There’s always pressure being the top seed in a tournament. 

Every team is gunning for you, you are never underestimated and you’re going to get each opponent’s best punch to try to take you out. Combine that with the MIAA postseason being a single game elimination tournament, and there’s no guarantee the end of the bracket will feature the top seeds.

Just look at this spring. The Division 1 baseball semifinals consist of the Nos. 2, 4, 8 and 14 seeds, and the Div. 3 baseball Final Four consists of a 7, 9 and 13 seed, with upsets taking place throughout each bracket. 

That makes what the Pioneer baseball and Turners Falls and Greenfield softball teams have done this spring all the more impressive. 

The Panthers entered the Div. 5 state tournament as the top seed and have looked the part throughout, winning all three of their games to reach the semifinals for the fourth year in a row. Turners entered the Div. 5 field as the defending champs and the top seed, yet are still standing going into the semifinals. As is Greenfield, the No. 2 seed and the 2022 and 2023 state champions. 

Here’s a look at each semifinal matchup: 

Pioneer vs. Hopedale, at Westfield State, Wednesday at 4 p.m.

It’s been a year to remember for Pioneer athletics. 

The Panther boys soccer team captured the Western Mass. Class D title and lost just two games all season, the Pioneer boys basketball team went unbeaten to win a Class D and Div. 5 state championship, and the Panther baseball team currently holds an unbeaten 24-0 record as it heads into Wednesday’s contest against Hopedale, with Pioneer winning the Class D title as well. 

There’s no resting on their laurels for this Panther group. Pioneer has been in this spot the last three years, one game away from playing for a state championship, but has been unable to get over the last hurdle of winning that semifinal contest. 

With the team it has, led by a strong senior group, the Panthers feel this is the year they can make the leap. 

“We broke the Final Four curse in basketball,” senior Alex McClelland said Sunday. “Now we have to break it in baseball.”

It’s easy to see why. Pioneer came into the state tournament with a 202-39 run differential, and the team hasn’t given up more than five runs in any of its regular season games or three Western Mass. tournament contests. 

The Panthers opened their state tournament run with a 12-1 victory over No. 33 West Boylston, grinded out an extra-inning victory over No. 16 Georgetown in the Round of 16, and in the quarterfinals, picked up an 8-1 win over Suburban League West foe Greenfield to reach the semifinals. 

With a rotation that includes Ethan Quinn, Jackson Glazier and Ben Werner at the top, it’s easy to see why teams have had such a hard time producing runs against the Panthers this spring. Factor in a defense that doesn’t make many mistakes and Pioneer coach Kevin Luippold can go into each game confident that if they can have a decent day at the plate they’ll be able to come out victorious. 

Luckily for Luippold, he has a lineup that tends to do better than just ‘decent’ at the plate. Seniors Braeden Tsipenyuk, Jackson Campbell, Alex McClelland, Quinn and Ethan Mauthe lead off the order of a team averaging 9.4 runs per game while Evan Tsipenyuk, Brody Welcome, Werner and Glazier are all capable bats at the bottom of the order. 

Pioneer knows it’ll have to be at its best to pick up a win against Hopedale Wednesday. The Blue Raiders earned the No. 4 seed following a 13-7 regular season and reached the semifinals with wins over No. 29 Hull (13-4), No. 13 Carver (6-3) and No. 5 Ware (6-1). 

Don't let the record fool you. Of its 20 regular season games, one came against a Div. 1 opponent, two came against Div. 2 opponents, five came against Div. 3 foes, four came against Div. 4 opponents and eight were against Div. 5 teams. 

Hopedale has been a staple in the Div. 5 tournament since the realignment, with a history of playing the Panthers in big games. The Blue Raiders knocked off Pioneer in the semifinals in 2022 but fell to Mount Greylock in the championship game. They made a run to the quarterfinals in 2023 but were knocked off by the Panthers. Hopedale was the No. 2 seed last year but was upset by No. 31 Westfield Tech in the Round of 32, giving it extra motivation this season. 

The winner on Wednesday will take on the winner of No. 2 Boston English and No. 3 Drury. English is the defending Div. 5 champs while the Panthers and Blue Devils played in the regular season, a game Pioneer won, 5-4. 

Turners Falls vs. Georgetown, at UMass Lowell, Wednesday at 5 p.m. 

It’ll be a rematch of the 2024 state championship game in Lowell on Wednesday. 

Turners won the 11th state title in program history with a 5-0 win over Georgetown at UMass, and if the Thunder want to keep the dream of a 12th championship and third-straight state finals appearance alive, it’ll have to get through the Royals in the semifinals this year.

Turners earned the top seed in the Div. 5 field after a 17-4 regular season that saw it capture a Western Mass. Class D title along the way. In states, the Thunder blew past No. 33 Rising Tide (12-0), held on for a victory over No. 17 Drury (1-0) and pulled away late against No. 9 Narragansett (6-3) to reach the semifinals. 

It all starts with Madi Liimatainen for the Thunder. The senior eclipsed the 1,000 strikeout mark in the circle earlier in the season, is just as strong at the plate and has been Turners’ catalyst in reaching the last two championship games. 

Being the defending state champs and the top seed means the Thunder are going to get every team’s best punch, and that’s been true this postseason as Turners has been tested in the Round of 16 and Elite 8. 

“Everybody that's made it to these rounds deserves to be here, and so do we,” Liimatainen said after the win over Narragansett Sunday. “The teams we're playing want to beat us just as bad as we want to beat them, if not more. We're playing really well right now. The better competition makes us play better.”

Liimatainen doesn’t have to do it alone. Mia Marigliano and Marilyn Abarua are seniors who have been key cogs for the Thunder throughout the season while Maddie Dietz, Janelle Masey, Autumn Thornton and Addison Talbot started in the state title game a year ago and are all key players for Turners. Throw in a coach like Gary Mullins who eclipsed the 800 win mark this season and it’s no wonder the Thunder have had the level of success they’ve had these last few seasons. 

Georgetown (20-3) was a young team last year when it reached the title game, as that roster had just one senior, no juniors, eight sophomores, three freshmen and four eighth graders on it. It was maybe a year early for the Royals but that young team gained valuable experience along the way and proved it’ll be a force for years to come. 

Entering the state tournament with a 17-3 record, fourth-seeded Georgetown opened with a 12-0 triumph over No. 29 SICS, followed with a 6-0 victory over No. 13 Wareham and beat No. 5 Maynard, 4-3, in the quarterfinals. 

The only teams to beat the Royals this season were Concord-Carlisle, Gloucester and Pentucket. Concord-Carlisle made the Div. 1 tournament, Gloucester reached the D3 quarterfinals and Pentucket made it to the D3 Round of 16. Of its 17 wins in the regular season, one came against a D2 opponent, five came against D3 squads, nine came against D4 teams and just two were against Div. 5 squads, showing the level of competition Georgetown has seen throughout this spring. 

On the season, the Royals have a 244-68 run differential. 

The winner of this game takes on the winner of the game below. 

Greenfield vs. Hopedale, at Westfield State, Thursday at 5 p.m. 

It felt like Turners and Greenfield were on a collision course to meet in the state championship game for a second straight year last spring when the Green Wave were upset in the quarterfinals as the top seed in the Div. 5 field. 

A similar story could have played out this year, as second-seeded Greenfield trailed West Boylston 4-0 in its quarterfinal game on Sunday but showed resilience and rallied to a 5-4 win to keep its season and dream of a third state title in four years alive. 

Before the win over West Boylston, the Green Wave beat No. 31 Sturgis Charter East (19-0) and No. 15 Millis (9-1) in the state tournament. Greenfield completed its regular season with a 15-6 record, capturing a Western Mass. Class C title before states. 

Like Turners, it all starts in the circle for the Wave. MacKenzie Paulin was Greenfield’s pitcher during its two state championship teams and now a senior, Paulin is poised to close her career with a third title. Paulin also eclipsed the 1,000 strikeout mark this spring and is just as big a threat when at the plate herself. 

After losing a number of key players the last few years, it was a retooling season for the Wave. Paulin and Anna Bucala are the lone senior starters while Gloria McDonald, Sophia Rotkiewicz, Meghan Collins, Bianca Reynolds and Grace Laurie were the fellow returners from last year’s team. 

Olivia Lemay and Madison Lemay, both freshmen, have been consistent starters for the Wave this spring, and Madison Lemay has started behind the plate throughout the year. Fellow freshman Sarah McCloud has secured a spot in right field while eighth graders Carson Farrell and Kayden Viencek are both contributing for Greenfield. 

Those young players are now veterans as the season draws to a close, and Greenfield coach Ray Dodge said it’s been a big boost getting production out of the entire lineup. 

“You need the bottom three in your order to come through and that’s what happened,” Dodge said after the win over West Boylston. “We didn’t make any errors today and we’ll have to keep doing that. No errors, good pitching and timely hitting can carry the day.” 

After late-season losses to Hampshire and Westfield, both teams still alive in the D4 and D2 tournaments respectively, the Green Wave have won seven in a row heading into Thursday with a run differential of 73-10 over that span. 

Just like Greenfield, Hopedale is heating up at the right time of year. 

The third-seeded Blue Raiders won their first six games of the season, lost five of their next 10 but have won seven in a row heading into Thursday. Hopedale opened the tournament with an 8-3 victory over No. 35 Academy of Notre Dame, took down No. 19 David Prouty in the Round of 16 (12-0) before beating No. 6 Hoosac (2-1) in the quarterfinals. 

Like Georgetown, it’s taken a bigger school to take down the Blue Raiders this year. Hopedale (18-5) has only lost to Div. 3 Nipmuc twice, Div. 4 Uxbridge, Div. 4 Millbury and Div. 5 Maynard. Nipmuc and Uxbridge are both in the semifinals while Maynard reached the D5 quarters. 

Hopedale has been knocking on the door of a state title, falling to Turners in the semifinals as the No. 3 seed a year ago. It also made it to the Round of 16 in 2023 and in 2022, fell to the Wave in the quarterfinals. 

The Blue Raiders have outscored their opponents 239-58 on the year.