Warriors hope to make deep tourney run

By Joseph Cyr
Staff Writer
    DYER BROOK — After a trip to the Eastern Class D semifinals a year ago, the Southern Aroostook baseball team is hoping to vie for a regional crown this spring.
    And with a bundle of returning seniors and juniors from the team that finished 15-2, there is reason to believe the Warriors will have another successful diamond campaign. Back for his 44th season with the squad is coach Murray Putnam. Coming up with new ways to motivate not only his players, but himself, is never a challenge for the venerable Putnam.
    “There is still an interest on my part,” Putnam said. “I feel I have a purpose and drive to see youngsters excel at whatever they choose to do.”
    The coach added he feels baseball can help play a pivotal role in a student’s life.
    “I really look at baseball as a lesson in life for young people,” Putnam said. “In a youngster’s life, if they are into things that are good, productive and wholesome, they are better off.”
    The Warriors include seniors Pat Goodall (pitcher, infield), Joe Frazier (catcher, first base), Vance Gustin (pitcher, outfield) and Ryland King (infield, outfield); juniors Dylan Porter (outfield), Jesse Beaulier (pitcher, outfield), Lucas LaCharlite (outfield), Mason Caron (pitcher, infield) and Ryan Wescott (outfield); sophomores Trent Cullinan (second base, pitcher), Will McGary (catcher, first base) and Kaleb Burpee (outfield, first base); and freshmen Parker Walker (catcher, infield) and Gage LaFay (catcher, infield).
    The pitching staff will be lead by Goodall and Gustin, who have  the most mound experience of any players on the roster, Putnam said. The Warriors will have a complete right-handed lineup with no lefties on the squad.
    “After Pat and Vance we will be working to develop some pitching talent,” Putnam said.
    The game of baseball at the high school level has changed dramatically over the years, Putnam said.
    “When I started there were wooden bats and no two-tabbed helmets,” he said. “We also have pitching rules now that we didn’t have back in the day.”
    In Maine, one pitch constitutes an inning. One pitch beyond that one inning constitutes three innings, which requires one day off to rest. One pitch more than five innings, up to the maximum of 10 innings, requires three days rest. If a player tossed just one inning, they could pitch every day, Putnam said.
    Just how the season plays out for the Warriors remains a question mark for the coach.
    “I have long tried to play down stuff like predictions,” Putnam said. “I am cautiously optimistic for the upcoming season. If we can develop our pitchers and play good defense behind that pitching, I’d like to think we’d be in the mix.”