“I can’t wait, you build a roster for 10 months,” coach Andrew Drum said. “They are bringing that experience from the playoff run last year. We have a lot of good D1 (Division I) guys that came in, we have some good pitchers that came in, so it should be a good summer.”

Through the first two games in the Perfect Game Baseball League, both against Batavia, the team was off to a 1-1 start, winning 11-9 at home and falling 5-4 on the road.

There are some locals on the team this year like Sayre’s Nic Ficarro, Addison’s Bradyn Coletta and the lone recent high school grad on the roster, Williamson’s Erik Berkan, a future Elmira College Soaring Eagle.

“He’s (Berkan) our only high school kid, so it’s going to be a great experience for him. He’s basically going to get a full season of college ball under his belt before he steps on campus at Elmira College next year.”

Berkan just wrapped up his high school season at Williamson and now he’s preparing for his first collegiate season at Elmira College by playing for the Pioneers.

“It’s a great feeling,” Berkan said. “I was worried about where I would be playing this summer, but I’m glad (coach Andrew) Drum gave me a call and asked if I would pitch for the team. I was happy to do it, it has always been a dream of mine to play for the Pioneers at Dunn Field. Such a historic field and just a great feeling to know I’ll be playing this summer.”

It’s nice for Berkan to play near home for the summer and be nearby for his family to watch him.

“About a half hour from my house, so not a bad drive,” Berkan said. “They (the family) are stoked. They are ready to watch some real good baseball and they are ready to see me grow and learn with these guys.”

For Berkan it’s special playing for a Pioneers team that he grew up watching.

“Every summer I’d come to a couple games and just hang out and enjoy some good baseball,” Berkan said. “It was a dream of mine I achieved getting on the team.”

Berkan saw former NTL players compete for the Pioneers and he’s happy to follow in their footsteps.

“It was good to see people in the NTL make it to such a nice league for the summer, so it feels good to play ball this summer,” Berkan.

This summer Berkan is excited to play with some top level players as he prepares for college.

“In this league you have a bunch of Division I and Division II guys, so it’s good competition,” Berkan said. “Just getting there and getting more experience with better competition is going to prepare me for next year.

“You’ll learn a lot and you’ll grow and that’s all you can do if you want to get better.”

The Perfect Game Baseball League has players that Berkan will play against in college, and there are also guys who will play with Berkan at Elmira College.

“It will be good to play against some of the rivals I’ll have in college, and then I have two guys who will be at Elmira with me next year, so that’s just a great feeling to build that chemistry with them,” Berkan said.

“It (college league baseball) will be a good test for me, but I think I can hang with these guys and I’ll just learn and grow with this support from good coaching here in Elmira.”

It will be a special feeling playing for the Pioneers this year after growing up watching them.

“It will be a surreal moment, I’m really looking forward to it,” Berkan said. “Going from being a fan to now a player, I’ll have to take it all in. It will be a lot of fun.”

Visit the Pioneers website for their schedule and ticket information.