ELMIRA, N.Y. (WENY) - The PGCBL season is just one month away and the Elmira Pioneers announced their first players to be added to the 2023 roster on Tuesday.

Three of the six players who were announced are returners from last year's group, including Aiden Blake (2B), Cooper Smith (OF), and Erik Charnetski (OF/C).

Charnetski, an Elmira Notre Dame High School grad, is currently a junior at St. John Fisher University and he played a major part in the Pioneers' home crowd atmosphere with his energy and home run capability. Blake is currently leading Umass Boston with a .371 batting average, 49 hits, and 5 home runs. Smith is a sophomore at Northern Essex Community College where he is second on the team in runs with 35 and hits with 36.

The three new players include Florida Atlantic University teammates, John Schroeder and Dom Presto, and Xavier University freshman, Hayden Christiansen. 

Schroeder is a sophomore catcher at FAU where is owns a .270 batting average with 33 hits, and Presto is a sophomore infielder for the Owls. Christiansen is hitting .436 with Xavier with 17 hits and 2 home runs.

The team released a statement from Manager Andrew Drum saying "We’re very excited to have Aiden, Cooper, & Erik back this summer. They were a big part of our playoff run last summer. Schroeder and Christiansen will add a lot of experience at Catcher and bring some power into the lineup. Presto will be a big contributor in the infield this summer as well."

The Pioneers are scheduled to open the 2023 season at Historic Dunn Field when they host the Batavia Muckdogs on Friday, June 2nd at 6:35 PM.