The North baseball Lions are looking to avenge a disappointing 5-16 record with a big bounce-back season this year.
The team struggled under first-year manager Mike Dooley last season, getting off to a slow start that they could never really recover from. They struggled scoring runs and had inconsistent pitching and defense, resulting in the poor record.
Despite last year’s struggles, the team is moving forward and looks to improve exponentially upon last year.
Senior outfielder and captain Tom Nitti has already noticed a change in the team’s work ethic in preseason workouts and sees it as a big positive. “This year, we’re more of a family,” Nitti said, “It’s not just a couple of guys going to work out, it’s the whole team. We’re learning to work off each other well, which should set us up for a great season.”
The team has been conducting team workouts for weeks, whether it be in the weight room, or just meeting up to run, hit, and throw.
The extra commitment being exuded in preseason serves as a positive omen for the regular season and a potential playoff run, which Nitti is hoping occurs. “Our ultimate goal is to win the state championship, but we want to win each individual game, too.”
These are certainly lofty expectations for a team coming off a disappointing season, but there is plenty of optimism surrounding the team heading into this season. Senior outfielder Mark Lezynski said, “I think we are going to have a much improved team this year. In the offseason our chemistry has grown and we are very hungry to win.” He added, “Hopefully our hard work will turn in our favor and we will be a successful team this season.”
The beauty of anticipating the baseball season is that all teams start out 0-0 and anything can happen with hard work and dedication. That is what the Lions are banking on this year as they hope to put last season far behind them.
A couple of college commitments also occurred during the offseason, as Nitti committed to play baseball at Kean University, and senior pitcher Chris Stark committed to pitch at the University of Maine.
The season will open up in grand fashion as the Lions host Middletown South on Monday, April 1 at home.