Blue Devils Edge Greenfield to Claim Title
HOLYOKE, Mass. – JJ Prenguber hit a two-out single in the bottom of the fifth to drive in a pair of runs and lead the Drury baseball team to a 2-1, come-from-behind victory over Greenfield in the Western Massachusetts Class C Championship Game.
Brayden Canales started the winning rally with a leadoff walk.
He was erased when Noah Arnold attempted to sacrifice him to second base, but Carson Rylander was then hit by a pitch to move the tying run into scoring position and put the go-ahead run on first.
Connor Hinkell then worked a walk to load the bases.
After Green Wave pitcher Caleb Thomas got a strikeout, Prenguber delivered a single up the middle to bring home both runners and give Drury a 2-1 lead.
Drury’s Hinkell retired the side in order over the next two innings to make that lead hold up.
Hinkell struck out 13, walked one and allowed three hits in a complete-game effort on the mound.
He also had one of three hits for the Blue Devils, along with Lucas Hamilton and Prenguber.
Thomas was the hard-luck loser, striking out six and walking three in six innings of work.
For Drury, it was a second straight comeback win in the regional tournament and a measure of redemption for last year’s 3-2 loss to McCann Tech in the Western Mass final.
The title is Drury’s first in the Western Mass tourney since the advent of a statewide tournament in 2022.
Earlier in the day on Wednesday, the Blue Devils were installed as the No. 3 seed in the Division 5 State Tournament.
Drury (18-3) awaits the winner of Friday’s game between Turners Falls and Pathfinder, who play in the tournament’s preliminary round.