Cumberland’s Kopack wins Legion final MVP
WEST WARWICK – The ending couldn’t have been more appropriate.
When first baseman Steve Andrews fielded Jake Frost’s grounder and flipped the underhand toss to righty reliever Addison Kopack covering the bag, the latter immediately wheeled around and hustled back toward the middle of the field.
He knew exactly what Upper Deck Post 14’s dramatic 11-6 victory over Gershkoff/Auburn Post 20 in the R.I. American Legion Senior Division Tournament championship game on Thursday night meant to himself and his teammates, and he wanted to initiate the celebration.
There was a massive scrum near the mound at McCarthy Field, and it took several minutes for the players to climb out of the pile and take their places down the first-base stripe. And, after tourney officials handed Upper Deck’s elders the state title trophy, there was one more piece of business to attend to – that is, the delivery of the annual David T. Kenney III Memorial Most Valuable Player Award.
That’s when it was announced that Kopack would be the recipient.
“This is amazing. This is insane,” the Cumberland High senior-to-be said afterward. “I mean, winning the state championship is enough, but this? This is surreal.”
Not really. In six tournament tilts, of which UD captured five, Kopack went an astonishing 9-for-20 (.450 batting average) with three home runs, a triple, double, five RBI and eight runs scored. He also relieved in four of the final five games, yielding three hits, one run (earned) and three walks while fanning nine.
In his last five contests at the plate, he went 8-for-17, hitting a crazy .476. Not only that, but he also saved his pitching staff from several extra-base hits against with terrific diving stops at the hot corner.
“He’s just been in a zone; he’s swinging a really hit bat right now,” stated manager Matt Allard of his stellar third baseman/reliever. “He’s been on fire the past couple of weeks.”
Kopack admitted he was disappointed with his overall play during his high school campaign, when he hit only about .270.
“I had an off year,” he explained while cradling his MVP plaque. “I hurt my left hamstring halfway through the year, and after that I had kind of a mental barrier I had problems getting over. I don’t know what it was.
“I didn’t have the kind of junior season I wanted, and it was only toward the end of the year where I really got a glimpse of what I could do (offensively). I probably hit in the high .300s in the (interscholastic) playoffs, and even had a homer against Cranston East in this same stadium (in a 2-0 win).
“Coming into these playoffs, I made a minor adjustment in my swing; it’s all how I load up,” he continued. “It’s made an astronomical difference. I don’t have to think about anything when I’m at the plate. The switch allows me to think about succeeding and what I really need to do.
“I knew coming into this tournament hat we were going to need a couple of guys to really step it up if we wanted to win it, so that’s another reason I made the adjustment. Still, I don’t credit myself at all; it was all a total team effort. Everyone had their fair share of contributing to this state championship. There was Steven (Andrews), Drew (Szafranski) and Tyler McNulty, who had to step in and take over the catching position for Reuben Hancock, whom we lost earlier in the year.
“Like I said, we had a ton of guys helping the team.”
Winning is nothing new for Kopack, who was a key spoke in the Cumberland American All-Stars’ ride to the 2014 Little League World Series. His teammates often tease him about that, but he takes it all in stride.
“You know, we had this goal set from the very first moment we all stepped on the field in June,” Kopack said. “It all had to do with the way we lost to Woonsocket (Navigant Post 85) last year.”
(He referred to UD’s ability to crush Navigant, 10-1, in the state “championship” game. Because it’s a double-elimination event, it forced an “if-necessary” tilt, but Post 85 claimed that, 7-5).
“We came so close, and it was so disappointing,” he added. “Then we (as Clippers) lost in the high school playoffs this year. We all came in wanting to get this one. I really love Legion ball because the atmosphere is amazing. High school is awesome, but Legion is where you can really ride it out and try to go as far as you possibly can. You’re not just playing for a state championship; you can go further.
“In that way, it’s a lot like Little League, where you can move on to regionals or nationals.”
He indicated he’s heard stories about UD’s 2016 trek to the American Legion World Series in Shelby, N.C. UD ended up third in the country that summer.
“I’ve talked with Drew and Steven, as well as Sean Doris’ older brother Jason; they all played with that team,” he grinned. “They couldn’t get over the experience and the quality of baseball. Can we make it that far? I think we do have a chance (because) I feel we have a really strong team with good pitching, and the guys can really hit.
“As for defense, I know we’ve thrown it around some,” he added of eight errors in the last two games alone. “But we’ve also played some really good defense, too. We’ve made some incredible plays out there. I have faith.
“We’re all hungry for more, and that starts (with the Northeast Regional Tournament at the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester beginning next Wednesday). We want to succeed there, and I think we have the collective experience to do very well.”