All fun and games for Blue Bison bunch
LATHAM, N.Y. » Across the past 20 years or so, the industry of baseball has seen a shift to an analytics and data driven game. Yet, some traditions still hold true. Pitching and defense win championships and perhaps most important, baseball is supposed to be fun.
Both hold true for the Shaker Blue Bison.
“Having fun is what brings a team together and that’s what helps propel the practice and getting better as a team,” Blue Bison senior pitcher Zach Snyder said.
A sentiment shared by Snyder’s teammate and fellow senior pitcher Jake Washock.
“When you’re with the same group of guys for a longtime, it’s pretty easy to have fun inside and you’re still able to get your work done,” Washock said.
“We’ve been itching to get outside for a longtime, we can’t wait to get back outside,” Blue Bison senior pitcher Jack Mahoney said. “Hopefully the snow stops and hopefully we can get out there soon.”
While they’re anxious to get outside and play, that’s not stopping them from getting out and building great camaraderie, according to third-year Blue Bison skipper Joe Rispole.
“We mix it up, we do a variety of things,” Rispole said. “Nonbaseball related, we’re going to be going bowling as a team, we’ve got a team dinner Friday
night, so we’re going to be doing stuff like that.”
Rispole also commented on how the team is staying loose and sharp while practicing in the gym.
“When we’re in the gym we have competitive games within the team, hitting games inside the cage, guys are always competing against one another,” Rispole said. “We have throwing competitions, fielding competitions, just to mix it up, make sure the guys are getting their work in but also maintaining the competitive edge and also having some fun while they’re doing it.”
In between the lines, the Shaker squad hopes to improve upon its 2017 ledger of 11-8-1. It was a season which came to an end at the hands of Colonie in the first round of Sectionals.
As mentioned above, their success will hinge on a senior anchored staff and strong defense up the middle from junior shortstop Julian Thompson. It was a recurring theme from the players and manager alike.
“I expect us to be very competitive and for our defense and pitching to get us a lot of wins,” Thompson said.
“I think our pitching staff will definitely be really strong this year,” Mahoney said. “We got a lot of depth in pitching. Our defense will be really good too, so that’s what I’m expecting for this year.”
“Our pitching staff is what’s going to anchor us this year and everything else will just follow,” Washock said.
“I think right now one of the strengths of our team is the strong front-end of our rotation, led by a couple of seniors and we also have some depth there with a couple of juniors who are coming up to fill out the rotation and we have a couple of sophomores as well. So, the strength, especially early in the season when runs are hard to come by when it’s cold weather out, I think our pitching staff is going to be one of the strengths and then clearly our fielding has been strong the last five or six years and it’s just going to continue that way,” Rispole said. “Our biggest challenge last year was hitting the ball at the plate and I think we have to step up and meet that challenge this year and manufacture some more runs and start off the year positively.”
As for how his club stacks up and sets its goals, Rispole had this to say.
“You look around the Suburban Council and you’ve got quality teams from A to Z. So, every day you’re at the field, you’ve got to bring your a-game because if not, you’re going to get beat,” Rispole said. “The guys on the team recognize that and we’re hoping to follow that order, Suburban Council championship, qualify for the sectionals and then just keep going from there.”