With spring just around the corner, the Triton Vikings are starting tryouts mid-march including boys baseball.
Preparing for the season has started prior to tryouts with captain’s practices already taking place indoors, on the weekends.
“I think we’ll be really strong this year,” said senior captain Josh Penney.
The program has been focused on indoor work for extra reps so students can be in tip-top shape for tryouts, and to be prepared to play when the weather lightens up. The program is especially dense this year, with waivers allowing 8th graders to compete alongside the rest of the high school players. The 8th graders were added to try and complete the freshman team for the season.
“It’s always good to see new faces in the program,” said Penney
A standout feature of any program are of course the players. With most of last year’s team returning, Varsity is densely packed with solid talent that already have some team chemistry built up from last season, which head coach Kyle Priest stressed will be what makes or breaks the Triton Vikings.
“Team chemistry is the thing that separates good teams from championship teams, you have to play for something bigger than yourself and have full trust in the guys around you that they’re doing the same,” said Priest.
Varsity’s top hitters include Senior captains Josh Penney, Connor Rumph, and Josh Hersey. The infield consists of first baseman Adam White, second base Adrien Meza Pina, short stop Connor Rumph, third base Genaro Carrillo, catcher Josh Hersey, outfielders Beckham Zizza Nick Bonasera and Liam Friis.
The ability to win baseball games is kindled well before the players hit the field for their first game, which is why it is so important that there is clear leadership amongst the coaches and players.
“We need our seniors and our leaders to hold everyone to that standard and expectation from day one of tryouts,” Priest said.
Triton’s leadership is much stronger this year, with new assistant coaches Nick Palma and Nick Lapiorre working alongside head coach Kyle Priest. Both coaches are specialists from Antonelli Baseball Club. Palma focuses on hitting whilst Lapiorre focuses on pitching. This is a great addition to the program as players will have access to specialized coaching depending on what they need help with. As for player leadership, Priest looks towards legacy players to pick up the mantle.
“You can’t win anything without having great senior leadership,” Priest said.
Senior captains Josh Hersey, Connor Rumph, Josh Penney, and Nick Bonasera have worked tirelessly to organize the previously mentioned captains’s practice to give players extra reps and looks, and will continue to organize behind the scenes as the season progresses. They predict the biggest rival team to be against Newburyport, a real roadblock in the way of what can be a great run for the CALs.
“It’d be awesome to win over Port this year,” Said Bonasera.
With the season just beginning, the Vikings look to hit the ground running and make a real effort to seize the CAL championship and leave their mark on the baseball diamond.
