Holland and Twitchell Join Pipkin and Gehring as Captains for the 2019 Baseball Season.
Paxton, Mass.- Earlier this week, Head Baseball Coach Dan Briand announced his captains for the 2019 season. Colin Pipkin (Peoria, Ariz.), and Greg Gehring (Southold, N.Y.) will return to their roles as captains just like last year. Joining them will be Noah Holland (Sandwich, Mass.) and Adam Twitchell (Shrewsbury, Mass.). "We are very fortunate to be able to have many great leaders in our program. But, these four guys truly represent everything that Anna Maria Baseball stands for. They are all great kids, great teammates, great players, hard workers, great students, and they are all very competitive," said Briand.
Colin Pipkin Senior. LHP: A transfer from Ellsworth Community College in Iowa has been a presence for the program since the day he arrived in Paxton. Pipkin lead the team last year in games started, wins, complete games, innings pitched, and strikeouts. "When you talk about an ace, you know they have good stuff. With Pip it's all the little things that not everyone sees that separates him from the pack in my opinion. He leads by example every day in the way that he works, prepares, and competes," said Briand.
Greg Gehring Junior. C: As a sophomore last season Gehring played in 33 games catching almost all of those contests. "Greg is a guy that if you look at his stats they don't reflect the impact he has on every game he plays in," said Briand. "He impacts the game in so many ways weather he is 3-3 or 0-3. His defense is outstanding and he leads the pitching staff and catching group on a daily basis. Coaching runs in his family and for us it's like having another assistant coach on the field," added Briand.
Noah Holland Sophomore. 1B/C: As a freshman, Holland played in 39 games batting .354 while totaling 46 hits, 9 doubles, 2 home runs, 24 runs, and 18 RBI while being selected to the All-GNAC Third team. "Noah eats, sleeps, and breathes baseball. He's a grinder; in addition to being one of the best hitters in the GNAC, he understands how the other team is going to attack him and he's great at making adjustments, being a tough out and finding a way to put the ball in play," said Briand. Noah had some of the biggest hits of the season last year as a freshman, and coach Briand expects more of the same in 2019. "I expect him to take an even bigger jump this year because he works so hard. It's going to be very fun watching him develop and reach his potential this year as well as the next two," concluded Briand.
Adam Twitchell Junior. CF/RHP: As a sophomore last year, Twitchell played in 35 games, but an early April hamstring injury slowed down a torrid start. After being selected twice as the GNAC Player of the Week, the injury unfortunately derailed his potential GNAC Player of the Year campaign. "Adam is one of the best players in this conference. He is as tough as nails and he wills us to win every game. He is a great hitter and is as good as it gets in centerfield at this level," Said Briand. Twitchell is not just a weapon in centerfield and at the plate, but he is also one of the best pitchers on the staff. "Whatever the situation calls for, he is always ready for it. He will start, close, come out of the pen for one inning or three, it doesn't matter to him. He does whatever he can to help his team win and that is what makes him so special," added Briand.
The AMCATS open the 2019 season on Saturday, February 23, 2019 at 12:00 p.m. at the New England Baseball Complex against Newbury College before heading south on March 1st for their annual trip to Florida to play nine games. After the trip they have five non-conference contests before opening GNAC play Saturday March 24, 2019 at The New England Baseball Complex vs Albertus Magnus at 12:00 p.m.
