It was another banner season for Hampshire League baseball last spring.
Smith Academy not only won the HL East Division, the Falcons went on to defeat HL West foe Turners Falls High School, 1-0, in the WMass Division IV baseball championship game to earn the school’s first WMass baseball championship. The Falcons then beat Hopedale High School in the state semifinals, before falling to Pope John Paul II, 8-6, in the state finals.
The Falcons were led by seven seniors, including ace pitcher David Longstreeth, who was among the most dominant WMass hurlers before graduating. Smith Academy coach Jeff Pluta will have to retool this season if the team hopes to earn its second baseball championship.
Turners Falls and Hopkins Academy joined Smith Academy in the WMass Division IV semifinals last season (along with Westfield Technical Academy out of the Tri-County League), and both the Indians and Golden Hawks will look to jump right back into the title fray. The Golden Hawks won the HL West Division and bring back pitching brothers Jon and Brett Morrison to lead the rotation, although the team will have to deal with the losses of shortstop Evan Delaney (a five-year starter) and slugging first baseman Zach Kelley. Turners Falls, meanwhile, finished second in the West but graduated its top two starting pitchers, Tyler Charboneau and Nick York.
This marks the third year that the HL has been split into a pair of six-team divisions. Last spring, four teams from the West qualified for the postseason, while three teams from the East qualified. The West was extremely competitive, as last-place Greenfield High School won seven games and fifth-place South Hadley finished just four games out of first place and went on to make the WMass Division III semifinals. The East Division was more unbalanced, with the bottom three teams winning five games or less, while the top three each won 11 or more.
As happens every season, there is sure to be plenty of movement from one year to the next, as graduation will hurt some of the top teams, while the younger teams that struggled last season are now a year older.
The West appears to be wide open with Frontier, South Hadley and Hopkins Academy the preseason favorites, although Greenfield and Belchertown return large numbers from a season ago. Turners Falls lost some star players but has young stars in the making and will also be in the mix.
“The league is very deep and this year our team is looking forward to the challenges of competing against such a deep, evenly-matched group of teams in the Hampshire League,” South Hadley coach Matt Foley said.
As for the East, Smith Academy brings back enough to keep it in the league-title conversation, although Mohawk and Easthampton will certainly have something to say about that. Athol and Mahar should also challenge for a postseason crown, while Pioneer brings back good numbers and should see improvement after a three-win year last spring.
“I don’t think there are any games you can mark down as wins or losses,” Athol coach Josh Talbot said. “It’s a very competitive league this year.”
Here’s a look at both divisions:
Belchertown (8-10)
Belchertown narrowly missed the postseason last spring but finished tied for third in the HL West. That marked a move up in the standings from the Orioles’ first HL campaign, which saw them win just five games and finish last. If Belchertown can continue the upward climb, it could find itself back in the postseason.
The Orioles lost some talent on the mound but bring back some arms that picked up experience last season, including seniors Jack Kamins and Carl Teschke, and junior Hayden Bennes.
Senior Jonathan Ingram and junior Jackson Leduc will battle for catching duties. Senior Mike Clark is a first basemen , while junior Hayden Bennes can play both shortstop and third. Kamins, Teschke and senior Jason French are all infielders.
The Orioles will be looking for some new outfielders; in the mix are seniors Brian Perlok, Jason Dziel, Ethan Barry and Johnny Camerota, juniors Cameron Supple, Scotty Kopacz and Tanner Clark, and sophomore Mitch Medina.
Frontier (10-11)
Frontier Regional School extended its postseason qualification streak to five years last spring when it went 10-10 in the regular season to tie for third place in the HL West. The Red Hawks, who last won a WMass title in 2013, were eliminated in the first round by HL rival Mohawk Trail Regional High School.
The Red Hawks should be one of the teams to beat in the HL West this season, though, thanks to the return of many key pieces to last year’s team. Perhaps the biggest omission from the roster is coach Chuck Holt, who departed after three years with the team.
Taking his place is 2009 Frontier graduate Chris Williams, who has been the junior-varsity coach for the past three years. Williams was part of the Red Hawks team that won the WMass title in 2008 and advanced to the state finals, and also a part of the squad that made it to the WMass finals in 2009. Williams knows the Frontier mystique and welcomes the pressure that comes with coaching the program at G Thomas Valiton Field.
“I’m extremely excited about that,” he said. “I’ve waited a couple of years to get the upgrade. I’m definitely embracing the challenge. I want to get back to the way it was. That whole winning mentality.”
Because Williams has spent the past three years with the team, he believes the transition should be relatively easy.
“A lot of the guys on the team have played a year for me so they know what I’m all about,” he said. “We’ve got a bunch of talent, a bunch of experience. They are an extremely talented group and know what they’re doing. They’e working with the young guys and helping me out. If I miss something, they are right there to point it out. This team has tons of communication, and that’s a great thing.”
Frontier should be one of the teams to beat based on the number of returning players this spring. The pitching staff will be led by seniors Nate Patterson and Noah Barnes, while senior Evan Bourque, junior Kyle Spencer and sophomore Ben Litskoski give the team three more arms to rely on. Williams said he believes his pitching has the makings to be very good, the offense just needs to catch up this season.
“I think we’ve had a dominant pitching staff and our defense has made the plays, guys just haven’t had timely hits,” he said. “We are going to have to finally put our money where our mouths are and mash. Guys just haven’t been showing up at the plate the past few years. We have got to get hits in timely situations. You have to score runs to win games, and we need to put ourselves in position to win games.”
Senior Bailey Powers returns to catcher this season and will be backed up by senior Tyler Unaitis. Brandon Bryant, one of the best hitters in the league, will returns for his senior season to play first base. Sophomore Ben Arnold and Spencer are battling for time at second base, and junior Seth Gewanter will play shortstop and is another big hitter. Nolan Muzyka will play third base, although Bryant can also play there.
Barnes will start in center, while Bourque will play in right. Patterson, Spencer, Justin Farrick and Dylan Husted are each vying for time in left. Junior Kade Gewanter will DH or play somewhere in the field. Seniors Riley Baker and Jake Rowe are outfielders, while juniors Scott Pelis and Liam Falla are each infielders.
Greenfield (7-13)
Greenfield found itself in some unknown territory last season, that of being an outsider looking in on the tournament.
The always powerful Green Wave had its worst season since 2001 finishing with just seven wins overall, and just two wins in the HL West, which left the team toiling in last place. The issue was that after playing in back-to-back WMass championship games, including winning the title in 2013, the Green Wave was undergoing a major rebuild last spring.
This year Greenfield returns all but a couple of players from a season ago and 44-year coach Tom Suchanek is hopeful that with the experience gained from a season ago, his team will only make it a one-year streak of missing the postseason.
“We had a lot of inexperience on the mound last year,” Suchanek said. “I think we lost six games by one run. Also, we did not get much offensive support out of the bottom part of our lineup. The pitchers having gained all that experience should be a plus for us, and hopefully some of the guys are hitting this year.”
The Green Wave will trot out three senior pitchers all of whom saw a lot of time last season in Owen Schilling, Ben Poirier and Axel Vasquez. Suchanek also has a slew of juniors who can take the mound in Tyler Miner, Tyler Townsley, Zach Avery, George Balis and Adam Phelps.
Senior Andrew Toritto is back behind the plate for the Green Wave with sophomore Colin Cloutier in the mix. Schilling will play at first base with Miner playing there when he pitches. Junior Tyler Boissonneault is likely to play at second with junior Christian Laplante also in the mix. Junior Arlo Larange is likely to play shortstop, and is the only newcomer to the infield, although sophomore Jake Suhl is also in the mix. Tyler Townsley is back at third with Balis and Poirier also serving as options.
“If we can get a shortstop who can fill that void, and we’re hoping Arlo can do the job, we should be in good shape,” Suchanek said. “Pitching and defense are the two keys and has always been our focus. If you get pitching and defense, you will always in games.”
Senior Tyler Jacques returns to center field, while classmates Josiah McBarry (left) and Vasquez (right) will line up on either side of him. Sam Kennedy, Phelps and Avery can also play in the outfield.
Hopkins (16-4)
It’s been a great time to be a Golden Hawk.
Hopkins Academy has seen a great deal of success in a number of its recent boys’ teams, and this baseball team will look to continue those winning ways.
The Hawks are just two years removed from winning a WMass baseball title, and many of the boys also play on the basketball team that has won back-to-back WMass crowns.
Last year, the baseball team appeared poised to compete for another WMass IV crown, earning the tourney’s second seed, but the Hawks came up short against third-seeded Turners Falls in the WMass semifinals, prematurely ending their season.
The good news for Hopkins is that it returns a number of starters from a season ago and should have one of the best pitching staffs in the league, especially at the top, where sophomore Jon Morrison has emerged as one of the league’s most terrifying starters. Morrison is coming off another dominant year as a freshman (his second with the varsity team) and should only get stronger and better.
Seniors Brett Morrison and Pat Michalak are also back to pitch for the Hawks.
Senior Chewy Garand returns to catcher for the third year and will be an offensive leader, while sophomore Mike Curran is one of the players looking to replace Zach Kelley at first base after the slugger graduated from last season. Sophomore John Earle will battle freshman Nick Delaney for time at second base, and Morrison will move to short this season to replace five-year starter Evan Delaney, another big bat gone from the Hawks’ lineup. Sophomore Justin Butterfield, Nick Delaney and senior Zach Yahman are all third-base options.
Michalak will play in the outfield when not pitching, as will Jon Morrison. Seniors Brandon Bushey, Liam Peterson, Yahman, Antonio Torres and Caleb Wintsch are all in the outfield mix, and junior Trevor Fil can also play there.
South Hadley (12-10)
South Hadley High School may have finished fifth in the West last season, but that didn’t stop the Tigers from making a run to the WMass Division III semifinals.
The Tigers have been one of the best baseball programs in WMass under Coach Foley, now in his 20th season, and the team shows no signs of slowing down. With senior-laden returnees, Foley should be in the conversation to win the HL West crown.
“This year’s team has been driven by a large senior class that has played together for many years,” Foley said. “The spring has been very mild and we have had the chance to play outside since Day 1, which is a big change from last season. We have a large number of varsity-caliber players competing for playing time.”
Seniors Alex Dragon, Adam Pilachowski and Ethan Fleming lead the pitching staff, while juniors Ryan Mooney and Teddy Doyle are also back this spring. Juniors Nehemiah Wilson and Nate Poirier will also see time.
“Pitching is always an important part of any team,” Foley said. “It’s my hope that the returning pitchers will step up and continue to improve, and that the newcomers will give us a boost in that area.”
Senior David Pratt will start at catcher, while classmate Mario Oliveira will play at first. Dragon will play at second when not pitching, senior James Foley is back at short, and Pilachowski will play third base when not pitching. Seniors Colin Paleologopoulos and Ismael Diaz join Mooney and Doyle, and newcomers Chance Almonte, Kyle Gemme, Poirier and Wilson as other options in the infield.
Senior Justin Kleeberg will start in center field, while Paleologopoulos and senior Thomas Shea will also play outfield.
Turners Falls (15-8)
For the second straight season, Turners Falls played its way to the WMass Division IV championship game last year. Unfortunately for the Indians, for the second straight season it also came up just short in the title game.
One season after the Indians suffered a 5-2 setback to Hopkins Academy, the Indians’ season came to an end last spring with a 1-0 loss to Longstreeth and Smith Academy.
The Indians suffered some losses from last year’s roster, most notably ace pitchers York and Charboneau, who coach Scott Minkler said are irreplaceable.
“You can’t replace Tyler and Nick, they could have been No. 1 pitchers on most teams in the league last year,” he explained.
Minkler is another new addition, moving from his assistant position with the team last spring to take over as the head coach due to the resignation of Jay Liimatainen, who has conflicts with his work schedule and could not come back. Minkler previously served as a head coach at Pioneer Valley Regional School.
“I’m very excited to get back into it,” he said of coaching varsity. “I was an assistant here last year, so I know a lot of the kids, and I was an assistant football coach. These players have always known winning under Jay, and I’m hoping that mentality can carry over.”
If the Indians are going to find their way back into the WMass tournament they are going to need some of their young arms to pick up the slack left by the graduation of York and Charby. The good news is that there are some talented youngsters in place.
Junior lefty Quinn Doyle pitched some solid games for the Indians last season and steps into the role as ace this time around. Sophomore Josh Obuchowski — also a southpaw — is another returnee who pitched well as a freshman. The third major mound contributor this season will be senior Trevor Mankowsky.
After that, the Indians could rely on junior Nick Croteau and freshman Tyler Lavin, as well as senior lefty Jay Fritz and junior Tionne Brown.
“It’s going to come down to our pitching staff this season,” Minkler said, echoing the sentiment of a number of coaches in the league. “We are fairly young and inexperienced on the mound. I think if our pitchers can get ground balls, we should be in good shape. We are not going to overpower anybody like we did last season.”
The Indians also return senior catchers Tahner Jones and Cullen Wozniak, who also shared time behind the plate last yspring. Junior Kyle Bergmann returns to a starting spot in the infield, although he will move from first to third. Brown also returns to start in the infield and is back at second base.
The other two infield spots were left vacant due to the graduation of York and Charboneau. Croteau and Lavin are competing for time at shortstop, a position where Minkler will need someone to emerge as defensively reliable. Jay Fritz is looking like the starter at first base but Bergmann could return to that position. Will Roberge will see time at second base, and senior Seth Lemay is a possibility at third.
Mankowsky will take over for speedster Trent Bourbeau in center field this season, while senior Jalen Sanders returns to left field. Doyle and Obuchowski will start in right field when not pitching. Senior Akeeva Forcier is another option in the outfield.
Athol (5-15)
Athol High School is hoping to put last year’s error-filled campaign in the rearview mirror.
The Red Raiders appeared to have the pieces in place to attempt to make the postseason last spring but the team may have been the worst defensive unit in the HL. The miscues took a toll on what has the makings to be a good pitching staff, and Athol found itself with just five wins and out of the postseason picture.
Seventh-year Red Raiders’ coach Josh Talbot believes those defensive woes are a thing of the past and once again enters the season with a promising outlook.
“Last year our pitchers were effective, the problem was that we were giving up four or five outs per inning,” he explained. “I think this year we will be competitive. Our pitching is good, if not real good, and I think we can hit. It’s really going to come down to limiting our mistakes on defense. I think we are two-thirds of the way to being a good baseball team.”
One person the Red Raiders will be looking to his senior pitcher Bryce Melanson, who had a tremendous sophomore campaign but did not fare as well last spring.
“We will be looking for Bryce to return to form this season,” Talbot said. “We were just so bad defensively behind him last year that he just kind of lost his luster.”
Junior Merrick Decker and sophomore Gage Wood give Talbot a three-headed beast on the mound, and senior Tyler St. Cyr and sophomore Robbie Nelson round out the five arms.
As for the defense, Talbot does return nearly his entire team but he does have a couple of glaring holes. He said he is still looking for guys to emerge at catcher and shortstop, two of the most important defensive positions.
“We have a lot of starters back this year but unfortunately, two of our bigger holes are at short and catcher,” he explained. “We are still looking for two kids to step up and solidfy those holes.”
The battle at catcher is between junior Colin Fish and sophomore Kris Selanis, while the battle at short is between St. Cyr and Nelson. Senior Shawn Smart is also a possibility.
Wood is likely to play first base with Melanson and junior Trevor Curtis in the mix, while junior Tyler Lutz will start at second in front of junior Ryan Herk and sophomore Ryan White. Junior Issac Raulston will play at third with Nelson and junior Jared Cormier backing him up.
The Red Raiders return their entire outfield, where senior Owen King will start in center with Decker to his left and senior Nick Whelpley to his right. Sophomore Colby Mason will also play outfield.
Whelpley will be one of the top hitters in the league and Decker and King will set the table for him. Selanis, Wood and Nelson are also solid hitters.
Easthampton (12-7)
Easthampton got back into the tournament last season after a one-year hiatus but the Eagles were ousted by Wahconah Regional High School in the Division III quarterfinals.
The Eagles are in a situation this season where they did lose a number of players from last season’s team, but do have some very talented players back.
Seniors Hunter Leveille, Brandon Bennett and Jamie Ryan return to lead the pitching staff that also includes sophomore newcomers Lance Parrish and Dawson Wolcott.
The Eagles also return senior Shy Torres, who is one of the best bats in the league and will play shortstop this season. Newcomers John Bara and Austin Kuenzel are competing for time at catcher, while senior returnee Tyler Vishaway will play third or first, with Bennett playing first as well. Parrish and freshman Mike Ryan are battling for time at second, while Wolcott is going to play at third when Vishaway is at first.
Leveille and Ryan will be in the outfield along with newcomers Liam Healy (senior) and Ian Adams (junior).
Mahar (5-15)
Mahar was unable to deal with some key losses from the 2014 tournament team last season and struggled with just five wins.
But the news is much better this spring for coach Art Billings, now in his 12th year with the team, as he welcomes back good numbers from last season, giving the team a good chance to make last year’s postseason hiatus a one-year thing.
“Actually, I think we’ve forgotten about last season already,” Billings said. “We are a week-plus in and I haven’t heard anyone talking about five wins or anything else from last season. The chemistry just seems so different this year. Everybody is willing to help everybody this year. We have a lot of guys hoping to win spots and everyone just seems to be pulling for each other.”
Two players Billings is sure to welcome back with open arms are senior pitchers Ryan Arsenault and Hunter Richardson, who are not only the aces of the team, but also two of his top defenders and hitters.
“They were both my captains last year and having them come back has been huge,” Billings said. “Even their leadership in the offseason. Everyone really circles around those two guys.”
Billings has four players competing for the third starter spot on the team and he said all four will be used either as starters or out of the bullpen this season. Senior Chris Pace, junior Jake LaCasse, and sophomores Sam Paul and Tyreece Younger are all in the mix.
Arsenault returns to catcher and will be backed up by junior Connor Arsenault. Richardson will start at shortstop again, while Paul will play there when Richardson pitches. Senior Liam Bashista will start at first base with junior Matt Herk backing him up, while junior Miller Richardson is the starter at second in front of classmate Zach Duguay. Paul is currently competing with Pace for the starting job at third base.
Senior Jed Richardson will start in center with classmate Mason Dow in right, and LaCasse in left. Junior Zack Geyster and Younger will also patrol the outfield.
Mohawk (12-9)
Bill Buck has coached at Mohawk for the past three years and he has not missed the tournament once during his tenure. That streak should remain intact this season.
The Warriors did lose some pop in the middle of their lineup from a season ago but bring back a couple of pitchers who should have the team dancing in the postseason.
Mohawk won a tournament game last season when they bested Frontier, 5-4, in the first round of the Division III playoffs, but were eliminated by eventual WMass champion Mt. Greylock, 7-3, in the quarterfinals.
“They got a taste last year,” Buck said. “I think we have a shot to go even further this year. I think our confidence level is very high going into the season.”
Senior Gabe Seaver and junior Torsten Sloan-Anderson are the top two arms on the team and will be among the best 1-2 combinations in the East. Seaver is returning from off-season shoulder surgery but is ready to go.
“I have a pretty good staff this year,” Buck said. “If we stay healthy, we should be pretty good on the bump.”
Junior Adam Hallenback and senior Justin Ward are the next two horses in Buck’s pitching stable, and juniors Bruin Pratt, Danny Szafran and Seth Donovan round out the staff.
Two holes that Buck has to fill in the infield are catcher and shortstop as Liam D’Atres de la Blotier (catcher) and Andrew Doty (short) both graduated. Senior Julian Diamond will move to catcher, which is his natural position, after playing in the outfield last year, while Ward will move to short from third. Donovan will back up Diamond, while Szafran will back up Ward.
“Justin grew up as a shortstop, I just had to move him to third last year so he should do well there,” Buck said.
Sloan-Anderson will play at first with Nelson, Pratt, Hallenbeck and Matt Finck also vying for time, and senior Colton Yezierski is battling junior Chris Graves at second. Senior Taylor McCloud will start at third but Hallenbeck and junior Ian Eckler could also play there.
Szafran moves to center field to take over for the departed Stephen Reynolds and will be flanked by Donovan to his left and senior Levin DuPree to his right. Seaver and Diamond could also play in the outfield as well as senior Sam Smithers.
Pioneer (3-17)
Pioneer Valley Regional School coach Mike Prattico returns for his second season with the team, and he said that as the Panthers continue to be in a rebuilding mode, the goal of the team to re-establish its identity as a solid competitor in a very good Hampshire League.
“I think we are still in rebuilding mode,” Prattico explained. “Obviously, we have a lot of young talent that’s still growing. I don’t have any expectations for this team win/loss-wise, but they are working hard. Last year, we restored Pioneer’s identity, and I think we are now looking toward the win-loss point of it. We play in a very tough league but if everyone stays healthy, I think we will be competitive.
Last spring the Panthers finished with just three wins and came in last in the East but the glory days of winning a WMass title and making it to the state finals in 2011 are still in the not-too-distant past.
“I think we can get this program back to where it needs to be, to where it was not too long ago,” Prattico said.
Prattico said that the place he feels most confident in his team early on is on the mound, which is a great place to start. Not only does he return a number of talented hurlers, there’s also a lot of rotation depth. Senior Kyle Hubbard and juniors Nate Comiskey and Eliot Mousseau are three arms that Prattico said are aces. Senior Matt Kenney and sophomores Mike Menard, Cody Letourneau and Brendan Emond round out the staff.
“Our pitching is our strength,” the coach said. “We have a lot of pitching, which always helps in high school.”
Many of the positions were still being battled for during the second week of practice. Sophomores Jordan Loughman and Emond are battling junior Nic Williams at first base, while Letourneau is battling sophomore Karl Wheeler and freshman Jack Loud for time at second. Mousseau, Menard and Letourneau are all vying for time at short, and sophomores Payten Doherty, Jared Ackerman and Emond can all play at third. Senior Ben Tufano is a lock at catcher with freshman Ryan Underwood backing him up.
Kyle Hubbard and junior Alex Tyson will play in center, Kenney and sophomore Jake Hubbard will play in left, and Comiskey, Tyson and senior Kyle Wheeler will all see time in right. Sophomore Bryce Dobosz will begin the season injured, but will be a DH upon return.
Smith Academy (20-3)
Smith Academy did not disappoint last season.
The Falcons appeared to have the parts in place to make a deep run last season, which was precisely what they did. After winning the HL East Division title with a perfect 10-0 league record, the Falcons went on to win the WMass title and then made it to the state championship game.
Smith Academy was led by senior pitcher David Longstreeth, who was one of seven seniors on the roster last season, many of whom had started for more than two years.
The experience is not the same coming into this season but the Falcons do have some parts who should make them competitive once again.
Junior hurler John Ferrara is back to lead the pitching staff after not losing a start last season. Ferrara was named Most Valuable Player for the Falcons during the tournament run and will be called on to pitch in the biggest games during the regular season.
“John Ferrara didn’t lose a game as a sophomore last year and has won some huge games for us,” fifth-year Coach Pluta said. “He will definitely get lots of Division I looks. He is not just a guy who is good because we’re a small school.”
Senior Kevin Banas joins Ferrara at the top of the rotation. Senior Benny Bruscoe and sophomores Matt Bouley and Liam Pitrat will also see time on the mound.
Junior Jack Hession returns to catcher this season and will be backed up by sophomore Chris Darragh, who will compete with Harry Adams for time at first base. Bruscoe, Bouley and Pitrat are joined by eighth-grader Colin Ferrara as players competing for time at various infield positions.
Banas and Ferrara will both start in the outfield when not pitching. Sophomore Xander Finch will be joined by Troy Benedict and Owen Barnowski as other outfielders. Sophomore Thomas Hammond is a utility player.