NORTHFIELD — It’s safe to say the next iteration of the MIAA Division 5 baseball power rankings will look a little different.
Oxford, which held the No. 1 spot in the initial MIAA power rankings that were released Friday, came to Franklin County for a showdown with Pioneer, which was ranked No. 16.
Friday’s tilt was a rematch of last year’s Div. 5 Round of 16 contest.
Friday’s rematch came down to the wire, as the Panthers came up to bat in the bottom of the seventh inning with the game tied 3-3. Braeden Tsipenyuk got the rally started with a base hit and Ethan Mauthe followed with a two-out single. Ian Simpson drew a walk to load the bases for Luc Belhumeur. Facing a 3-2 count and extra innings looming, Belhumeur swung at a curveball in the dirt.
The ball skirted under the legs of the Oxford catcher and made its way to the backstop however, allowing Tsipenyuk to scamper home. Belhumeur reached first before the throw could get off, leading to what amounted to a walk-off strikeout and a wild 4-3 victory.
“I’ve never seen anything like that to end the game,” Panthers coach Kevin Luippold said. “I guess you can call it a walk-off but you get the job done however you can. It was a great fight. [Oxford] is the No. 1 seed in the rankings and we played a great game.”
Hugh Cyhowski pitched a gem for Pioneer, which improved to a perfect 9-0 on the season. The junior went the distance, striking out five and surrendering just four hits.
“I can’t say enough about Hugh today,” Luippold said. “He was great out there. We had a few defensive miscues which gave them a couple runs but [Oxford] put the ball in play and made us make plays in the field.”
Cyhowski said he had Friday’s game circled on the calendar. While the Panthers knocked off Oxford in the 2022 tournament, Cyhowski felt he didn’t pitch his best. He felt much better about his performance on Friday.
“I got the win on the mound against them [last year] but I gave up five runs and wasn’t happy with it,” Cyhowski said. “Today was much better. I knew we were ballers but just to see us do it is great.”
The Pirates (7-4) did all their damage in the third inning. Alex Perry and Nick Jablonski opened things up with a back-to-back singles before Jeff Guzman reached on a fielder’s choice, with Jablonski thrown out at second.
Lucas Lambert knocked a single that brought Perry in from third to give Oxford a 1-0 lead. Evan Remington reached on an error and another error brought both Guzman and Lambert in, giving the Pirates a 3-0 lead.
Pioneer got one back in the bottom of the third. Alex McClelland cracked a double down the left field line before Ethan Quinn blasted a double that nearly hit the fence, bringing McClelland home to cut the lead to 3-1.
The Panthers knotted the game up in the fourth. Mauthe got on with a single and Simpson rocketed a double off the fence to put runners on second and third. Ben Werner grounded to short, but the throw was offline, allowing both Mauthe and Simpson to head home and tie the game 3-3.
Lambert went three and two-thirds innings on the mound for the Pirates, striking out four. Pioneer finished the game with nine hits, and Luippold said he was impressed with how his team performed at the plate.
“It was a great test,” Luippold said. “I wish we could play teams like this every game. This was a fun game and they threw the best pitcher we’ve seen so far and probably the best we will see. We still found a way to hit the ball well.”
Hoping for another deep run at a state title, the Panthers felt getting a win over the No. 1 ranked team in the state shows they aren’t to be messed with going forward.
“We got to prove ourselves,” Cyhowski said. “The ranking system is sleeping on us. Getting to play these guys, hopefully it shows everyone who we are.”
Mahar 11, Athol 4 — A solid outing on the mound from Sam Connors, and a 12-hit attack enabled the Senators to sail past the Bears in a North Quabbin rivalry tilt on Friday in Orange.
Mahar (4-4) scored three runs in the home half of the second inning to take control, and extended the lead to a 9-0 margin with a run in the third and a five-spot in the fourth.
Connors struck out four and allowed six hits and two walks in a seven-inning outing for the Sens. Offensively, Connors, Nate Danielson, Jeremy Vezina and Will Barnes all had two hits, and Lucas Isrow roped a triple. Eight of the nine batters in the Mahar lineup recorded a hit.
Athol (1-10) received a 2-for-4 effort with a home run and three RBIs from Shea Brennan. Logan Cormier had a hit and scored a run for the visitors.
Greenfield 4, Mohawk Trail 1 — Deven Dubie went the distance on the hill for the Green Wave, striking out nine, surrendering three hits and just one walk as the Green Wave picked up an independent win at Vets Field on Friday.
Jackson Campbell tallied two hits while Dubie, John Marchefka, Caleb Thomas and Christian Velazquez each had a hit for Greenfield.
Jackson Lilienthal hit a single, Grady Patenaude doubled and Owen Lake tripled for Mohawk Trail.