By Bevin Bixby
I&M Staff Writer
The varsity baseball team kicked off its season Sunday by scrimmaging three teams at the Falcon Festival in Mashpee.
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Photo by Nicole Harnishfeger
Brian Reis heads from second to third in the second game of Nantucket’s three-game scrimmage Sunday in the Falcon Festival at Mashpee. |
The Whalers squared off against Wachusett, Gardner and Hudson, none of whom they’ll face this season, in preparation for the real schedule, which was supposed to start Tuesday at Blue Hills. The game was postponed to today, however, due to inclement weather. The Whalers are also scheduled to face Chatham at home Saturday in a double-header, at 10:30 a.m. and 1 p.m.
The Whalers won once and lost twice on Sunday, but head coach Art Crowley was quick to point out that the scrimmages weren’t about keeping score.
“We’re not here worrying about winning games, just looking at what we need to work on,” he said.
Crowley said he was very pleased with all three facets of his team’s play: pitching, hitting and catching. He is confident that defense will be their strong suit this season. “Spots of our defense certainly were botchy, making mistakes. So easy plays were bound to happen, but it’s better to have it happen in the preseason.”
Assistant coach Nick Duarte was also pleased with the pitching. “I thought all the pitchers did very well, throwing strikes and getting them off-balance. It’s exactly what we wanted to do.”
Duarte was also happy with some of the hitting. “Erik Hughes’ hitting has turned around, both he and Tomas (Smaliorius) smashed a couple balls. It was nice to see.”
The team was missing two veteran players – first baseman Adam Spencer and right/center-fielder Anthony Valero – due to illness. Crowley was impressed with how well the team was able to compensate.
“Just a little more work, a couple more games, and we’ll see a big improvement,” Duarte said.
JV baseball
As Coach Dennis Caron put it, “It was a muck and mud game. Very wet. Very sloppy. The pitchers couldn’t hold the ball and the catchers had mud all over them.” The JV team traveled to Blue Hills Monday only to have the game called after three innings due to rain with the score tied 4-4. The JV Whalers will travel back to Blue Hills later this season to play a full game for the books.
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Photo by Nicole Harnishfeger
Nantucket baseball action during a series of scrimmages held at Mashpee High School Sunday March 30, 2008. |
The team was also scheduled to travel to Martha’s Vineyard yesterday, too late for this edition of Sports, and host a double-header against Chatham at home Saturday.
Despite the rain, Monday’s game proved to be a positive experience for the young team.
“I hadn’t really seen them in action. It was very instructive to watch them play. I definitely saw some things we’ll need to work on. Under those conditions they played very well, and those were bad conditions.”
As for the defense, “we have to work on better recognition of how to field the positions, and we need to work the outfield. It’s still very early in the season and it takes a while to get the team solidified,” Caron said.
In the third inning, Jake Molloy made it to first on a walk, stole second and got to third on a passed ball. He was able to score on a ground-out, putting the Whalers ahead 4-2. But Blue Hills was able to score two runs in the bottom of the third to tie the game. Freshman Nick Lombardi pitched the three-inning game and had five strikeouts.
Offensively Caron thinks his team will “swing the bats pretty well,” adding that “if we hit, get some good defense and good pitching, we’re going to be a good team.”
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