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WOODSTOCK — The Woodstock Academy baseball coach Brian Murphy is hoping that building through the program will pay positive dividends this season.
The Centaurs lost 10 varsity players including three of their top pitchers, All-Eastern Connecticut Conference performer David Redfield, Alden Brennan, and Zach Gagnon, to graduation.
That means those who labored in the junior varsity ranks last year will now get their chance to shine especially on the mound.
Pitching is always the big consideration with a pitch-count rule now in place by the Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference.
“That’s especially tough in New England because we set up a schedule that works for everyone and then, there is snow on the ground. What ends up happening is that you play three or four games a week and a lot of teams are not designed to accomplish that. You pull up some players from JV to pitch some varsity games for you,” said Murphy.
Junior Luke Mathewson will be the top starter on the hill for the hill for the Centaurs.
“He’s stronger than last season and he looks good. If (Ben) Holden and (Tommy) Li do well, we could be surprisingly good on the mound,” Murphy said.
“When the team is on a losing streak maybe or having trouble winning games back-to-back, I want to be responsible for coming in there and getting the win,” Mathewson said of his new role of ace of the staff.
Holden is a junior who will see lots of time on the hill and will also play in the outfield. Li is only a sophomore but has shown good mechanics, according to Murphy, not only as a pitcher but also behind the plate and in the infield.
The Centaurs will only have three starters back in Mathewson, who will also play shortstop; Nathan John who will occupy one of the corners of the infield and catcher Eric Preston.
“Preston is one of our leading hitters. John played a lot of varsity as a sophomore and swings a great bat. Mathewson saw a lot of reps at short,” Murphy said. “We are looking to rebuild the varsity squad but assisting this process will be a group of seasoned junior varsity players,” Murphy said.
Those players include senior Jake Racicot who will play outfield, but is also capable on the mound and Murphy is counting on him for some innings this season.
Seniors Tyler Mathieu (second base), Cam Lotter (infielder-outfielder), Zach Ellsworth (first base-outfield-pitcher), Jake Lavitt (outfield) and junior Avery Riva (outfield) matriculate from the junior varsity to varsity squad.
“They were on JV to get a lot of reps, not that they couldn’t be on varsity, but I wasn’t going to keep 19 kids and have them sit the bench. I carried 13 and pulled up kids as we needed. We have three kids on the bubble who are juniors who will play JV because they need (playing time). As I told them, I expect to hear from their coach that I have to bring them up.”
Among the newcomers will be Nick Niemiec, who transferred in from Marianapolis, and will catch and play first. Sophomores Li and Doug Newton, an infielder, will also see varsity time.
“I think we will have plenty of offense between small ball and hitting into the gaps and, hopefully, against the fence,” Preston said.
It’s a group that will have to take on a very talented Eastern Connecticut Conference.
“It’s very competitive,” Murphy said. “You have kids (in Southeast Connecticut) who have not only played Little League ball together but also travel ball. Traditionally, in this area, kids play Little League and take the summer off. About six years ago, Brian Levesque, Jim Yaworski and I started the Connecticut Mustangs in Brooklyn and we are proud to say we have five age groups playing summer ball. I see the tide turning.”
The Centaurs finished 9-13 last year, 3-7 in Division II of the Eastern Connecticut Conference, but were competitive.
They fell to East Lyme, which finished 21-4, 1-0 on the Vikings’ home field and lost to Montville in two games by a total of five runs.
“This year, we’re going to be young but we’re going to be competitive,” Murphy said. “I never set the bar low. We want win ECC Division II and the state tourament, but I also give the kids personal goals, both academically and on the field.”
Schedule:
Tuesday, Apr. 3: Wheeler 4 p.m.
Friday, Apr. 6: Ellis Tech 4 p.m.
Tuesday, Apr. 10: at Windham 4 p.m.
Thursday, Apr. 12: Montville 4 p.m.
Friday, Apr. 13: St. Bernard 4 p.m.
Tuesday, Apr. 17: at Killingly 4 p.m.
Thursday, Apr. 19: at Waterford 4 p.m.
Monday, Apr. 23: Stonington 4 p.m.
Wednesday, Apr. 25: Bacon Academy 4 p.m.
Friday, Apr. 27: New London 4 p.m.
Monday, Apr. 30: at East Lyme 4:30 p.m.
Wednesday, May 2: Killingly 4 p.m.
Friday, May 4: Waterford 4 p.m.
Monday, May 7: Putnam 4 p.m.
Tuesday, May 8: at Bacon Academy 4 p.m.
Thursday, May 10: at Stonington 4 p.m.
Tuesday, May 15: at Montville 4 p.m.
Thursday, May 17: Fitch 4 p.m.
Marc Allard
Sports Information Director
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