Led by returning seniors Shawn Marcelle, Ryan Siegle, Steven Patterson, Adam Pouliot, Andrew Doucette, Shawn Thurber, Sam Lieberman, and Mickey O’Connor, the Mount Abraham High School Eagles are hoping that they can continue the success the team has had in recent years. Last year the Eagles had a very successful campaign, posting a 16-4 record and making the Division II championship game, where they lost to Lyndon. However, this year’s team will be very different, as the team is losing six of the seniors that started last year.
According to a high ranking source, Shawn Marcelle and Mickey O’Connor are expected to be the starting pitchers, with Adam Pouliot, Mark Dickerson, and Ethan Heffernan ready to come in for relief. Both Marcelle and O’Connor had varsity experience last year, so the team will be expecting a lot out of their two star pitchers. “We need our young pitchers to step up this year to fill in the spots left by last years seniors,” says Marcelle. With the two dominant starters from last year gone, this is very true. The younger pitchers are going to have to step up in relief of Marcelle and O’Connor to keep the strong bats of their Metro division opponents at bay. The Metro division is traditionally the strongest division in the state and the teams the Eagles will face are very strong.
O’Connor is also expected to play first base when he is not pitching. Both Adam Pouliot and Andrew Doucette had experience playing second base last year, so one of the two will start there. We will most likely see the two switching off at second. At short stop, speedy Ryan Siegle is expected to be the starter. Returning starter Sam Lieberman is expected to take back his position at third base. The position of catcher is up for grabs between senior Shawn Thurber and sophomore Nick Ouellette. The experience of the players in the infield is definitely going to be the strong suit. With strong fielding, the eagles hope to get easy outs and keep the other teams off the board.
In the outfield, Steven Patterson will play left field, while Marcelle will play center when he is not pitching. Right field is uncertain at the moment, but we will find out after the preseason and there may be a rotation of younger players there.
The Eagles are hoping to build off of their pitching and strong defensive play to produce a strong season. Once again the team will be playing in the Metro division, which they won in the regular season last year. However, last season is behind them and the team is hoping to look forward to a great 2010 season this year.
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