OXFORD — Somebody must have forgot to tell the Pioneer baseball team that it was supposed to be the underdog on Thursday in the MIAA Div. 5 Round of 16.
The No. 12 Panthers went on the road to face No. 5 Oxford and put pressure on the higher seed from the first inning on, scoring twice in the first inning and never giving the lead up.
A five-run fifth inning broke the game open for Pioneer, and behind strong pitching from Hugh Cyhowski and Ethan Quinn, came away with a 10-6 victory.
The Panthers will host Sutton in the quarterfinals at a date and time to be determined.
“All year, I’ve learned that we’re built for the road,” Pioneer coach Kevin Luippold said. “The other head coach told me how worried he was going in. It makes me happy that we’ve proved to be a powerhouse and we have a ton of kids who can step up and hit the ball. It shows how hard the kids have played all season long. That was cool to hear.”
Pioneer led 4-2 going into the top of the fifth but a big inning at the plate put the game out of reach. Sean Allen opened by getting on with a perfectly placed bunt and Jared Hubbard drove a ball to left field that just made it beyond the reach of the Pirate fielder to put runners on second and third.
Jason Quinn was intentionally walked to load the bases and Ethan Quinn made Oxford pay by driving a single into the second-base gap to score Allen and Hubbard and put the Panthers up 6-2.
“I was seeing it well,” Ethan Quinn said. “My friend got a new bat, so I had to use it. We’re feeling really good. We’re all hitting good right now.”
Cyhowski knocked a single to load the bases back up and Ian Simpson and Peter Loud drew back-to-back walks, scoring both Quinn brothers in the process. Braeden Tsipenyuk then hit a sac fly to right field to bring Cyhowski home and put Pioneer ahead, 9-2, going into the bottom of the fifth.
Pioneer opened up the scoring in the first. Jared Hubbard got on with a single and Jason Quinn came up and annihilated a triple to deep left field to send Hubbard home. Ethan Quinn then drove Jason Quinn home with a single to give the Panthers an early 2-0 lead, but more importantly, confidence that they’d be able to hit Pirate pitcher Evan Remington.
Oxford got runs back in the first and second inning to tie the game up 2-2 before the Panthers struck again in the fourth.
Ethan Quinn — who finished 4-for-4 at the plate — opened the frame by cracking a double. Quinn stole third, Thayer walked and then stole second to put runners on second and third for Loud.
The No. 9 hitter came through, knocking a two-out single to right field to score Quinn and Thayer, giving Pioneer a 4-2 lead.
“Peter Loud gave us that spark,” Luippold said. “It showed us that we can hit them. The nine hitter is one of the most important parts of the lineup. He did everything right today. He adjusted after his first at bat, hit a fast ball where it was pitched and it gave us a good cushion. We kept rolling from there.”
The Pirates made thing interesting in the bottom of the fifth. Antoine Lacourt smashed a double to bring in a run and a series of walks an error loaded the bases. A passed ball scored Zak Parmenter and a single from Jeffrey Guzman with the bases brought home a run to cut the Pioneer lead to 9-5.
Cyhowski hit his pitch limit and had to be pulled with the bases load. Ethan Quinn came on facing Oxford leadoff hitter Evan Brindisi but got him to ground out to end the inning without any more damage done.
“I was a little nervous but just went in to throw,” Ethan Quinn said. “I knew we had a lot of cushion so I just had to go in there and get one out.”
Cyhowski exited the game after doing a great job of keeping a powerful Pirate lineup at bay, striking out six in the process.
“As a sophomore starting a Western Mass. title game and a state game against a team who was one of the favorites to win it all is very big for his growth,” Luippold said of Cyhowski. “He’s done more than enough to help us win these games. Him and I are very lucky that we hit the ball, put pressure on the other team and gave us a cushion.”
The Panthers tacked on an insurance run in the sixth, with Ethan Quinn reaching on a single, getting to second on a wild throw before Cyhowski drove him in to make it a 10-5 ballgame.
Ethan Quinn got through the sixth without allowing a run, got the first two outs in the bottom of the seventh before a walk and a pair of singles scored a run to cut the lead to 10-6.
Jason Quinn then came out and got a strikeout to close out the win and send Pioneer to the quarterfinals.
The Panthers now get to host its quarterfinal game, something they’re thrilled about.
“We didn’t expect to be hosting being the No. 12 seed,” Luippold said. “It’s great to have that opportunity. It’s a great feeling and probably one of the best feeling of my life. For these kids, the camaraderie, the memories is really cool to see.”