Monument Mountain's Raifstanger, McCann Tech's Champney Recognized

As the post-season for spring sports continues this week, the iBerkshires.com Athletes of the Week have powered their teams to Western Mass tournament bids with their production at the plate.

 

McCann Tech ninth-grader Aiden Champney is hitting .500 for the Hornets with a team-high 11 RBIs.

 

On Tuesday, she went 1-for-3 in a 5-3 win over rival Drury.

 

Two days later, she went 2-for-3 with a double and a pair of RBIs as McCann Tech won its regular season finale to pick up its 10th win of the season and qualify for next week's Division 5 State Tournament.

 

This week, the Hornets head on the road for their Western Massachusetts Class C tournament quarter-final matchup at top-seeded Greenfield on Tuesday.

 

The Monument Mountain baseball team is home on Monday as one of four Berkshire County teams in the eight-team Western Mass Class B tournament.

 

The Spartans are seeded third in the field on the strength of a 15-3 record.

 

Senior Jayder Raifstanger again has led the Monument offense this spring, batting .576 with 29 runs batted in, both highs on the team.

 

He started the last week of the regular season by going 2-for-4 with a double and three RBIs in a win over Belchertown on Monday.

 

The next day in a shutout of Granby, Raifstanger went 4-for-5 with a triple and drove in a pair of runs.

 

On Monday, he leads the Spartans into a Western Mass date against Southwick; the winner likely will face second-seeded Pittsfield in the regional semi-finals, which would give Monument Mountain a chance to avenge one of its three losses.