Saratoga Catholic striving for reputation
SARATOGA » Before the season began, Saratoga Catholic head coach Daniel Masi was excited for his team. He had a mixture of experience and fresh faces and he was excited for the season to begin.
Masi said he is ready to face teams with two key newcomers coming in to help his team compete.
“Last year, we were a very young team,” Masi said. “I got a couple new players that I am really excited about and a new pitcher in Molly O’Reilly, a new catcher/third baseman in Cassidy Hayner, so I think we are going to be a tough team to play.”
Along with the new comers he has brought in he has some players that will lead his team after strong seasons last year.
Masi said he expects two main players to lead his team.
“The senior captain Sabrina Johnson took a leadership role from the get go, leading stretches, leading runs and what not,” Masi said. “She is going to be our catcher as well. She was second team all-WAC last year, so definitely high expectations for her. From a pitching stand point, I named a new captain this year, a junior Victoria Alvord. She was first team all-WAC last year, a solid pitcher who is one of the best in the section and she can hit, so the sky is the limit for her.”
One of the challenges of playing a spring sport in the Northeast is the snow and weather. There could be snow on the game when the season is supposed to start and your team can’t do much about it.
Masi said the team was ready to get outside before the first games, but it was difficult.
“We are chomping at the bit to go outside and there are only so many ground balls you can hit in the gym,” Masi said. “It’s a tough situation, but every team is going through it. You have to do your best and hopefully when the season hits, we are able to get a practice or two outside before our first game.”
The Saints have gotten in four matchups this season and have gone 3-1. They dropped
their first matchup 15-1 to Mechanicville, but came back to win the next three, 2-0 over Stillwater, 10-9 over Bruinswick and 11-3 over Waterford-Halfmoon.
The Saints have started strong and look to continue that throughout the season and become a team to be reckoned with.
Masi said one of his team’s goals this season is to be known as a tough team to get a win against. He wants Saratoga Catholic to be feared by other schools.
“We trying to build a reputation this year,” Masi said. “We are trying to take the next step to being legitimate. We have quite a bit of latent and last year we had a decent season, but lacked consistency. This year, we are trying to be more consistent and become one of those teams you don’t want to play like Greenwich or Hoosick Valley.”