Saturday, April 4, 2015 by Aidan Joly
Now that the winter sports season has come to a close, the spring season has begun and the Saratoga Springs Blue Streaks varsity baseball team looks to have a successful season after a solid 2014.
The Streaks finished the 2014 campaign with a record of 14-8. That team was led by now-senior 1B/P Jack Herman, who batted .315 with 13 runs batted in during the season, going along with a 1.73 earned run average and 15 strikeouts in 28.1 innings pitched. He is also one of the three team captains.
The Streaks lost two starting outfielders, Jordan Prehoda and Devin Coffey, who both graduated. Coffey batted .359 with nine runs batted in and is now playing at Union College. Eric Beer, a main pitcher, is also now at Union College. He had a 1.24 earned run average with 25 strikeouts in 22.2 innings during the season, and also had great control, walking only four batters.
Head coach Dean Bailey said of his team, “We have a good mix of seniors as well as key positions that are returning underclassmen.”
Sophomore OF/C Jake Fauler will be making his premier varsity season, and batted .500 with 10 runs batted in in his only junior varsity season. Bailey said that he will play a key role on the team. Senior 3B Marshall Kiesow will be making a transition from an outfielder to a third baseman this season. He batted .318 with 18 RBI in 2014.
Junior pitcher Danny Hobbs is expected to make a large contribution this year, as he had a breakout 2014, with a 0.83 ERA with 20 strikeouts in 33.2 innings. He threw a three hit, one run complete game against Bethlehem on April 23.
“We have the potential to be very successful this year. It will come down to discipline and execution. If we can put those together we are competitive with anyone in the strongest baseball conference in Section 2,” Bailey said.
The Blue Streaks will open their 2015 season at home with three straight home games in week one. They will take on CBA on Monday, April 6th at 7 p.m., then on Thursday, April 9th they will take on Shenendehowa at 12 p.m., their first in-league game. The team will finish the week on Saturday, April 11th, taking on Queensbury. All three of these games will take place at the East Side Recreation Field.
Aidan Joly is a freshman covering sports for The Lightning Rod.