St. Mary’s Alex Lapier participates in a recent team practice at Extra Innings. (Photo by Frederick Gore)
WESTFIELD – The St. Mary High School baseball team may have lost 10 seniors to graduation this past offseason, but Saints’ coach Troy Collins said fans should not count out the haloed ones.
“We are going to have a lot different look, but we’re energized,” Collins said, in between several practice sessions at Extra Innings. “We have a lot of young kids, a lot of young talent. It’s exciting to start this young.”
While it will be intriguing to see which underclassmen emerge this season, there are still some veteran players expected to carry the load.
Junior captain Charlie White (OF/1B) and senior catcher Brendan Gawron, also a team captain, have taken over the leadership roles. Senior pitcher Bryce Kibbe, who pitched a no-hitter against Westfield Voc-Tech last season, also returns. The Saints have acquired West Springfield transfer Alex Lapier, a junior outfielder and pitcher.
“We just have to be patient,” Collins said. “We’ll get there.”
St. Mary’s schedule will get a new look as well in 2014 as the Saints have moved into the Bi-County League, featuring local rivals Gateway and Southwick, as well as other opponents such as Granby, Sabis, Sci-Tech, Hampshire, and Ware.
St. Mary is scheduled to begin its season April 7 against Sci-Tech at Forest Park at 4 p.m.
