HOLYOKE — The Hopkins Academy baseball team won its seventh Western Mass Championship in program history on Saturday, earning the 2026 Class D title with a 3-1 victory over Ware at Mackenzie Stadium.
Chace Earle was dominant for the Golden Hawks in the win, putting the team on his back with great performances on the mound and at the plate.
After surrendering a run in the top of the first inning, the senior settled in to an outstanding following six innings with his arm. Through the final six innings of Earle’s seven-inning outing, he didn’t allow a hit or a run, striking out six batters en route to the win.
“My off-speed [on Saturday] was really working,” Earle said. “I was able to get up in counts, spin that in the zone and get outs… Just knowing that we [had] six more innings left, I didn’t try to push anything.”
The one run surrendered in the initial inning was the first that the team has given up in the last four games, outscoring their opponents 50-0 over that span.
Even with the slow start to his night, Earle’s final stat line was impressive, pitching all seven innings while allowing the one run, two hits and a walk with seven total strikeouts in the victory.
The big day didn’t stop there for the senior, making sure to help himself out by coming through offensively as well. Earle finished the game 1-for-2 with a double and an RBI, adding on a pair of walks for good measure.
After five years with the varsity program, Saturday was the first Western Mass title of Earle’s career, finally getting it done in his final year before graduation.
“[I had] butterflies going before the game, just waiting for that moment, but then when that [final out] happened, it was awesome,” Earle said.
“It was a long time coming,” Hopkins head coach Daniel Vreeland said. “It’s nice to have that monkey off our back.”
Three different games were played at Mackenzie Stadium on Saturday, with a 17-inning marathon in the Class C Championship forcing the Golden Hawks and Indians game to start over 90 minutes later than scheduled.
Earlier in the regular season, the two teams’ first matchup was also delayed, with the junior varsity game before them forcing them to wait two hours. Although neither side wanted to wait again, Hopkins was still ready to go right out of the gate on Saturday.
A hit-by-pitch, a walk and an error loaded the bases for the Golden Hawks with no outs in the bottom of the first. Carter Styspeck drove in the team’s first run of the day with a fielder’s choice, with Derek Gromacki blooping a single into right field to score the second and take the lead that wouldn’t be surrendered.
“I just reminded them, ‘Last time we played these guys, we put up a 10-spot,'” Vreeland said. “We swing the bat well, all each season, we’ve got a run differential up over 100, so they know they can all hit and they know we’ve just got to chip away.”
Despite the early success offensively, Hopkins struggled to maintain the momentum as the bats went cold through the middle innings. After defeating Ware 12-0 earlier this season, holding a one-run lead into the sixth inning was unexpected.
Harry West kicked off a rally in the bottom of the sixth inning to re-spark the bats, shooting a single through the left side. An error and a walk loaded the bases once again, with Earle taking his base as well to drive in an insurance run heading into the final inning of play.
“We sort of, I think, expected to [score a lot of runs], and then when we [didn’t], I think we had guys beating themselves up a little bit, psyching themselves out,” Vreeland said. “[But] we battled through all of that and worked our way out.”
With a 3-1 lead, the Golden Hawks continued to rely on Earle and the rest of the team’s defense, posting another zero in the seventh to cement the win.
Up next for Hopkins is the state tournament, projected to be one of the top teams at the Division 5 level. Hoping to win their third state championship and first since the 2021 season, the team will look to continue what’s given them success throughout the 19-2 start.
“For us to make a deep run in the state tournament, we’ve got to play our game, trust what we’re doing,” Vreeland said. “Just follow along with what we’ve been doing all season, because what we’ve been doing all season works.”
