Pioneer Valley Regional and Hopkins Academy are an even 5-5 against one another since April of 2015, but likely not for long. The Panthers will head out to challenge the Golden Hawks at 4:00 p.m. on Wednesday. The two teams are strolling into their matches after big wins in their previous games.
Hopkins Academy will take on a team with plenty of momentum: Pioneer Valley Regional extended their winning streak to six on Monday. Pioneer Valley Regional's pitchers stepped up to hand Palmer a 19-0 shutout. That 19 run margin sets a new team best for Pioneer Valley Regional this season.
Evan Tsipenyuk made a big impact while hitting and pitching. He looked comfortable on the mound, not allowing a single earned run over four innings pitched. Tsipenyuk was also solid in the batter's box, scoring a run. What's more, he posted two RBI, the most he's had since back in April of 2024.
Ethan Quinn
| 04/14/25 vs Palmer | 6 |
| 04/10/25 vs Frontier Regional | 3 |
| 04/11/25 vs Oxford | 2 |
| 05/02/24 @ Greenfield | 2 |
| 04/04/25 vs Southwick Regional | 1 |
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Ethan Quinn, who went 3-for-4 with one home run, six RBI, and three runs. Those six RBI gave him a new career-high. The team also got some help courtesy of Ethan Mauthe, who scored two runs and stole two bases while getting on base in three of his four plate appearances.
Pioneer Valley Regional hit smart and finished the game with only one strikeout. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Palmer struck out six times.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Hopkins Academy). They blew past Ludlow 17-9 on Tuesday. The result was nothing new for the Golden Hawks, who have now won three games by six runs or more so far this season.
Pioneer Valley Regional pushed their record up to 6-0 with the victory, which was their eighth straight at home dating back to last season. Those home wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.5 runs on average over those games. As for Hopkins Academy, they have been performing well recently as they've won four of their last five contests. That's provided a nice bump to their 5-3 record this season.
Pioneer Valley Regional beat Hopkins Academy 8-5 in their previous meeting back in March. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Panthers since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
