11 and Aftermath

By Jack Guerino & Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff
02:30PM / Friday, September 11, 2026

North Adams Mayor Jennifer Macksey, with Fire Chief Brent Lefebvre speaks at Friday's memorial.

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The county's two cities held memorials on Friday morning to mark the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11 terror attacks.

Great Barrington was scheduled to hold a dedication of piece of steel from the World Trade Center at 6 p.m.

North Adams held its ceremony in the fire station's side garden starting at exactly 8:46 a.m., the time Flight 11 crashed into the World Trade Center's North Tower.

The small square of grass was packed with police officers, firefighters, wire and alarm personnel, dispatchers, and Northern Berkshire EMS employees, and city employees, officials and community members.

After the ceremonial tolling of the bell, an honor guard presented the colors.

Mayor Jennifer Macksey said it felt odd welcoming people to a very solemn event.

"What happened 25 years ago put a mark on emergency services. It put additional pressure on police, fire, EMS, and dispatchers," Macksey said. "While we remember those who lost their lives during 9/11, and those who ran to help as many as they could during 9/11, we have to pause and appreciate those who continue to serve despite that awful threat that occurred 25 years ago."

She said it was a direct attack on the United States and all of its people.

"It was a question of our freedoms and our ability to be safe in our communities," the mayor said. "I can say today that here in North Adams, it could happen to us, but I know with the professionalism of our Fire Department, Police Department, EMS, and our dispatch team, we are a better community; we are a safer community than we were 25 years ago."

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