Hornets prepare for spring sting

3/20/08

By Andrew R. Koch
Sports Editor

Fresh off their trip to Florida over winter break, the Lyndon State baseball team is busy preparing for the season as they wait for the snow to be cleared off the field.

With eight seniors and six juniors on this year’s roster, the Hornets return plenty of experience and leadership from last season, which could lead to some more wins this season.

Head coach Ryan Farley believes that senior leadership and offense are some of this team’s strengths.

“Our bats are a strong point,” Farley said. However, he did admit that since the team is practicing in the gym, the players are limited in what they can do, and he won’t know for sure what guys are capable of until they can start practicing outside.

“Everyone looks good in the gym,” Farley said.

One of the pitfalls for the team is how the weather combines with their schedule to make for some long days. Most of the team’s game days consist of doubleheaders, which can affect how the players think during the course of the games.

“One of our weaknesses is staying in the game mentally, especially in the second game of a doubleheader,” Farley said, adding that players sometimes make poor decisions at the plate in those situations.

Farley has very high praise for the teams that the Hornets will play this season. He says that there are no easy wins on the schedule.

“There are no gimme games,” Farley said, mentioning that Castleton State has become a very strong baseball team.

“Castleton has built a good program. They’re fun to play against,” Farley said.

Farley, who has been the head coach for four years, thinks this is the team’s best chance to contend for postseason play. He says there’s a good possibility of going to the USCAA tournament if the team can avoid injuries and make the plays they need to make. He also believes the team’s hitting and pitching can carry them into the postseason.

The Hornets will be led by their senior captains, outfielders Adrian Guyer and Rob Malloy, and catcher Matt Lapham. Lapham spent the summer with the Vermont Mountaineers of the New England Collegiate Baseball League. Guyer will finally have a chance to play a full season after battling injuries each of the last two years.

“Hopefully I can stay healthy,” Guyer said about his final season of college baseball. “I had to do a lot more to prepare myself because of injuries.” Guyer hasn’t played a full season since his sophomore year due to a hamstring injury last year and shoulder surgery the year before that.

Junior lefthander Matt Picard will be looked upon to be the ace, the leader of the pitching staff. While he’s pleased with the honor, he believes there are several other candidates for that role.

“It’s great that Coach thinks I’m at that level. Any one of us could be the ace of the staff,” Picard said. “I’m glad that Coach sees that leadership in me.”

Picard believes that the schedule could be a pitfall when it comes to the pitching staff staying healthy. The team has to play 13 doubleheaders in order to get all their games in before the end of the season in May.

“We just need to stay healthy, pitch well, and take care of our arms,” Picard said. “And hopefully our offense will give us some support.”

The Hornets will open their season this weekend with a doubleheader at Massachusetts Maritime Academy in Buzzards Bay, Mass. Their home opener will be on April 15, a doubleheader against Daniel Webster College.