Follow @PBRVirginiaDC
 

Over the coming months, Prep Baseball Report Virginia/DC will take a look back at the 2015 season for each school that finished the spring in the final 2015 Power 25. In each article, we will not only recap the successful seasons of these 40 schools, but highlight the individuals who drove that success and preview what the outlook is for each team in 2016.

34. patriot pioneers

 

Season Recap: Patriot finished the regular season tied for first in the Cedar Run Conference with Battlefield and won the one game playoff to determine the regular season championship, taking two out of three on the season from the Bobcats, with all three games going to extra innings. The Pioneers lost in the Conference Tournament Championship game to Osbourn Park and were eliminated in the first round of the 6A Northern Region Tournament by Centreville. The Pioneers finished the season 16-6 overall.

+Key Performers:

Jacob Christian (2015, UMBC) Christian had a dominant season as the Pioneers’ ace, going 6-2 while striking out 81 batters over 61 innings of work and holding opponents to a 0.92 ERA and a 0.64 WHIP. His season included a 13 strikeout no-hitter of Osbourn.

Nate Eikhoff (2015, VIrginia) Eikhoff anchored the Pioneer defense at shortstop and hit .455 on the season while hitting 4 home runs and leading the team in RBI’s with 27.

Jake Jansen (2017) Jansen had a stellar defensive season in centerfield and compiled a .488 on base percentage hitting at the top of the Pioneer lineup.

Brian Rall (2018) Rall did a good job handling the Pioneer pitchers and also hit .327 as a freshman, while having the same number of walks as strikeouts.

Eric Sloper (2015, Shepherd) Sloper had a strong season defensively as the other half of the Pioneer double play combination and hit .371 as well. Sloper also served as Patriot’s closer.

Addison Walker (2016) Walker hit .353 and drove in 26 runs for the Pioneers, often making opponents pay for pitching around Eikhoff.

2016 Outlook: While Patriot lost some important pieces and it’s head coach this offseason, the Pioneers look to have a deep squad in 2016 that should feature Austin Gerber (2016, Radford), Jack Howell (2016, Norfolk State), and James Price (2017) on the mound. Walker, Rall, and Jansen return to a lineup and that will be helped by the return of slugger Tanner Heltibridle (2016, College of Charleston), who did not play in 2015 due to injury. Infielders Sam Feliciano (2016, Hampden-Sydney) and Grayson Gough (2016) and outfielders Brett Lysohir (2016, Univeristy of Charleston) and Ryan Sanders (2016, Limestone) will provide upperclassmen depth to a lineup which has a chance to be one of the better ones top to bottom in the Cedar Run Conference.