While the Pearl River baseball team has 12 seniors on the roster this year, only two of them are returning starters.
So when the Pirates kick off their 2012 season 4:30 p.m. today against Byram Hills at home, their team might have some familiar faces, yet at the same time a very different look.
“We’ve got [third baseman] Jake [Tedesco] and shortstop Connor Madigan back,” Coach Bruce Miller said. “So we have a lot of new guys starting, but they’re guys that played for us a bit last year, so they’ve got some experience.”
Still, Miller likes his team heading into the season and thinks they have a chance to improve upon last year, when the Pirates won their league going 15-5. The Pirates lost to Nyack in the playoffs, which then lost to Tappan Zee, which won the Section 1 championship. Both of those teams are in the same league as Pearl River, along with Albertus Magnus and Nanuet.
“In our league alone you have Nyack and Tappan Zee, who won the section last year,” Miller said. “So seeing both of those teams do well in the playoffs last year makes me think we can definitely compete.”
The way the Pirates plan to compete this year is the old-school approach of pitching and defense. The pitching staff is led by senior Brendan Ryan, who will pitch for Albany after graduating this year. Ryan also plays first base.
“We have a lot of pitching depth, and it starts with Brendan,” Miller said. “He’s our guy at the front of the rotation, and then I really like our defense, especially up the middle.”
For Ryan, he said he’s going to have to do more than just pitch well as the team’s number one starter.
“I have to lead by example,” Ryan said. “I have to show up everyday and work hard so the newer guys can see how we do things.”
Miller said seniors of the team, like Ryan and Tedesco, have already shown a willingness to do that.
“They’ve done a good job leading the team,” Miller said. “During practice they’re constantly talking to some of the younger players, helping them with drills and telling them what they’re supposed to be doing.”
Tedesco is the team’s leading returning hitter. He added, though, that pitching and defense is the team’s strength.
“Hitting is definitely a concern right now,” Tedesco said.
Ryan added that even if offense is a team’s weakness, he doesn’t think it puts added pressure on the pitching staff.
“We’ll just need to manufacture runs however we can,” he said.
The Pirates will get plenty of chances to learn more about themselves early in the year, as they travel to Florida from April 4-11.
By Adam Littman
