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Matt Koperniak plays with the North Adams SteepleCats in 2018.

Sprechen Sie 'Baseball'? Koperniak Joins British Team in Germany

By Stephen DravisiBerkshires.com Sports
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Hoosac Valley graduate and London, England, native Matt Koperniak this week was assigned to Great Britain's team in the qualifier for the World Baseball Classic.
 
Koperniak, who is coming off a strong summer with the St. Louis Cardinals' Double A affiliate in Springfield, Mo., was assigned to Great Britain on Tuesday, one day after the Springfield Cardinals placed him on the "temporarily inactive list" with six games left in the regular season.
 
Great Britain's national team is in Germany this week to play in a six-team tournament that gets underway on Friday.
 
The British team's opener against France is at 10 a.m. 1 p.m. EDT and is available on MLB.TV  or worldbaseballclassic.com and the World Baseball Classic YouTube page.
 
Two teams from the double-elimination tournament in Regensburg, Germany, will advance to the 20-team draw in March's World Baseball Classic, the first since 2017.
 
The Classic, which will be played in the U.S., Taiwan and Japan, is waiting on four qualifiers -- two from Germany's Pool A and two from another six-team pool that plays in Panama at the end of the month.
 
Pool A, which is set to conclude on Wednesday, includes the Czech Republic, Spain, France, South Africa and host Germany.
 
A three-sport star for the Hurricanes in high school, Koperniak went on to Trinity College before signing with the Cardinals as a free agent in June 2020.
 
His amateur days included two seasons, 2018 and '19, with the North Adams SteepleCats.
 
In 106 games in the outfield this summer with Springfield, Koperniak hit .288 with 14 home runs, 13 doubles, 59 RBIs and 11 stolen bases in 15 attempts.
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Adams Lions Club Makes Anniversary Donations

ADAMS — To celebrate the 85th anniversary of receiving its charter, the Adams Lions Club awarded a total of $8,500 — $100 for each year of the club's existence — to four local organizations. 
 
These awards are in addition to the club's annual donations, such as for scholarships for local high school graduates and events for children and senior citizens.
 
Adams Beautification, Adams Fire Department, Adams Forest Wardens, and Adams Free Library received the awards, which were presented at an 85th anniversary celebration Nov. 21 at the Bounti-Fare restaurant.
 
"The motto of Lionism is 'We Serve,'" Adams Lions Club President Peter Tomyl said. "What better way to celebrate our anniversary than serving local organizations in need of support?"
 
Adams Beautification will use its grant to purchase flowers, mulch and other supplies for the public areas, such as the Route 8 rotary, Visitors Center and Adams Train Station, that it decorates seasonally to make the town more welcoming and attractive.
 
The Adams Fire Department and Forest Wardens will use their grants to upgrade equipment through the purchase of smooth-bore nozzles that reach farther than current nozzles and are easier for firefighters to handle, said Fire Chief John Pansecchi.
 
The Adams Free Library will use its grant to present two of the seven events scheduled as part of its 2025 summer reading program for children. The Science Heroes will present its Experiment Lab program for readers in Grades 6 to 12, and a former competitor in the Rubik's Cube World Championship will offer a workshop for kindergartners and up about how to crack the code of the Rubik's Cube.
 
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