By: Sam Allen
Anchor Sports Writer
Since they were thirteen years old, cousins Brent and Dan Hopkins have played baseball on the same teams. Both natives of Cranston, they’ve played Babe Ruth together, summer leagues
team together, and went on to play at three different colleges together. On every team, there was a strong sense of competition between them; a competitiveness that their teammates soon possessed as well. Despite any competition between the two there is a common piece; Every team Brent and Dan Hopkins have been on together has won.
Dan Hopkins is the starting first basemen for the Anchormen, and according to head coach Scott Virgulak, one of the smartest guys on and off the field. He is the quieter cousin but excels in the classroom as a political science major. Brent Hopkins is a starting outfielder and is more vocal than his cousin. He has bragging rights over Dan after his high school baseball team from Lasalle Academy knocked Dan’s team from Cranston West out of the run for the state finals during their senior year during the only years that the two played on separate teams. “All I wanted to do was beat Cranston West,” said Brent. Dan quickly answered back, “for once.” Cranston West won two years in a row leading up to that season. After they graduated high school, they packed their bags and went to UMass-Amherst together. Although Brent played in seven games for the Minutemen, they both decided it wasn’t the best fit for them. As a pair they made a choice to leave UMass-Amherst and transfer to the Community College of Rhode Island. At CCRI it was Dan who led the way as he put up the bigger numbers for the Knights for their sophomore year. As a pair they led the team to a 23-14 record before they made a second transfer, this time to RIC to join the Anchormen.
The cousins have always been competitive with one another and so have all the teams they have been on. The team this year joins in with their competitiveness, putting The Anchor’s sports section picks up in the locker room two weeks ago that pinned the cousins against each other for most hits. Brent commented on how strong the team is as a whole this year due to the amount of competitiveness there is. “Everyone is coming together and it’s not all on one person’s shoulders,” Brent added. “Everyone wants to get the most hits and have the highest batting average on the team which helps the team in the long run. If everyone is aiming for the fence, there will be more chances for big hits.”
When asked which cousin has the highest batting average, Dan remarked, “The only stat that matters is wins and losses.” As of Saturday April 7, the cousins are tied with a .299 batting average.
Dan and Brent are looking forward to the remainder of the season and have a strong sense that the team, as a whole, will do well. “We weren’t this good at this time last year,” said Brent. Last year, with Brent and Dan as new members of the team, the Anchormen won the Little East. They hope this year they can continue the record of never losing when together on a team.
