YSCC Baseball Conference Preview
(YSCC) – It's spring. As winter fades away, it's officially time for baseball season — sunny days with a light breeze, the crack of the bat, and textbook double plays. While our Yankee Small College Conference teams have already been getting in some games, conference play is almost underway. Before seeing how the season will shake out, we asked our coaches for an inside scoop to learn more about their teams.
Our first conference doubleheader will feature the Herons of Great Bay Community College and the Mustangs of Central Maine Community College. Coach Tyler Nadeau shared that his team has been preparing since last fall. Similarly, Coach Ryan Palmer said the Mustangs played their fall schedule through early November and picked up team practices in January.
Now we know success takes hard work and skill, and our teams have been putting in the work to make sure they can perform their best on the field. Coach Nadeau says that "quality at-bats" are essential for the Herons' success. Also, from Nadeau, "we have guys that have the ability to use the entire field at the plate, which allows us to take a lot of pitches because we have a lot of good two strikes hitters, which allows us to work counts and hunt for pitches we want." Coach Palmer says that the Mustangs have two things they need to do this spring: "not have so many runners left on base" and pitchers "need to do a better job working ahead in the count."
Two more teams from the YSCC will be competing this spring: the Lynx of NHTI and the Seawolves of Southern Maine Community College. Coach of the Lynx Tim Duval shared that "the team has been in constant communication during the offseason" and working out together in their indoor facility. Still, the weather is finally nice enough to head outside. Coach Nicholas Lops of the Seawolves added that his team "has worked extremely hard in the weight room during the pre-season" before starting team practices in mid-February. Coach Lops adds that "mental strength and toughness are premiums in our program."
Coach Duval shared that for the Lynx to see success this season, "the team has to focus on being efficient in everything we do." Coach Duval continued, "keeping our pitch counts low, good quality at-bats, and making the routine plays" are essential for his team. Coach Lops shared that "the two biggest areas [the Seawolves] need to improve on" are "tightening up our team defense and our pitching." He notes that it falls to the coaching staff "to get the defense and pitching up to par."
Now, these teams could not compete without our student-athletes dedication and hard work. When asked to name one or two players from their roster that stood out, our coaches struggled to pick just one. Coach Nadeau shared that he believes "we have five or six guys that could emerge as leaders on the field." Coach Nadeau added that "they all work cohesively and make it a very fun group to coach."
Both Coach Palmer and Coach Lops highlighted first how their teams are "close-knit" groups. Further, Coach Palmer noted that the Mustangs "are led by our leadoff hitter Jimmy Reed" and "Corey Armstrong is our catcher who leads the defense." More from Palmer, "Caleb Valliere is our horse on the mound," and "the new additions of Stefan Lesco, Caden Truman, Jake Arel, and Shane Sullivan give us the boost our offense needs."
Coach Lops highlighted that the captains for the Seawolves this season are Cam Cousins and Drew Martin, adding that they are both "great students, athletes, and leaders." Lops also notes that Joe Townsend "has played a huge role as a utility player and great bat for us."
Coach Duval says that the Lynx have a lot of returners from the fall. Duval points to "the leadership of veteran outfielders" Justin Paradise and Cam Anderson and pitcher and utility player Justin Cogswell. Coach Duval also mentioned the Lynx have "some key additions to [their] roster this offseason" and that the Lynx "are very eager to show the conference what we are capable of."
Our coaches are undoubtedly optimistic and looking forward to seeing how their teams perform in conference play. Who will take home the conference championship this season? Only time will tell…
Make sure to support your team this season. The first Yankee Conference matchup features a doubleheader on Tuesday, April 5 at 5 & 7 pm as the Herons of Great Bay visit the Mustangs of Central Maine.
Follow all the Yankee Small College Conference Social Media Accounts: YSCC Athletics on Facebook, Twitter @YSCC8, Instagram @yankeeconference, and our YouTube channel.
You can live stream all the Yankee Small College Conference championship games on our new BlueFrame YSCC Sports Network App. Visit the iOS or Android mobile app store and Apple TV, Roku, and Amazon Fire TV stores and search YSCC Sports.
-Jordyn Kamis, YSCC Intern