NORTH PENN KNIGHTS BASEBALL PREVIEW
Coach: Kevin Manero (3rdseason as head coach; 12thseason overall)
Last year's record:17-10; 9-5 in Cont. Conference; PIAA AAAA State Champion (defeated Lower Dauphin 6-5 in 9 innings)
Notable Losses:
Brian Maher RHP (LaSalle); 9-1, 1.68 ERA; 67ip; 30K, 7BB
Brady West OF (Bloomsburg); .400, 2HR, 14 RBI, 12 SB, 26 RS
Dylan Borawski RHP (Northampton CC); 3-2, 2.45 ERA; 9in CG in state final
Eddie Posavec C (Binghamton); 99AB, 26 GP, all behind the plate
Key returning players: Jared Melone 3B (Jr); Mason Nadeau OF (Soph); Chris Kersey SS (Sr); Bobby Scott C (Sr.); Anthony Cameron 2B (Jr)
Others to watch: Kellen Williamson P (Jr); James Witner P (Jr); Logan Leslie P (Jr); Collin Healey P (Jr); Noah Melchior P (Sr); Doug Apple OF/1B (Jr); Kadar Namey 1B/P (So); Kris Akins OF (Sr)
Strengths of the team: Good young core of players who saw big innings and played well in 2013 postseason
Depth on the mound despite losing top 2 arms from 2013
Question marks: As always in high school, there are key positions vacated by key graduates from last year’s roster. There will be healthy competition at some positions, and the likely loss of early season games will mean trial by fire for some of the guys competing for those spots.
Outlook: With a strong core of young players and a few key seniors who played big roles in 2013, it is a group that has worked very hard and can’t wait to get back out on the field. It will all come down to playing smart, aggressive baseball and as always, execution. The league is always one of the most competitive around, so there are never any easy games, and many teams will be out to take the top spot, so it comes down to playing fundamental, aggressive baseball regardless of who is in the lineup or on the other side of the field on any given day. If we execute on both sides of the ball, we feel confident we can be in a good position.
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