Baseball Set for Opening Pitch and Spring Break Trip
Cougars Ready to Play Ball in 2026
Cougars baseball is prepped to open the 2026 season, traveling to upstate New York for a doubleheader on March 11th before heading out for their annual trip to Davenport, FL to play in the RussMatt Invitational Tournament during spring break. Holyoke will play a pair against Mohawk Valley CC on the 11th to start the campaign, game one of the doubleheader beginning at 2pm. The Cougars will then play six total games between March 16th and 19th at the RussMatt Invitational, including a non-NJCAA game against a team from Canada. This is the fourth straight year that the Cougars will travel to Florida to partake in the invitational tournament.
Holyoke has three second-year players returning from last season all of whom are poised to lead this year's team into competition. Xavion Maldonado (Chicopee, MA / Chicopee HS) and Matt Drobiak (Holyoke, MA / South Hadley HS) were among the top performing athletes from last season's Cougar team. Maldonado was second on the team in batting average in 2025, hitting .397 as a freshman. He was third on Holyoke in both RBI's and hits and he was chosen to the All-New England (All-Region) team. Drobiak batted .333 last season and led the Cougars in doubles. He was second on the squad in home runs and extra base hits. Drobiak made several appearances on the mound and was second on Holyoke in strikeouts thrown and third in innings pitched.
Men's baseball will play a majority of their March games on the road. Their home opener is scheduled for Thursday, March 26th at 3:30pm against regional opponent Roxbury CC. The home game will be Holyoke's 11th game of the season should none of their away games get cancelled. Let's go Cougars!
Photo: Maldonado during the 2025 season.
3/11 update: Men's baseball doubleheader @ Mohawk Valley CC cancelled due to weather.