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PSA restarts baseball team
Putnam Science Academy is fielding a baseball team for the first time since 2014 and coach Bob Hetu couldn’t be more excited about it.
The Mustangs recently wrapped up their fall season, which consisted of a lot of practices and a lot of scrimmages with Springfield Commonwealth Academy, giving Hetu a much more comfortable feeling for when the games count come spring.
“It is an honor to have the first team back at PSA and the kids will be proud to represent PSA in its ground-breaking season,” Hetu said. “But I think it will really hit them at the end of the season.
“When the team is recruited you really don’t know what it’s going to look like. But I was pleasantly surprised in the athletic ability we have in each position. We have depth in every position. We have multiple players in each position competing for starting roles, which creates a very competitive culture every day.”
One of those positions is behind the plate where Alberto Cantalini, Omar Burgos, and David Batista have all impressed.
“They’ve caught my eye,” Hetu said. “Their skill sets are very strong but their leadership was tremendous.”
Said Cantalini: “There is a great opportunity to get better here. We have 6 a.m. lifts three times a week. We have practice right after school. We have the cage right outside our dorms. We can go out and hit or throw whenever we want. And all the guys want to get better so it’s easier to get better when you’re around guys like that.”
Cantalini is one of two Mustangs who have already committed to college; he is headed to Southern New Hampshire University next fall, while outfielder Enger Paulino just announced his commitment to Assumption College.
The Mustangs will spend the winter months training indoors at the Connecticut Baseball Academy in Hartford, which Hetu co-founded and will give players access to all of the latest technology and tools vital for their growth.
Hetu will continue to recruit some, as he hopes to bring in another top-tier pitcher for the second semester and spring season. That’s when the real fun begins. PSA will be a member of the Tri-State Wood Bat League with teams like Winchendon, Marianapolis, Pomfret, Springfield Commonwealth, St. Thomas More, and MacDuffie, and play roughly 30 games all together.
A week’s worth of those games will come over the school’s Spring Break in March, as the team will load up the vans and head for an event in Myrtle Beach, S.C.
“I’m looking forward to that,” Hetu said, “because we will certainly come together on and off the field as a team.
“But I really can’t wait to see how we compete against the region’s best. How do we compete against ECSU and Mitchell? How do we do against the ranked teams on our schedule? I can’t wait. I really expect greatness from this team.
Stephen Nalbandian
Sports Information Director
Putnam Science Academy