A sectional title, a Division 5 state championship and 26 straight wins for the Pioneer Valley Regional baseball team last season.
Where to go from there in the new season? From the outside, the expectations might be lower for the Panthers. A core group graduated and another piece went the prep route. Pioneer has to replace 86 percent of its pitching.
The Panthers don’t care, they will continue with the same pursuit of excellence that defines the program.
“We are deeper than a lot of people think,” Pioneer coach Kevin Luippold said. “If I had a penny for every time someone told me over the last seasons that we are going to be as bad as the basketball team or as bad as the soccer team… or if I had a dollar for every time that anyone from the outside told me, ‘back to coaching Kev’. I’d have about two dollars. It’s kind of funny that the people that understand don’t say that… the wise adapt and the stubborn suffer. We are not going to suffer.”
Pioneer returns a good group of players from last year’s dominant team. Some of the younger players who played smaller roles appear to be ready to play a bigger role and do it well for the Panthers.
“The good things is that half this team was part of that group,” Luippold said. The guys that have to step. They’re ready… we are trying to instill the culture in some of the guys that are new to the program. I am excited to see the guys that have been with us over the last couple seasons perform on the field. “
Evan Tsipenyuk and Brody Welcome will take over on the mound for the Panthers. Both players were in the starting lineup for all 26 victories last season.
“They are going to be the big dogs,” Luippold said of Tsipenyuk and Welcome. “We are going to let them eat. At the end of the day we give the green light a lot. They have two great approaches at the plate. They are both very in depth with themselves and what they want to do and what they want to accomplish. It’s comfortable knowing what I am going to get from them.”
Tsipenyuk will pitch and play first base on off days. When he’s on the mound, he will pound the strike zone and force soft contact against opposing hitters. As for his approach at the plate, he’s capable of power but contact is more important.
“I am not going to blow anybody away,” Tsipenyuk said. “Just pound the zone and get contact. I can hit for power but I just hate not hitting the ball. Once I get a hold of it, I can send it into gaps and hit it hard at someone.”
Players who didn’t get much time on last year’s team did receive a masterclass in how the Panthers do business on and off the field.
“Everyone here saw what happened last year,” Tsipenyuk said. “They want to be a part of it. They saw what we did and now they want to be that… We are creating our own identity but we are striving for a big goal.”
Welcome was a designated hitter for last year’s squad. He did not pitch or play in the field last season. He did everything in practice and is ready to play a bigger part on this year’s team.
“I feel like this year I am ready,” Welcome said. “We have a strong bond together. Not many teams have that together. We will communicate end execute the things we need to execute.”
The Panthers did lose a prominent piece from last year’s squad to Deerfield Academy. Jackson Glazier is now with the Big Green playing multiple sports.
“I am so happy he’s going to DA, he’s going to do very well there. Academics wise and athletically, he needs to be there,” Luippold said. “It sucks to say but being at a public school wouldn’t help him get to where he could be with academics or athletics.”
Hayden Girard played a very specific role on last year’s team.
“Play in the outfield,” Girard said. “Don’t make any errors.”
Girard did not have much impact at the plate last year. He will have a much bigger role hitting this season with more opportunites.
Pioneer opens its season on Tuesday against Belchertown on the road at 4 p.m. The Panthers begin Suburban East play at home against Frontier on April 2 at 4 p.m.