1 Photo
Westhampton Beach seniors Declan Kerns, Evan Halloran, Liam Saboe, Ryan Knierieman and Ryan Springer will lead the baseball team this season. DANA SHAW
The Westhampton Beach baseball team could benefit from its mix of old and new, but head coach Asa Grunenwald said the Hurricanes know there’s still room to grow as they look to improve on a 2-18 season last year.
“I really like this group of juniors and seniors that we have,” the coach said. “They give us some varsity experience, and they are quality people. And I think over the course of the season, we are going to be in the position to win games because we are going to throw strikes and compete on the mound and play good defense.”
Leading the way will be senior starting pitcher Ryan Knieriemen. The SUNY New Paltz-commit who also plays center field earned both of the Hurricanes’ wins last season, tossing 10 strikes across the pair.
“He is an excellent athlete that does a little bit of everything for our team,” Grunenwald said.
Declan Kerns and Ryan Springer are two other seniors the coach said have stepped up to be leaders of the team. Riley Miller, Nick Rizzo and Kevin Smith are juniors who return to compete.
“We have some good baseball skills, but are definitely still working on team defense and communication,” Grunenwald said. “This group of players have not spent a lot of time together, so I think it will take some time to gel.”
Still, the coach is eager to see what he can get out of what he called a “very strong” freshman class.
Lucas Patton will start games on the mound, Patrick Fay will see time in the infield and he believes Lucas Hefter and Jacob Permakoff could help the team win games. Grunenwald said sophomore Liam Anthony also brings athleticism to the outfield.
“In practice, we are just trying to pick up our pace of play,” the coach said. “We have been trying to make decisions in pressure situations. We don’t have a ton of experience, so we are trying to create those game-like experiences.”
He said he’s looking forward to seeing how that benefits his team as it moves into League VII play, beginning with an away game at East Hampton on Monday, April 10, at 10 a.m.
“I am excited about this team moving forward because I think we can improve a lot during the year,” Grunenwald said. “I am also excited about the players we have in the program and the future of this baseball program.”
