By MICHAEL LETENDRE
STAFF WRITER
BRISTOL – The Bristol Central baseball squad, as of late, has been a second half of the season team and once the postseason starts, the Rams always seem to just a couple of outs away from advancing in each game.
And getting a chance to start on its own field is going to be a huge plus because last year, Central was forced to play several early season games on the road and even a “home” game took place from the campus of Bristol Eastern High School.
Central has plenty of upperclassmen at head coach Bunty Ray’s disposal and on that introduction, let’s take a look at Bristol Central baseball for the year 2016:
BRISTOL CENTRAL
Head Coach: Bunty Ray (10th year)
Overall Record: 149-48
Last season’s ledger: 10-11 overall, 8-6 CCC South (third place)
2015 Tournament: The Rams, ranked 25th in Class LL play, fell to No. 8 Norwalk – in what turned into one heck of a battle – by a 3-2 final on the road.
All Conference Performers from 2015: Noah Cruz, Jerry LaPenta
Strength: Returning players
Weakness: Hitting
Key Losses: Jerry LaPenta (P); Tony Nicoletti (OF); Jacob Hall (1B); Ricky Lemke (2B); Erich Hasemann (OF); Shawn Caron (OF/P), Ryan Bodley (OF); Harry Patten (OF).
Players to watch: Jaeden Rasmus (sr., SS/P); Jalen Benoit (sr., OF/P); Brad Burney (sr., P/OF); Nick Sassu (sr., C); Matt Heffernan (sr., 2B); Noah Cruz (sr., 3B/P); Jordan Banks (sr., 1B); Brock Clark (jr., 3B/P); Noah Plantamuro (so., SS); Mike Lemke (jr.); Kevin White (jr.); Eric Gaudreau (jr.); Ken Knox (jr.); Dathan Hickey (so.).
What to expect from the Rams: Pitching should be a strength for Ray’s squad as the team lost only two arms from last season – Jerry LaPenta and Shawn Caron.
And expect much more from senior Brad Burney (1-3 in 2015, 39.3 innings pitched, team best 39.3 innings and 2.14 ERA).
Barney had an excellent summer pitching for the Bristol American Legion team and should be joined in that rotation with seniors Jaeden Rasmus and Noah Cruz.
Rasmus went a credible 4-4 with 29 strikeouts and carried a 2.74 ERA while Cruz turned it on late, securing a 1-1 ledger, 35 strikeouts, and an outstanding 2.22 ERA.
Pitching was critical for the 10-11 Rams last season as the staff had a more than acceptable 3.13 ERA.
It’s the hitting that the Rams need to bring to the table.
Senior Matt Heffernan batted .500 in limited action while the catcher, senior Nick Sassu, is a bona fide warrior behind the plate defensively and batted .266 with 17 hits and eight RBI in 2015.
Senior Jalen Benoit will add defense from the outfield while fellow senior Jordan Banks should see more playing time as well.
Junior Michael Lemke is one heck of an athlete; while a boatload of other juniors – Kevin White, Eric Gaudreau, and Ken Knox – also will see an increase of playing time.
And two sophomores should also favor into the mix – shortstop Noah Plantamuro and Dathan Hickey, another jack-of-all trades type player.
The bottom line is, even with all that excellent pitching last season, Central’s offense floundered from time to time and that led to a few tough losses – two of which came in 10 innings or more.
Batting .212 for a second straight season will lead the squad to doom and demise but don’t expect the same result this season.
A fast start will serve this team greatly but it will have to come against baseball powers Maloney (twice), Wethersfield, and Fermi – three of those four first games coming on the road.
CCC South Outlook: The South is a different animal in 2016 but there won’t be any easy games along the way.
The league is wide open but don’t be surprised to see the likes of Central and Bristol Eastern battling for a CCC South title down the stretch.
Comments? Email mletendre@BristolObserver. com.