Newcomers and Experience to Mix

Having the right balance is key for any mix. You don’t want too much of one thing, and too little of another. They have to be in the right proportion so that everything mixes right and all goes smoothly. Such is the case for this year’s ACC Chargers boys’ baseball team. With returning players at multiple positions, that experience will be joined by new players as well as a new head coach.

With final cuts made, the roster set, and practices well under way, the Chargers are looking for a good balance between old and new. With returning players like Mark Adams, Kyle Edwards, Pat Wondrak, Chad Roscoe, Mike Adams, Nick Czaja, Billy Balderas, Nick Deleon, David Luna, and Chase Weber, Central will have an experienced core that is already used to varsity ball. Shortstop and three-year starter Mark Adams will head up the infield, along side third baseman Pat Wondrak, second baseman David Luna, and first baseman Nick Czaja who as a junior already has a year of varsity experience under his belt. As an experienced signal-caller, Kyle Edwards will look to continue to be a human backstop for Central at catcher. Loaded with experienced pitchers, the Chargers will look for a veteran staff to both start and come in for relief. Pitchers like junior Nick Czaja and seniors like Nick Deleon, Billy Balderas, Chase Weber, Pat Wondrak, and Mark Adams will be looked to for their experience and abilities on the mound this year. Chad Roscoe and second year starter Mike Adams will spearhead the outfield in centerfield and left field, respectively.

Adding to the solid core of veterans, talented new comers will be contributing as well. Junior third baseman/outfielder Brian O’Donnell, outfielder/catcher Mark Brauweiler, and outfielder/first baseman Matt Wagner all saw a few games of varsity play last year and will look to improve on that this year. True newcomers like pitcher/outfielder Kenny Litrenta, outfielder Adrian Mendez, and second baseman Tom Barkei will look to add to what the veterans and experienced players have to offer. To add to what seems to already be a fairly balanced team, Central has four left-handed batters in Luna, Litrenta, Mendez, and O’Donnell. Litrenta also offers a second left-handed pitcher in addition to Deleon.

The season will likely come down to whether or not the team can be as balanced as it looks. A key to that will be how the players adjust to new coach Michael Armato, and vice-versa. Coach Armato brings over 20 years of baseball experience to the program, to include having coached college ball. An addition to Armato’s staff will be Coach Brian Casey, former head coach for the freshmen boys’ baseball last year, will join as an assistant coach for the varsity. With a new strategy different from former head coach Rich Swann, the players will have to adjust to new signs, new responsibilities, and new scheming. Armato, too, will have to adjust to players that were foreign to him until a few weeks ago— even a shorter timeline for the varsity basketball players who did not start practicing until mid-March. He’ll have to quickly learn the skill sets of all his players, experienced and new.

Balance: key to any mix. Too much of one thing, and you have excess of that material. Too little of something, and you end up lacking what you need. This year could be a balancing act; take a core of veteran experienced players, add a few talented new comers, and throw in a pair of new coaches. And what do you get? If you balance them right, you get the perfect mix.