Players in heated competition for starting berths at Carmichaels
CARMICHAELS – The season hasn’t started yet and already the Carmichaels High baseball players have a big fight going among themselves. But coach Dave Bates isn’t going to do a thing about stopping it. In fact, he’s happy with it, and he’s encouraging the players to do all this type of fighting they want.
Now – seriously – there isn’t any kind of trouble going among the players. They are a very strong, close-knit unit. It’s just a good old-fashioned fight to see who will be starting for the Mikes, as they get ready for another baseball season.
Bates, starting his fourth season as Mikes coach, said, “We have 19 players on the roster and 15 of them are in a real battle for the nine starting positions. I like that kind of fighting. Really, they push each other in practice. They know each practice is a real test for them, and they are all willing to play a couple of positions just to get on the field.”
A year ago, Carmichaels finished 17-4, including a sweep of all 10 section games on the way to the championship and advancement to the WPIAL semifinals before losing to Neshannock.
Bates said, “They have been to the playoffs, and they know what it takes to get there and how you feel after you get there. They are hungry to get back there again.”
As a start in that direction, the Mike coaches have 10 lettermen returning from last year’s team, including seniors Colby Giles (P-3B) and Jono Menhart (P-CF), juniors Shayne Busti (SS), Donny Hewitt (C-OF), Jamie Kowalczyk (2B), Andy Mazur (P-3B), and Stu Swann (OF-1B), and sophomores Niko Buday (OF), Jared Lapkowicz (P-1B), and Jeff Lapkowicz (C-P).
Rounding out the roster are:
Junior – Sean McCombs (P-2B).
Sophomores – B.K. Byrd (C), Karl Cole (P-IF), and Kole Kittredge (OF). Jamie Bandish (C-2B) is also a sophomore prospect, but right at the moment he is sidelined by a knee injury.
Freshmen – Mike Herbik (OF), Chris Polhemus (OF), and Bob Virgili (OF-P).
Looking ahead, Bates said, “We have decent pitching, with seven prospects there, including Giles, both Lapkowiczs, McCombs, Mazur, Cole and Virgili. Jared Lapkowicz, who threw three no-hitters last year in a 7-1 record as a freshman, is the only left-hander. His brother Jeff can also pitch, but he’s going to be our catcher. Overall, our pitching is as deep as I have had here. Now, by that, I’m not saying that we are going to blow anybody off the field; I’m just saying that they are a good unit.
“Behind them, the defense looks solid. Not flashy, but solid. As far as our hitting goes, we have last year’s one through six batters returning, but it’s hard to tell about our hitting right now, because we haven’t been outside that much.”
At the same time, Bates said, “Our younger players have to learn to run the bases effectively. Base running is developed through repetitions, and that is what we have been doing. We work on that a lot in practice.
“If you can’t run the bases effectively, then there are times when hitting won’t help. I would rather have a smart base runner than a great base runner.”
In the section race, Bates said, “Chartiers-Houston could be a very strong team. They have good throwers, good sticks, and they play a smart game. They are well coached, and I think Jefferson-Morgan, with some good returning players, could be a surprise entry.
“Our own hopes rest on being consistent players. Consistency is the difference between an average team and a good team. We have to give up few walks, and make few errors. You don’t always need 15 hits a game, and you don’t need outlandish stats. You just need to be mentally consistent. We have a strong exhibition schedule. I have always felt that playing tougher opponents makes you tougher.”
And ready to fight.
The exhibition schedule (4 p.m. unless noted):
March 21, at Laurel Highlands (Hutchinson); March 24, at Waynesburg; March 26, Frazier; March 28, Maplewood (Dist. 10, JV 2 p.m.); March 31, Charleroi; April 1, at Bentworth; April 14, Washington; April 16, Beth-Center (2 p.m., JV 4); April 28, at Frazier; May 5, at Washington.
Section schedule (4 p.m.):
April 4, at Jefferson-Morgan; April 8, Chartiers-Houston; April 10, at West Greene (3:30, JV 5:30); April 11, at Avella; April 15, Mapletown; April 22, Jefferson-Morgan; April 24, at Chartiers-Houston; April 25, West Greene (3:30, JV 5:30); April 29, Avella; May 1, at Mapletown.
Other JV games (4 p.m.) include March 18, Albert Gallatin; April 2, Bentworth; April 3, at Waynesburg; April 9, Laurel Highlands; April 17, Waynesburg; April 23, at Brownsville; April 30, Beth-Center; and May 2, at Bentworth.