Owls fly South for start of season
March 13, 2009
By Jeff Hanouille, Westfield Evening News Staff Writer
WESTFIELD The Westfield State College baseball team is flying south for a while, but it's business, not pleasure, which will bring the team to Florida Friday morning in their annual spring trip.
The Owls, 2008 MASCAC regular season co-champions and MASCAC tournament finalists, play 10 games in Florida starting this Saturday to kickstart the 2009 season.
Head coach Ray Arra said his team, which was ranked No. 1 in the MASCAC preseason polls, is the best team he's fielded in a long time.
"We're looking for big things this year," said Arra, who guided the Owls to a MASCAC tournament win in 2007. "I think we're going to do very, very well this year. Our pitching is stronger, hitting stronger, we're going to hit more long balls, our defense is very good, catching good, and the kids are dedicated and have been working hard all year. We are ready to go."
The emphasis on hitting long balls this year is a bit of a changeup to Arra's usual small-ball approach.
A glance at the roster, though, and it's no wonder why the coach says his team has the potential to hit some bombs.
Sophomore Will Garner (Marlboro, Hudson Catholic) measures in at 6 feet 7 inches, 255 pounds and should provide some pop. Ben Campbell (Easthampton, Smith Voke) is also a big addition, coming in at 6-foot-1, 205 pounds.
Returnees Kevin Lyons, Cagney Turner, Jeff Fields and Ben Wagner are all projected to have better years offensively while 6-foot-1 freshman third baseman Matt Kelly (Weymouth, BC High) comes off a high school season where his team defeated Westfield High School for the Massachusetts state championship.
For pitching, senior Steve Sullivan (Quincy) will anchor the rotation while junior Dave Glass, senior Josh Perches, and junior Jesse Vermeersch are expected to be key contributors.
Arra, though, said it's hard to single one player out on a roster filled with talent and depth.
"I expect everyone on the whole team to contribute," the coach said. "We're tough everywhere, so I expect big things."
The Owls will find out exactly how they stack up against some of the best teams in Division III this coming week, as they play other teams picked to win their respective leagues, including 2008 National Champion Trinity (Conn.) in a doubleheader next Thursday.
"I'm a firm believer that when it comes to pressure and players, the better ones will perform and the others will fold," Arra said. "So we'll see what we've got."
While the coach said he'd like to win at least seven games on the Florida trip, he wouldn't be too disappointed if his team went .500 during the tough stretch.
One thing is for sure, though. Arra said his team is going to Florida to play baseball, not take a vacation.
"We run a very structured program down there," he said. "We have two practices down there, curfews and all that kind of stuff. We keep them all baseball, all the time."