Five Recorder area teams will be vying for a Western Mass. championship on Wednesday. 

Over at Mackenzie Stadium in Holyoke, the Class C and Class D baseball finals will take place in a doubleheader. The Class D final takes place first at 4 p.m., with top-seeded Pioneer taking on third-seeded Hopkins Academy. At 7 p.m., third-seeded Greenfield takes on top-seeded Drury in the Class C final. 

While the baseball finals are taking place in Holyoke, the Class C and Class D softball finals will be underway at Westfield State University. The Class D championship game gets things started at 3 p.m., when top-seeded Turners Falls goes for its third-straight WMass title against second-seeded Hoosac Valley at 3 p.m. After, top-seeded Greenfield takes on third-seeded Franklin Tech in a rematch of last year’s Class C finals. That game is scheduled to begin at 5 p.m. 

Here’s a closer look at each matchup: 

Hopkins vs. Pioneer, at Mackenzie Stadium, 4 p.m. 

It was looking like Pioneer and Ware were destined to meet for a third straight year in the Class D championship game when the two entered the field as the top two seeds. 

Hopkins had other ideas. 

While the Panthers sure would have liked to get revenge against Ware — Pioneer lost in 10 innings in 2023 and also fell in the Class D title game in an 11-inning thriller last year — the Golden Hawks wouldn't allow them the opportunity, taking down Ware 7-4  in the semifinals. 

The Panthers have yet to be tested in the Class D tournament, blowing past Gateway (24-1) and St. Mary’s (16-0) in five innings to reach the championship game. Pioneer will go into the title game with an unblemished 20-0 record, seeking its first WMass crown since 2022. 

Not many teams have given the Panthers a game this year in general, but Hopkins did on two separate occasions. The two Suburban League West foes faced back on March 31, the opening game of the season for both teams, with Pioneer picking up an 8-5 victory. The two teams played again on April 16 in Hadley, with the Panthers leading 4-2 going into the sixth before walking away with a 6-4 triumph. 

Of Pioneer’s 20 wins this season, only six have been decided by three runs or less: two against Frontier, Franklin Tech, Drury and the two Hopkins games. The Golden Hawks (12-8) beat Monson in the quarterfinals (9-0) and are looking for their first Western Mass. title since 2021. 

In the MIAA Div. 5 state tournament power rankings, Pioneer sits at No. 1 while Hopkins is ranked sixth. 

Greenfield vs. Drury, at Mackenzie Stadium, 7 p.m. 

Tom Suchanek’s club has shown it plays its best in the tournament these last few seasons after making deep runs in the state tournament as low seeds and this spring, the Green Wave are again heating up at the right time. 

Greenfield — winners of six of its last seven — took care of business in its quarterfinal contest against Franklin Tech (11-1) and on Sunday, the Green Wave controlled things from the jump against second-seeded Westfield Tech to reach the championship game following a 6-1 victory. 

It will be one of the toughest tests of the season for the Wave on Wednesday when they take on the Blue Devils in the title game. Drury (17-3) survived against its crosstown rival, McCann Tech, in the quarterfinals (2-1) before pulling away to beat Athol (10-2) in the semifinals. As noted last week, the only teams to beat Drury this year are Pioneer, Taconic and Mt. Anthony. 

Greenfield (13-7) is going for its first Western Mass. title since 2013 and will be playing in its first Western Mass. title game since 2014. 

The Blue Devils are ranked No. 3 in the Div. 5 power rankings while the Green Wave come in at No. 8 in the rankings. 

Turners vs. Hoosac, at Westfield State, 3 p.m. 

The Thunder (16-4) have won back-to-back Class D titles and it was Hoosac that prevented them from winning three in a row, as the Hurricanes took down Turners in the 2022 finals. 

Hoosac earned the right to play in the finals after beating Pioneer in the quarterfinals (13-1) and blowing past Hopkins (12-2) in the semifinals. 

The Hurricanes (17-2) won their first 10 games of the season, dropped contests to Pittsfield and Lenox before ripping off seven consecutive wins en route to the title game. On the season, Hoosac has outscored its opponents 280-86 with its offense putting up 14.7 runs per game. 

Turners enters the championship game winners of 11 of its last 12, beating Ware in the quarterfinals (16-3) before pulling away late to take down Monson (6-3) in the semifinals. If the Thunder can win the title, it will be their 16th WMass title in the last 18 years the tournament has been held. 

Turners coach Gary Mullins enters Wednesday sitting at 798 career wins. 

The Thunder are currently the top ranked team in the Div. 5 state field while Hoosac is ranked sixth. 

Greenfield vs. Franklin Tech, at Westfield State, 5 p.m. 

Can Greenfield earn the fourth-peat? 

Class C has gone through the Green Wave since the return from COVID, Greenfield winning the Class C title each of the last three years including a 4-0 victory over Franklin Tech in the championship game a year ago. 

On paper, it would have taken a major upset to not see Greenfield (14-6) back in the title game and it played out that way as the Wave handled SICS in the quarterfinals (21-0) and McCann Tech in the semifinals (13-3). 

It looked like Franklin Tech (17-3) would have a tougher path back to the championship game but it was anything but. The Eagles took care of business against Mount Greylock in the quarterfinals (15-3) before squaring off with unbeaten Lenox in the semifinals on the road. Franklin Tech built a 9-0 lead in the top of the first and handled things from there, defeating the Millionaires 16-0 to earn a rematch with the Green Wave. Both of Franklin Tech’s WMass games ended in five innings. 

The Eagles enter Wednesday on a 13-game win streak, giving up a mere nine runs in that span with eight of those wins coming via shutout. Greenfield has scored double-digit runs eight times this year, including against Franklin Tech in the opening game of the season, a contest the Wave won, 12-3. 

Greenfield is ranked second in the Div. 5 power rankings while Tech is ranked seventh.