The Greenfield Post 81 Senior American Legion team is hoping to build on a strong season a year ago when it went 13-6, and based on how the majority of the team has performed during the high school season, the expectations are high for Post 81 this summer. 

The squad is comprised of five players from Greenfield High School (Conner Bergeron, Arthur Fitzpatrick, Logan Moore, Luca Siano and Caleb Thomas), two from Frontier (Shawn Baumann, Ben Caron) and seven from Pioneer (Jackson Campbell, Hayden Girard, Jackson Glazier, Ethan Mauthe, Ethan Quinn, Braeden Tsipenyuk and Ben Werner). With the Wave and Panthers both reaching the MIAA Div. 5 quarterfinals and Frontier making it to the Div. 4 Round of 16, Post 81 will be able to hit the ground running when it is scheduled to open its season this week.

Sam Connors (Winchendon), Hugh Cyhowski (Roger Williams University), Michael Hioe (Deerfield Academy) and Greg King (Amherst High School) round out the squad. 

“This team looks pretty good,” Greenfield coach Alex Siano said. “We have a couple new kids who are coming up from last year’s Junior team and we have some new kids in general who are coming in to help a roster that’s returning a lot of kids from last year. The local kids from Pioneer, Frontier and Greenfield have done very well this season and have done well in the state tournament but Legion teams are always very strong. It’s a little different competition but we’re looking to improve on our record from last year.” 

Pitching is always the key on a baseball team and Siano said he likes what he has to work with on the hill. 

Cyhowski was a force on the Pioneer baseball team during high school and spent the last year throwing at the collegiate level. Quinn, Werner and Glazier have led the Panthers rotation this spring while Thomas and Moore have had strong seasons on the bump with the Green Wave. 

“Our pitching should be big for us,” Siano said. “Hugh will be a factor coming back from Roger Williams, Ethan Quinn is joining the team to play with his friends and teammates from Pioneer one last time so those two will be a nice added punch. Caleb has been really solid and Logan is our returning batting champion and is starting to play his best down the stretch here with Greenfield. We should be really strong on the mound.”

Like always, it’s a quick season for Post 81. Greenfield will be limited in numbers during its first week of games with teams advancing in the MIAA state tournament, and Post 81 is currently slated to play 13 games between June 9 and July 16. 

The regional playoffs are set to begin July 18 with the state playoffs to follow at Adams Field in Quincy. 

With teams still alive in the MIAA tourney, Post 81 hasn’t been able to practice much though Siano said that shouldn’t be an issue. 

“It’s a condensed season,” Siano said. “The only downfall to the local teams doing very well in states is we haven’t had a chance to have a practice and see what we have. There hasn’t been an opportunity for that. The team roster was finalized May 28 so we’re kind of just getting into it and going. A lot of these kids don’t need much coaching which is nice. We just try to put them in positions they’re comfortable with and go from there.”

Post 81 will be playing all its home games at 7 p.m. at Vets Field in Greenfield. Siano said he hopes the community comes out and supports the team. 

As of Sunday, the home opener is slated for Wednesday against Northampton. 

“We’ve always had great support,” Siano said. “With our games at 7 [p.m.], we’re hoping to get more support on those cooler summer nights. I hope we get good crowds there supporting the team.”

The Post 81 Junior Legion team is scheduled to open its season on Tuesday at home against Westfield. The Junior squad is comprised of Wayde Bardwell, Baumann, Bergeron, Grayson Bishop, Casey Burke, Matthew Burke, Luke Connors, Hunter Donahue, Fitzpatrick, Girard, George Gutierrez, Urijah Jenness, King, Paxton Phelps, Nick Prasol, Aiden Shea, Luca Siano and Chase Zraunig.