For the second time in as many American Legion seasons, the Greenfield Post 81 Senior Division club participated in a state tournament this summer. After going 0-2 back in 2019 however, Post 81 showed out in more impressive fashion this time around. After winning another Western Mass. district title, the team won two games and ultimately made it to the second-to-last day of the state event earlier this week before falling to Peabody.
Skipper Kevin Luippold said it was the first time Post 81 had won games at the state level since 2014, when he was on the squad as a player. This year’s club played its best baseball down the stretch, and they finished with a 19-5 overall mark including postseason events.
“It all started with the kids having a great turnout at tryouts,” began Luippold. “We started the year with a full roster of 18 players and it stayed that way throughout. I always think of Post 81 as an All-Star team between Franklin County teams and other schools in the area, and I do believe we have the best of the best. This summer showed that this area can fight with the best teams in the state.”
Greenfield scored state tournament wins over Bridgewater and Leominster before falling to Franklin and Peabody.
“Talking to coaches out there, they said we were among the best teams they’ve seen,” said Luippold. “So it was nice to get some recognition for Western Mass. out there.”
The first-year coach said he was confident the team would be solid this summer, but even he was impressed with the way his club performed on the field.
“Especially for my first year, I didn’t expect it to go as well as it did to be honest,” he said. “Once we hit our stride late in the season we were a really good team.”
The turning point came after Greenfield lost in the first Western Mass. tournament last month. Since the season began later than usual with a long-running high school season, in order for Massachusetts to keep up with the rest of the country’s American Legion programs, they wound up holding two state tournaments – the first one sending the Commonwealth’s representative to the regional tournament. In that opening event, Post 81 fell to Belchertown in the semifinals. Westfield ultimately won and secured the area’s berth to the state tourney, where it lost both games.
“We talked a lot after that Belchertown loss about how the season’s not over. There were still some regular season games left and a whole other (Western Mass.) tournament,” Luippold said. “Everyone did their part from there on out. We had a different lineup every game the rest of the way and really everyone contributed.”
On the mound, Greenfield relied on a dominant staff that ultimately posted a 2.23 ERA entering the state tournament. Led by ace David Carey of Greenfield (0.83 ERA in 34 innings during the regular season), as well as Frontier’s Tyler Baranowski and the likes of Shawn Davenport, Cam Lococo, Michael Bassett, Jacob Quinn, Brody Baird and others, the club posted shutouts in elimination games against Westfield to advance to the second state tournament.
“There were a few kids that I knew were going to be dominant for us and they proved that in the beginning of the year,” said Luippold. “Then a few kids stepped up as the year went along to give us a nice balance. It made it easy to coach when you had pitchers like that on the mound.”
At the plate, Luippold pointed to Smith Academy’s Michael Bassett as a real bright spot. Bassett began the year down in the order, but worked his way up into the No. 2 hole, where he ultimately batted a whopping .486.
“He was a sparkplug for us,” Luippold said of Bassett. “His competitive nature is insane.”
Shortstop Kyle Barnes, who keyed the team’s defensive effort with an outstanding season in an integral position, batted .382 at the top of the Post 81 lineup, including a .461 clip in four state tournament games. Carey moved to the No. 3 spot thanks to the emergence of Bassett and batted .391 with a slugging percentage of .717. That included six triples and three doubles.
There were contributions throughout the lineup, though perhaps no more evident than Jake Sak, who batted ninth. The Greenfield alum, who will play football at Plymouth State this fall, batted .342 in the No. 9 spot, and Luippold said he simply found a way to get on base time and time again.
Frontier’s Dylan Martin secured his spot behind the plate and handled the catching duties down the stretch.
Luippold said just two players on his roster are aging out for next year. Jacob Quinn, who attends Franklin Pierce, locked himself into the No. 4 spot with a stellar stretch run, and he batted .450 throughout the six-game Western Mass. tournament. Davenport did the bulk of his work on the mound and logged a lot of important innings. The Mohawk Trail alum was also Greenfield’s best arm in the outfield and filled in at first base when called upon.
With many players still eligible next season, and plenty of Junior Division contributors ready to make the step up to the big club, the future is certainly bright for Luippold and Post 81 in 2022.
“If all goes well and the kids progress like they have the ability to, I think we could be even better next summer,” the coach said. “I think we exceeded a lot of expectations this year but next year, people are going to be coming for us. They’re going to throw their best pitchers against us so we are going to have to bring it again.”