AMCAT Captains Named for 2018 Baseball Season

AMCAT Captains Named for 2018 Baseball Season

PAXTON, Mass.- Earlier this week, head baseball coach Dan Briand announced his captains for the 2018 season. 

Senior right handed pitcher and first baseman Tanner Jakola (Leominstrer, Mass), junior left handed pitcher Colin Pipkin (Peoria, Ariz), and sophomore catcher Greg Gehring (Southold, N.Y.) have been selected to serve as the team's captains.  "We are very fortunate to be able to have three great leaders in our program.  These guys all know what it takes to win at this level and our entire roster feeds off their energy and leadership," Briand said. 

Tanner Jakola is one of six returners for the AMCATS from last year's team He is a calming presence in the dugout and a great teammate.  "Tanner is a quiet kid, and someone who certainly leads by example.  What I love about him the most is he is tough, and he's a Leominster kid.  Playing for Jeff Dedian for Post 151 Leominster Legion, a program I respect as much as any in our zone is a huge asset for us," said Briand.  "Tanner plays hard every day, he gives us quality at bats and tough innings on the mound.  He is a competitor and I really hope we are able to help him finish off his career the way he deserves this season," added Briand.

Colin Pipkin is a junior transfer from Ellsworth Community College in Iowa. He has been a presence for the AMCATS since the day he arrived in Paxton. "Colin came here from across the country because he believes in the program we are building here.  He is not only one of our hardest workers and most mature guys that we have in our program, but he has big time wipeout stuff on the mound," said Briand.  "He is a fierce competitor on the mound and represents our program in a first-class manner not only on the field, but in the classroom, and in the community."

Greg Gehring is a sophomore transfer from Keystone College, the 2016 NCAA Division III National Runner-Up.  "We have a very young team with a lot of new faces, to be able to add a player of Greg's caliber is big, and when you add in the fact that he has been a part of a program that has played for a national championship that makes his experience even more valuable. He got the experience of playing in the NCAA Tournament which is invaluable to us in the development of the program we want to build," said Briand.

"We want to build a program that competes for conference championships on an annual basis.  In order to do that it takes strong leadership and a commitment to building a winning environment and a championship culture.  These three guys are a huge part of that and exemplary members of our program.  With the help of these three guys; in addition to a strong group of young players, hungry to compete and win, I think we have everything in place to take a significant stride toward accomplishing our goals this season and in the very near fut­­­­­­ure," added Briand.

The AMCATS open their 2018 schedule in 50 days when they will host Fitchburg State.