Navigant has sights set on another crown
WOONSOCKET – Navigant Post 85 skipper Derek Carignan recently recalled how thrilled he was when his bunch captured the R.I. American Legion Senior Division championship last summer at McCarthy Field in West Warwick.
After sustaining a scary loss to two-time defending champion Upper Deck Post 86/14 in the “title” tilt, which forced a “winner-take-all” scenario, Post 85 responded with a 7-5 victory.
He also admitted how disappointed he was when the club traveled to the Northeast Regional tournament at the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester and tried – and failed – to overcome a disastrous weather week.
“After driving to Northboro to try and play a game (that due to the Crusaders’ diamond being flooded by a ridiculously-powerful cloud burst), it started pouring again and we got rained out,” Carignan stated. “We ended up finishing 1-2 (and were eliminated).”
Call that extended situation a “crying” shame.
Carignan nevertheless has similar high hopes for
2018 version, which will include only four returning starters from that state championship run.
Among them: His son, Peyton Carignan, who last Friday afternoon graduated from Woonsocket High and will be relied upon to play either third base or left field for Post 85, not to mention classmate Colin Godfrin (RF); and WHS seniors-to-be Hezekiah Adeyeye (RHP/CF) and Harrison Blais (SS/ RHP).
Despite losses to age restrictions and injury, however, the elder Carignan believes in a pair of players who didn’t see a ton of action last summer. They include Villa Novans’ freshmanto-be Mikey Laboy (1B/C/OF) and recent La Salle Academy grad Sean Flynn (1B/LHP).
“Mikey’s really young, just finishing up the eighth grade, but he’s got a ton of untapped talent,” Carignan stated. “He’s got all the tools, and he’s so knowledgeable about baseball. He knows the situations you can come across; he caught a couple of games for me last year, both in the state and regional playoffs, so he’s got some experience.”
He also has a plethora of newcomers which he deems critical to the team’s success, among them recent Burrillville High grad Cam Stringfellow (3B), Broncos’ senior Ryan Lockwood (1B); WHS senior Kevin Fregosa (3B/P/OF); Villa Novans’ junior Latrell Lopez (C/SS/2B/RHP); and four Mount St. Charles juniors-to-be – Brian Testa (C/RF), Thomas Burke (OF/RHP), Ryan Kenney (RHP/3B) and Martin Piette (2B).
The last of the 10 incoming players happens to be Laboy’s kid brother, Misael, an eighth-grader who will be a pivotal utility player, perhaps even reliever.
His starting rotation will consist of Adeyeye, Flynn, Lopez, Kenney and Burke, while his relief staff should comprise the Blais, Fregosa and the younger Laboy.
“The closer is still up in the air,” Carignan noted. “I think we’re going to have a really good hitting team; I can just tell by the batting practices we’ve conducted and watching the guys play high school ball. Defensively, we should be really strong, and a lot of these kids are gifted with the ability to retain baseball knowledge.
“If we have any weakness, it may be relief pitching, but I don’t think we have many,” he continued. “I really like our starting rotation. It’s going to be a relatively young staff, but they’re able to locate their pitches, which is a key component at this level.
“Can we defend our title? I think we can, if we play night-in and night-out the way we’re capable.”