The Senators 2026 season came to a close in game 3 of the semifinals against the Big Train last Monday. The Senators had a historic season and showed grit and fight throughout the whole season.
A few players from last year's team were set to play for Coach Middleton again this summer. Logan Tribble (Norte Dame), Jax Nichols (Columbia State), Jack Euart (Wofford) and Dawson Wetherald (Mount Aloysius) were all returning for another season as a Senator. With only 4 returners this meant there was going to be a lot of new faces for coach Middleton and the Senators.
The Senators had their first 3 games at home and dropped their opener against the Grays. After the second game, the Binghamton players (Conlan Taylor, Chase Fulford, Braylen Gonzalez and Zach Anderson) and Yale players (Jackson Hays and Nick West) arrived after their regional appearance in the Men’s College World Series Tournament, bolstering the Senators lineup.
Bud Coombs (Vanderbilt) arrived after transferring from Maryland to Vanderbilt, and the Senators went on a tear. They won 6 straight games and scored 74 runs over that stretch, including a James Carlson walkoff homer in a 7-6 win against the Thunderbolts. The Senators would finish the month of June in first place in the South region, with a 15-8 record.
Going into July, the Senators lost some of their key players due to injury and early departures. Kieran Kehoe (Iona) had a near .300 average and James Carlson (Youngstown State) belted 4 homers before they both went back home. Bud Coombs went down with a hamstring injury, but before then he had 5 homers a .435 avg and 19 RBIs.
The Senators continued to do well in the month of July. They went 8-6 and finished with a 23-14 record, a franchise record for wins. The Senators also added two more walkoffs to their resume, with a walkoff against the Aces on July 13th and another 7-6 walkoff against the Thunderbolts in their last regular season home game on July 20th. Funnily enough, this was the third time the Senators beat the Thunderbolts 7-6 this year.
Although the Senators kept winning games, they kept losing players, which hurt the depth of the team. Outfielders Braylen Gonzalez and Josh Tseronis (Delaware) both got injured, making them the 3rd and 4th primary outfielder that the Senators lost this year. They lost a 5th one because Logan Tribble had to depart for another collegiate summer ball league.
Despite all this the Senators were able to secure the 3 seed in the playoffs and got matched up against the 8th seeded Thunderbolts after they upset the #5 seeded Giants. Brody Juntunen (Florida Atlantic), Will Petteys (Southern Illinois) and Ryan Conrad (Villanova) shutdown the Thunderbolts offense, leading to a 3-1 wild card win.
In the semi-finals, the Senators got matched up with the 2 seed and back-to-back-to-back defending champion Bethesda Big Train. They went down on the road 6-2 in game one. In game 2 with their backs against the wall, Will Petteys put the team on his back and threw 8 shutout innings before Ryan Conrad shut the door in a 2-0 win. Sadly, the Senators would fall to the Big Train on the road, ending their season the following day. This is the third straight year that the Senators were eliminated by the Big Train in the playoffs.
Although the Senators didn’t win the championship, it was still a great season nonetheless. Head Coach Scott Middleton got his 200th win coaching collegiate summer baseball. The Senators had 3 all-stars, Brody Juntunen, Conlan Taylor and Bud Coombs. Juntunen was the Ace of the team. He had a 3.24 ERA and led the league in wins with 4. He also led the league in strikeouts with 37. Conlan Taylor was arguably the best reliever all year in the Cal Ripken league. He had an ERA of 0 when he was selected for the all-star game and finished the Season with an ERA of 0.38. Taylor also had 3-0 record, along with 26 strikeouts. Bud Coombs season was cut short, but his .435 average, 19 RBI’s and 24 runs scored in 12 games was impressive. His 5 homers has him tied for 4th place in the league, despite playing 1/3 of the games.
Other bright spots on the team were Chase Fulford, Cole Rhame (Richmond) and Will Petteys. Fulford had the highest average on the team at .350 and led the league in stolen bases with 27. Cole Rhame led the team in RBIs with 26 alongside Jackson Hays. Rhame was second on the team in average, batting .324 with an OBP of .472. Will Petteys had a 2-0 record and was second in the league behind Juntunen with 34 strikeouts.
This year’s Senators team accomplished a lot. They won the most games in franchise history, had 3 all-stars, won a wild card playoff game and made countless memories. Thank you to all the fans, host families, players, coaches, interns, sponsors, trainers, and everyone else who supported this team. This season wouldn’t’ have happened without all of these people, so thank you all for your hard work and support. See you all next season in 2027!
