Boca Christian Seeks Repeat Of District 12-2A Title

Boca Christian’s Jonathan Kreh, warming up before the Blazers home opener.

Boca Raton Christian has a young but talented team, and its goal is simple – repeat as district champs.

The Blazers know that their fellow District 12-2A opponents, Lake Worth Christian and Wellington Christian, are also young and inexperienced. All three programs have a new head coach this season. There are only three seniors playing in the entire district. The playing field is very level and it’s anyone’s game.

Lake Worth Christian understands that the best way to improve and develop young talent is to play top competition, and the Defenders will play lots of quality opponents this year in order to accelerate the learning curve. New head coach Tm Ferguson comes over after coaching previously at Wellington Christian.

The Eagles have some great young players and several leaders, and they are also comfortable with their chances in this even-keeled district.

“I believe we have a good chance between us,” New Wellington Christian coach Robert Pettet said. “Boca Christian seems the most experienced, but if we keep working and hope for the best we’ll see if we can compete with them.”

With young teams misplays are expected, but teams realize that the one of this group that can limit those errors and play fundamental baseball with most likely emerge as the district champion.

“We must play solid, fundamental baseball,” Boca Christian coach Clint Erickson said. “We have some talented players, and I look forward to watching our players succeed.”

Boca Raton Christian
Coach: Clint Erickson
2011 record: 10-18
Returners: R.J. Walsh (P); Tommy Havelka (CF/P); Jonathan Kreh (2B/P); Ryan Taylor (3B)
Newcomers: Rudy Lopez (SS); Casey Carpinello (C/OF); Grant Gardiner (C); Baize McSweeney (P); Indiana Jones (LF)
Strengths: Depth

“We have a vision to do everything together,” Boca Christian coach Clint Erickson said.

Boca Christian has realistic goals this season, and even though the team is young coach Clint Erickson is confident that they can achieve them.

The Blazers intend to be a unified team that is built the right way, a group who plays together and stays together for next season also, and they intend to defend their district title.

“We want to maintain the tradition,” Erickson said. “Our goals are really two-year goals since we don’t have any seniors on the team. So I will have all of them next year too.”

Among the key returning players to this team is junior Jonathan Kreh, who plays positions on the right side of the infield, pitches and is the team’s most reliable hitter. Fellow junior pitcher R.J. Walsh will be the team’s top starter once he settles in after joining late due to the school’s basketball success. Third baseman Ryan Taylor returns to serve as the team’s leadoff hitter and sophomore Tommy Havelka is another veteran pitcher.

Freshman Blazie McSweeney seems almost to have been destined to play for this team, and the firey young pitcher figures to see plenty of action. Fellow freshman Casey Carpinello will split time in the outfield and behind the plate as the backup catcher to sophomore starter Grant Gardiner.

“Carpinello grew up in a dugout,” Erickson said. “He could pitch, except we won’t let him. But he will play almost everywhere else.”

When basketball season ended, the Blazers got the rest of their teammates back who play both sports. Coach Erickson admitted that it brought a fresh energy to the team when those four players joined practice.

“We have a vision to do everything together,” Coach Erickson said.

In the end, they hope to be holding a district trophy together.

Lake Worth Christian
Coach: Tim Ferguson
2011 record: 5-15
Returners: Matt Picardi (C); Ryan Adair (SS/P); Scott Lucas (P/IF)
Newcomers: Shane Lee (OF); Dustin Lee (OF/C)
Strengths: Starting Pitching

“This is a great school with a great facility, and they want their baseball to match their other athletic programs in success,” Lake Worth Christian coach Tim Ferguson said.

The Lake Worth Christian baseball team is a little behind in its training for this season. With such low numbers and guys coming back from playing winter sports there is a lot of rust to shake off. This is why the next several weeks will be spent focusing only on the fundamentals in practice.

This is the way that first-year coach Tim Ferguson intends to change the culture and get the program into one that cultivates a baseball atmosphere. The team will drill the basics over and over, and make it smooth and second-nature.

“I took the job to help turn the program around,” Ferguson said. “This is a great school with a great facility, and they want their baseball to match their other athletic programs in success. They want a more competitive program.”

Ferguson coaches for a living year round, and currently he is also a pitching coach in the Frontier League in Washington, Pennsylvania. He works with professional guys and he applies that to his Defenders team. This is why he is persistent in conditioning them and running repetitive practices.

He also has brought in quality assistant coaches in David Sally and Trenton Lee, who are professional guys that bring high energy and excitement to the team.

“We are starting to break them down,” Ferguson joked. “They are seeing that the pedal is not getting let off.”

Taking the reigns as the leader of this team is sophomore ace Ryan Adair, who has a live arm and a solid fastball. Ferguson says the team will ride him as their ace all season.

Junior Scott Lucas will also pitch and play the infield, where he has great hands and geat tools. Fellow junior Matt Picardi will also do some pitching, and will log time at catcher and in the infield. Picardi is a team leader and his versatility is invaluable.

The team has also enjoyed some bright signs from incoming transfers in twins Shane and Dustin Lee, both of whom play in the outfield. Dustin also catches, and both have some flashes of being very productive in the Defenders’ lineup.

Ferguson has focused on changing the culture and attracting kids for baseball, and the goal right now is simply to catch up on the fundamentals and build throughout the season. The players cannot get caught up in the wins and losses right away, and just wait to see where they are in the end when district play begins. The coach has only recently begun allowing the players to swing the bats in practice after they spent weeks focusing on other fundamentals.

With such an accomplished coaching staff, the kids are starting to trust that this will pay off.

“The kids see the higher level of baseball we are offering,” Ferguson said. “It’s good for the professional guys to be around the kids too. They are chasing their dreams but they all benefit from the personal growth by working together.”

Wellington Christian
Coach: Robert Pettet
2011 record: 9-12
Returners: Dustin Goff (RHP/SS); Tyler Hannigan (LHP); Connor Kelaher (LHP); Kyle Berkowitz (1B); Steven Pettet (3B); Zach Rogers (2B)
Newcomers: Robert Rodriguez (2B/OF); David Baldeo (RF); Juan Morales (C); Anthony Hansen (SS)
Strengths: Defense

“The biggest part of playing the game is enjoying the game,” Wellington Christian coach Robert Pettet said.

First-year Wellington Christian coach Robert Pettet specializes in developing young talents into baseball players.

Taking over a team with only three seniors, it certainly seems like he is the perfect fit for the job.

“The biggest part of playing the game is enjoying the game,” Pettet said. “That’s what it’s all about. These kids go through the same excitement as they go along and that is something they won’t forget.”

Although this team is mostly young and inexperienced, they are anxious to learn and it has been a perfect fit working with a coach who enjoys teaching the fundamentals.

Among those newcomers is sophomore catcher Juan Morales, who is getting a crash course in the backstop position after having not played baseball for the past five years.

“He is figuring out that the catcher has a lot to do on the field,” Pettet said.

Another newcomer who has shown a strong drive and desire to play is sophomore Robert Rodriguez. Coach Pettet says he sees good things coming from Rodriguez, but he needs to settle and relax and play to his natural abilities.

“We have a good mix of younger guys and older guys who all understand the game,” Pettet said. “The seniors are focused to get everybody going. They should do well by season’s end.”

The Eagles three seniors all pitch, which is tremendously important to the team’s success. Connor Kelaher is a hard-throwing lefty who is expected to be the team’s ace, while fellow lefty Tyler Hannigan specializes in inducing groundouts and right-hander Dustin Goff is best at locating pitches and throwing to the situations.

With the state mandating the new BBCOR baseball bats, Coach Pettet does not anticipate there will be as many homeruns as in recent years. Therefore, the team will focus heavily on its defense and let the pitchers throw to contact and not simply try to strike everybody out.

The strength of the defense will be in its infield, where eighth-graders Kyle Berkowitz, Zach Rogers and Steven Pettet return to take first, second and third base, respectively. Berkowitz and Pettet have great gloves and specialize in eating up balls and Rogers is a natural fit for second base.

Sophomore Anthony Hansen will split time with Goff at shortstop as he works to grow into the position. Like the rest of the Eagles, right now the key has been the work ethic shown.

“This is a thinking man’s game and there are things going on all the time,” Pettet said. “They need to have the game going on inside their own head at all times. It’s a bit to realize right now but they’re learning how. It’s a tough game to play but they are learning it and liking it and it’s becoming more fun.”

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