PIONEERS "GRINDING LIKE GRONK" AS THEY EXTEND WINNING STREAK TO THREE

Strong pitching and hitting from the Pioneers gave them a 8-2 victory over the Niagara Power in last night’s game.

Tristan Ciampa (Northern Essex CC) recorded seven strikeouts in six innings, while surrendering just one run. Nick Reiser (Suffolk), the hero in the first win against the Outlaws, pitched two innings of one-run ball in relief, while Mason Smith (Wells College) secured the win in the ninth.

The bats were also hot, as Cooper Smith (Seton Hill) went 2 for 3 with an RBI, while Bobby Marsh (Penn State) had an RBI double. The best performance came from Frank Wayman (UMass-Lowell) who went 2 for 4 with a bases-clearing triple in the seventh. 

Wayman’s goals for the rest of the season are simply to keep playing well and having fun, as he said,

“Just wanna keep winning some games, and have fun with the team, I guess.”

Ciampa feels the team is in a great mood as the streak continues, as he said,

“Honestly, it’s a bunch of good vibes in the locker room right now. Feels good to win, we really weren’t happy with losing the first five games. After that we really started to figure it out, and now we’re rolling.”

Coach Andrew Drum mentioned the players are still committed and working hard, as he said,

“It’s nice, because these guys keep showing up early every game. You know, they’re out there grinding like Gronk. They really are, you know, I’ll throw a football reference out there for you, but they’re grinding like Gronk.”

Drum didn’t shy away from mentioning how Jamestown has been a tough matchup for the Pios in the past, since he said, 

“They’ve always been a tough game for us, year-in-year-out, I’ve been with the team since 2017, and for some reason we just always battle with Jameston, every single year. It’s usually the team we have to get through to get to the championship game too.”

With this win, the Pioneers improve to 3-5, while the Power fall to .500, with a 4-4 record.

Today, June 12th, the Pioneers will face the Jamestown Tarp Skunks, should the weather stay clear, and their next game at home will be on Tuesday, June 14th when the Pioneers host Mansfield.