Baseball Millionaires elevate with championship aspirations in ‘13

LENOX – It was just under a year ago when Head Baseball Coach Kevin Downer had the toughest decision of the season to make – in the preliminary post-season round against Lee.

Playing for a chance against the number one seed the following game, Coach Downer held out ace Austin Salnitis for as long as he could in hopes of having a shot in the next game.

Making the right choice didn’t pay dividends for the Millionaires that day, as Lee bested Lenox to advance.

However, one year later, after the (five win) 2012 team, Coach Downer returns 10 players who are preparing for a South Division Championship run and even a possible Western Mass. title.

“We want to put a banner that says Western Mass. Champions in this gym,” said junior pitcher/shortstop Jake Jourdain. “This is the year we want to put one up.”

If the Millionaires are going to have a shot at these title aspirations they will have to rely on their lefty power pitcher Salnitis, who went 5-2 (1.66 ERA) last year and returns with a 89-90 mph fastball from the AAU summer ball season.

“We are shooting for 13 wins – so we get a better seed in the tournament,” Downer said. “Last year, we played in the preliminary game, and before that, we played the number one seed.”

“Our number one goal is to make the tournament, and I think we have a shot at the South [Division] this year,” Downer added.

Another reason for the optimism with the Millionaires this year besides the fact that Downer’s number one and two pitchers, Salnitis and Jourdain, return with added bulk to their frames, is this year’s team has tasted success.

Lenox baseball had the most successful off-season of any South County team last summer by winning a Babe Ruth Championship as well as a title at the Dan Duquette Sports Academy.

“A lot of the kids are bigger, stronger, and quicker, but most of all, they’ve got a lot of at-bats underneath their belts – which is a huge difference,” Downer said.

Lenox struggled last year to put runs on the board, hitting an abysmal .206 for the season.

“One thing I have this year that I didn’t last year, is we had 23 kids tryout, and I didn’t make cuts – and the kids that are here want to be here and they love the game of baseball,” Downer said. “Last year I had to bring up some kids up from JV that shouldn’t have been there.”

This year, the Millionaires’ average will certainly improve as Lenox relies on sophomore center-fielder/shortstop Dillon Benham, who tore up both the Legion and Babe Ruth leagues last summer and is poised to be the Millionaires’ leading hitter this year.

“Benham looks real good at the plate,” Downer said as his team worked out in the gym.

With Salnitis as a possible county MVP candidate, the Millionaires will have senior Tom Duffin behind the plate catching, Benham in center, Jourdain at short and, returning from a leg injury, Tristan Vaber will handle the hot corner at third.

Lenox also returns Cam Sibley at first base, Trey McNinch will play left, Ben Ramondetta will play in right, and sophomore Trevor Hathaway will play at second.

Benham will also be the team’s number three starting pitcher, and has developed an effective curveball in the off-season.

“Benham got to pitch over the summer playing both Babe Ruth and Legion and got to work on a curveball,” Downer said. “Last year all he threw was fastballs.”

Lenox opens the season on April 9 in a rematch of last year’s post-season preliminary round at Lee.

“[Lee] is definitely a good team, especially with Coach Chip Cummings coming back,” Jourdain said, “He always has them ready – it will be a competitive game but hopefully we will be able to pull it off.”

Posted by Tim Davis on March 28, 2013. Filed under High School Sports,Sports. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry