By John Hamilton | Manager of The Senior Pioneers
In one the best baseball moments I’ve been around in a long time (including last week’s 2 1/2 innings prior to the rain out), the Senior Pioneers took on the Seniors / Vipers / Tracers alumni today at Gant Municipal Stadium. It meant a lot to all these guys to be able to share the field together in what turned out to be a very competitive baseball game. In many instances, we had a lot of players be able to play against their former coaches – many of whom are still playing baseball today. Some players were able to play for both teams, but in the end, the alumni were able to leave with a 10-9 victory, in what proved to be a very successful day of baseball for the city of Zanesville to enjoy.
For the home team alumni, Zack Pollock started on the mound. He went 1.2 innings before handing it over to Derek Bragg. Bragg was able to go 4.1 scoreless innings and could have gone more. He only gave up 1 hit, 1 BB, 1 HBP with 2 Ks. TJ Frame threw an inning before handing it over to Chase Phillips to close it out in 2 innings. Jody Shields caught the entire game for the alumni.
Derek Bragg also led the way for the alumni offense. He went 2-5 including a 2 run home run in the 5th inning over the left center wall. Bryan Conley (2-4, double, RBI), Craig Stoneburner (1-2, run, RBI, BB, sac bunt), Heath Watton (1-2, run), Jason Smith (1-2, run, 3 BB, RBI), Dustin Rock (1-5, run, RBI), Zack Pollock (1-4, 2 RBI), TJ Frame (1-3, 3 runs), and Trevor Hague (1-3, run, BB) also contributed to the alumni impressive offensive output.
Landon Harney earned the start for the Senior Pioneers. He went a solid 5 innings with 3 Ks. Andy Hardy came in relief for 2 innings giving up 1 run on 1 hit with 2 walks. Alston Williamson pitched the final inning for the Seniors with a strikeout.
The Seniors offense was led by Andrew Church who hit a 3 run home run in the 2nd inning from the lead off spot. Churchie also scored twice and had a walk. Tyler Buchanan also had a big day at the plate, going 3-4 and scoring a run. Chayce Lundell (2-4, double, run), Tanner Corder (2-4, 2 runs), Jeramie Neff (run, RBI), Brandon Pritchard (1-3, BB), Sheldon Merriman (1-2, run, RBI, 2 HBP), Andy Hardy (1-4, RBI), Chase Phillips (1-3, run), and Nate Stewart (run, BB) contributed to the Senior Pioneers offense.
This game capped off a great week of baseball for these teams – including 2 separate alumni games against the Senior Pioneers and a 2026 Hall of Fame induction where 5 of the 7 inductees were former Senior Pioneers and/or Zanesville Vipers players.
CAPTION: Landon Harney pitching a high curveball for the Senior Pioneers. Matthew Dotson
