Elmira Pioneers earn five on PGCBL Midseason All-Star list
· Yahoo Sports
ELMIRA, N.Y. (WETM) – The Elmira Pioneers will be well represented on the league all-star team.
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The Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League (PGCBL) released its Midseason All-Star list and the Pioneers had five selected to the West division. Brothers and Corning grads pitchers Landen and Larsen Burch, pitcher Elmira Notre Dame grad Luke Richards, pitcher Brenden Hayes and outfielder Brett Baker were all picked for their strong first half of the year. There is no actual PGBCL All-Star Game like years past and just a selection process at the middle of the season.
Below, a full release courtesy of the Elmira Pioneers. After a tough Saturday loss on the road at Batavia, 7-6, Elmira returns home Sunday vs. Niagara Falls at 4 pm. Elmira will battle for a postseason playoff spot in the division and currently sits tied in the final position with Niagara at (15-14). The top four teams in each PGCBL division (East and West) make the playoffs.
ELMIRA, NY—Brett Baker, Landen Burch, Larsen Burch, Brenden Hayes, and Luke Richards were named, Friday morning, to the 2026 PGCBL West Division All-Star Team.
Larsen, Richards, Baker and Hayes have all been selected to player of the week awards before; meanwhile this is the first nod given to Landen since the beginning of the year.
Brett Baker has played in 23 games this season, batting .403 on the year with eight extra base hits, including a home run against the Batavia Muckdogs on July 3. 25 Runs Batted In (RBIs) on the year, with an On-Base Plus Slugging (OPS) of 1.114. For comparison, in Aaron Judge’s 2025 MVP season, he had an OPS of 1.144. Baker was named to the week five West Division Player of the Week.
Landen Burch has started six games this season and leads the PGCBL in strikeouts on the season. Just one of two pitchers to have 40+ strikeouts, Landen sits at 48, following his 11 K complete game shutout versus Newark, July 9, in a 23-0 victory. A 2.55 Earned Run Average (ERA) sits him at 3rd amongst the West Division.
The other pitcher to have 40+ strikeouts, Brenden Hayes, who sits at 2nd in the West Division for ERA (2.32) as well. Hayes has started in five games, earning a 4-1 record. A 1.39 Walks and Hits per Innings Pitched (WHIP). Hayes’ last outing was on July 4th with a complete game shutout of the Newark Pilots in game two of the double header. Hayes was named to the week five West Division Pitcher of the Week.
Larsen Burch has started two games this season, in both he was able to throw a complete game against the Niagara Ironbacks, and Olean Oilers. With a 1.62 ERA, he has thrown 16.2 Innings Pitched and allows a .136 batting average. Larsen does not qualify for season rankings—due to not having an inning pitched per game played—but is the definition of an all-star for another year with the program. Larsen was named to the week one West Division Pitcher of the Week.
The fourth pitcher selected for the Pioneers, Luke Richards, has started in just one game this season (coming in relief for two other games) and had a complete game, two hit, shutout against the Niagara Falls Americans. Richards has not had a single earned run pass by him, while striking out thirteen men. The batting average against is .098, and he was named to the week four West Division Pitcher of the Week.
The five selections were tied for third most selections for a team in the West Division—the Batavia led with nine selections, while the Ironbacks had six selections and the Jamestown Tarp Skunks tied with five.
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