Steffen Herter, Garrison Banas sign to play Division I baseball

Steffen Herter and Garrison Banas were both outstanding baseball players coming out of high school. But both decided they weren't ready to play in college just yet, and enrolled at Salisbury School in Connecticut to hone their skills and prepare for the next level.

Belchertown baseball coach starts college development program

Chuck Jasak thinks too much western Massachusetts baseball talent is slipping through the cracks when it comes to recruiting and scouting.

The Belchertown coach has a solution. He's starting a college development program called the WMass Rebellion with the goal of helping area players improve their games and then get those players in front of college coaches and professional scouts.

Gazette All-Stars: Baseball: Leaders on the field

The Daily Hampshire Gazette Spring All-Star series continues with baseball. The team is highlighted by three of the area's top seniors who helped their squads to strong seasons. Garrison Banas of Hopkins Academy and Matt Robinson of Easthampton led their rival teams to regular-season and postseason success. Meanwhile, Steffen Herter of Amherst Regional bounced back from shoulder surgery to help the Hurricanes overcome injuries and a massive graduation to return to the postseason one year after winning the state title.
Other sports' All-Stars so far: Softball | Girls tennis

Tim Balut out as Hampshire Regional baseball coach

After leading the Hampshire Regional baseball team to the postseason this year for the first time since 2008, Tim Balut is no longer its coach.

Balut was informed of the decision by athletic director Ann Trytko on Tuesday.

Spartans shut out Northampton baseball

EAST LONGMEADOW - Dan Kane walked to the plate for what he knew would be his final high school at-bat.

With the Northampton baseball team trailing by nine runs with one out in the seventh, Kane, a senior left-hander, dug in against East Longmeadow standout southpaw Steve Moyers with a chance for a memorable final swing.

Easthampton pitchers stop Gators' big bats

EASTHAMPTON - In a win-or-go-home tournament situation, every pitcher not only needs to be available but also ready to pitch.

The Easthampton baseball team needed three arms to hold off the big bats of Gateway Regional in a 7-5 victory Monday in the Western Massachusetts Division 3 quarterfinals at Booster Field.

Strong pitching sends Hopkins to baseball semifinals

HADLEY - The pitcher for top-seeded Hopkins Academy tossed an ace-like performance on the mound Monday ... and it wasn't Garrison Banas.

Aiden Barrett delivered a complete-game five-hitter to defeat Dean Tech 4-1 in the Western Massachusetts Division 3 Tournament quarterfinal round, sending Hopkins to its third consecutive semifinals appearance.

Smith Academy baseball falls to Panthers

NORTHFIELD - Kyle Platner threw a complete-game five-hitter as the Pioneer Regional baseball team defeated Smith Academy 8-3 in the quarterfinals of the Western Massachusetts Division 3 Tournament Monday afternoon.

Wahconah eliminates defending champion South Hadley baseball

DALTON - South Hadley found itself down three runs against Wahconah Regional almost when the Tigers got off the bus.

Kyle Kasala hit a three-run home run in the bottom of the first inning which helped his own cause as he went the distance as the third-seeded Warriors eliminated No. 11 and defending champion South Hadley 9-4 on Monday afternoon at the Wahconah High School.

King of K: Hopkins' Banas logs 400th strikeout

HADLEY - Heading into the Western Massachusetts Division 3 Baseball Tournament, Hopkins Academy ace left-hander Garrison Banas was on the cusp of reaching a milestone few achieve in high school: 400 career strikeouts. Not only did Banas reach the mark by getting the four strikeouts he needed, he also delivered a strong performance, going eight innings en route to a 3-2 nine-inning victory over 17th-seeded Lenox (7-14) Saturday.

Matt Lattanzi, Orioles clinch postseason baseball berth

With a postseason berth on the line, Belchertown baseball senior Matt Lattanzi tossed a one-hitter in a 5-1 victory over South Hadley on the road Friday.

Lattanzi struck out five in the effort, which gave the Orioles (7-13, 5-5 Suburban) a spot in the Western Massachusetts Division 2 Tournament via the 70 percent rule.

Kyle Dussault hurls Eagles baseball into share of league title with Hopkins

HADLEY - The longer the game went it looked like more than a Hampshire League title was on the line for the Hopkins Academy and Easthampton baseball teams Friday. As the scoreless innings mounted up for both teams, the pitching performances of Garrison Banas and Kyle Dussault looked more worthy of a sectional or even state title. When the seventh inning passed without a run for either team, it became apparent the contest was going to be about who could hold out longest without cracking. The Golden Hawks finally wilted in the top of the 11th inning as the Eagles earned a 5-0 win in both teams' final regular-season game. The teams, who split the regular season series, are officially co-Hampshire League champs with matching 13-3 league records.

Cathedral tops Amherst baseball in eighth

David Bohl hit a two-run single and Jay Lincoln batted in a run and walked twice for the Amherst Regional baseball team in a 4-3 eight-inning loss to Cathedral on Thursday at home. Jared Freedman added two hits for the Hurricanes (12-8, 3-6 Valley).

Jason Hodgkins struck out three Panthers in four innings pitched and Mike Walkowicz struck out four in relief.

Garrison Banas pitches phenomenal senior year for Hopkins Academy

Garrison Banas could have spent this season at prep school. The Hopkins Academy senior, who will attend Salisbury School in Connecticut for a postgrad year next season, was given the chance to attend this year and next. But the left-hander decided he wanted to return for one more year with the Golden Hawks, looking to go out with a bang. "I wanted to try to end (my career there) nicely for my senior year, so hopefully, we'll go strong into the tournament." Using four standout pitches and topping out in the mid-to-upper 80s on his fastball, Banas has posted an 11-0 record with two saves. He's struck out 135 batters and allowed just two earned runs (0.23 ERA) on 16 hits and 25 walks over 61 innings pitched.

Rams complete comeback as Granby baseball ties St. Mary in first place

GRANBY - Adam Majka's senior day didn't start the way he wanted. The ending, however, was pretty much perfect. The ending, however, was pretty much perfect. The Granby baseball team overcame a rough first inning to earn a 7-4 victory over St. Mary's in a contest between two teams now tied for first place in the Tri-County North. "It's definitely like a playoff atmosphere because they are one of the best teams in the league and we know it could be one of us in the playoffs," Majka said. "We knew we had to come to play against them." Sophomore Andy Gifford smacked a two-strike fastball for a two-run home run down the left-field line as part of a three-run sixth inning for Granby (15-2, 9-2 Tri-County North).

Banas tosses fifth career no-hitter for Hopkins Academy

In hindsight it might have been smarter for Pioneer Regional to call the game a rain out and hope it wouldn't face one of the region's best pitchers when the game was rescheduled. Instead, the Panthers were the latest team to be victimized by Garrison Banas' dominant senior season.

Dan Kane gives Northampton baseball win in ninth inning

Dan Kane's ninth-inning single chased Jake Laga home with the game winner as the Northampton baseball team edged South Hadley 6-5 in extra innings.

Laga led off the inning with a single, then stole second and advanced to third on a groundout.

Mack Hale and Michael Jasinski each had two hits and two RBIs for the Blue Devils (7-8, 5-1 Suburban). Chris Tacy's RBI single tied it up in the sixth.

Sam Tillona pitches gem for first Frontier Regional varsity baseball win

Sophomore Sam Tillona tossed a gem to pick up his first varsity win for the Frontier Regional baseball team which defeated Mohawk Trail 3-0 on Thursday in Buckland.

Tillona needed just 82 pitches to go the distance in the win. He allowed three hits and one walk while striking out seven.

Mike Ames (one RBI, two stolen bases) and Dan White (one RBI, one stolen base) each had two hits for the Red Hawks (7-6, 6-5 Hampshire).

Starcun's blast powers Eagles baseball over Pioneer Regional

Down to the last pitch, Chris Starcun gave the Easthampton baseball team new life against Pioneer Regional.

Starcun tied the game on a two-out, two-strike three-run homer and the Eagles won 8-7 in nine innings Friday at Daley Field.