It was a summer to remember for the Greenfield Gilmore & Farrell Insurance Sandy Koufax baseball team.
The club, which consists of 13-14 year olds, went a perfect 14-0 to win the regular season title in the Pioneer Valley Youth Baseball League. Manager Aaron Campbell said that while the success on the field was nice, the fact that his team was able to get on the diamond at all this summer was the biggest victory.
“Even just getting out and practicing in the beginning, the most important thing for the kids was to get out and start playing, start throwing the ball around and having some type of normalcy,” said Campbell. “The winning was nice but that’s not what this summer season was about.”
Campbell said his team, which was pretty much a continuation of the Greenfield Minor League Cal Ripken program, had a core of players that have been together for the last four years on the league’s All-Star team. They added a solid group of 14-year-olds to the mix, and the combination led to a perfect league record.
“As these kids progress and get older, we keep adding more layers and layers of baseball knowledge to their game,” Campbell explained. “I’m a big proponent of defense and playing the game the right way. If you look at the stats, we only allowed 24 runs and we didn’t really give away many runs. They’re learning to play the game the right way. This group of kids has played some pretty meaningful games as they’ve moved up the system.”
Greenfield outscored its opponents by a 129-24 margin, racking up the runs thanks in large part to a whopping .500 on-base percentage. Hugh Cyhowski led the team in hits (14) and RBIs (19), compiling a .467 batting average. Braeden Tsipenyuk’s .474 batting average was tops on the club, while Ethan Quinn was also over the .400 mark with a .414 average and 12 RBIs. Michael Pierce hit .382 with 12 RBIs, and Nico Fasulo also racked up double-digit RBIs with 10.
Jackson Campbell (.387) and Jacob Petrin (.364) were other key contributors offensively. Jackson Petrin came on down the stretch and finished with a .389 batting average, while Deven Dubie hit .300, walked 12 times and stole 10 bases. Brayden Thayer (.333 average, .500 on-base percentage), Bryce Avery (.300 average, .622 on-base), Cam Burnett (seven RBIs, five runs) and Jacob Brook (seven hits, five RBIs) also aided the cause offensively, while youngsters Tyler Yetter and Luca Siano were pulled up along with Jackson Petrin to give the roster an infusion of youth.
Greenfield’s pitching was downright dominant. Cyhowski recorded a 0.53 ERA with 17 strikeouts in 16⅓ innings, posting a 3-0 record and adding a save. Campbell was 4-0 with an 0.89 ERA in 15 2/3 innings, striking out 10, while Tsipenyuk went 2-0 with a 1.35 ERA in 10⅓ innings and 14 strikeouts. Jacob Petrin logged the most innings on the team, as he threw 24⅓ innings, struck out 35 and went 3-0 with a save along with a 1.73 ERA. Ethan Quinn didn’t allow a run in 8⅔ innings of work with 13 strikeouts, while the staff also received strong outings from Thayer and Jackson Petrin.
“For the most part, we threw strikes,” said Campbell of his staff. “We only gave up 49 hits and we had 100 strikeouts in 82 innings. Our defense played pretty good behind them as well.”
Changing guidelines due to COVID-19 made for an interesting summer on the diamond, according to Campbell. While there were challenges adjusting to the new safety measures, he said the team was able to get through it over the course of the two months.
“It was tough in the beginning,” he began. “The kids didn’t want to wear the masks, wanted to be next to each other. They were good about sanitizing – before, during and after practices – but it was an adjustment, most definitely. It’s hard to get kids to brush their teeth, never mind clean their hands. But we got it in their heads that if we don’t do this, you’re not gonna be able to play baseball.”
Campbell said about half the roster is eligible to play Sandy Koufax again next season, with the other half moving up to play either Mickey Mantle or Junior Legion ball.