The Millionaires enter the 2025 postseason as one of the top contenders for glory, a lofty expectation that comes with the territory of being unbeaten.
As heavy as that weight may seem for a team with just two seniors and one lone junior, their collective “maturity” has not only kept the team driven throughout the season, but grounded as well.
“They’re willing to do whatever we ask, they’re very coachable and they look forward to the games, wherever we need them,” Lenox softball coach Amy Pires said on Tuesday. “If we need to change someone, they’re like, ‘Okay, whatever you need, Coach,’ and that’s what we love. They don’t question, they don’t get angry, they’re just willing to do whatever we need.
“We’ve grown really so much as a team this year… it’s almost like everything clicked, and it ended up being, a memorable moment last night.”
Lenox softball wrapped up its regular season with a 21-13 victory over Monument Mountain on Monday, officially securing the first undefeated regular season record in program history.
The team celebrated the win with a fire truck escort around town provided by the Lenox Town Fire Department.
“(I am) just so proud of these girls, so proud, especially with so many of them being so young, that in a (bigger) high school, they wouldn’t be playing — and they’re pulling through,” Pires said. “They’re doing what we ask, and it was just a big smile, a little jumping around, fist up in the air… these girls were just elated.
“The smiles, the happiness… all the hard work is showing what we can do as a small school. I mean, we don’t have much. We haven’t had a JV team in probably seven (to) eight years. We’re a small school, there’s on average about 55 kids per grade. So to have the skill that we have and the talent being such a small school and being so young, it’s huge accomplishment for this program.”
Hoosac Valley High School girls varsity softball team went up against Lenox High School in Lenox on May 3, 2025.Kalina Kornacki
Pires joined the Millionaires’ program as an assistant coach in 2023 and witnessed the transformation firsthand. The Millionaires finished with winning records in each of the past two seasons, but slow starts tainted both campaigns, with an 0-4 start spoiling their 12-9 record in 2023 and an 0-3 start in 2024 marring their 12-10 record.
The Millionaires started the season determined to not repeat those mistakes, but with a stronger schedule than previous years, Pires’ expectations were modest heading into the season.
“We’re not greedy… when we look at the schedule, we (thought), ‘Oh boy, we’ve got (Pittsfield), we’ve got Hoosac (Valley), Monument (Mountain) is always a tough team, very, very well coached program… (and) we haven’t played McCann (Tech in a long time)’,” Pires said.
“When we beat (Pittsfield), I really think that was their turning point. in our mentality that, you know what? We think we can pull this off.”
The Millionaires’ success has not been reliant on any one player, with six players registering over 20 hits on the year. Evelyn Julieano has led the team at the plate (47 hits) and has shared pitching duties primarily with Cassidy Flynn. Combined with a rock-solid defense in the field, the Millionaires’ pitching staff have allowed just 41 runs in their 17 games, the fourth-lowest total and average in Western Mass.
Lenox opens its postseason campaign on Wednesday, May 21 as the No. 2 seed in the Western Mass Class C tournament hosting No. 7 Pathfinder Tech at 4:30 p.m.
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