Next: Mason High junior varsity baseball
In their first season in the GMC, Mason's junior varsity team won nine of its first 15 league contests and holds a 12-6 record.
Tuesday, May 06, 2008
As Casey Popplewell put it, his Mason High junior varsity baseball team could have "folded up the tents" when it lost five of six games in late April.
But the Comets didn't.
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Mason put together a five-game winning streak, as it won 12 of its first 18 games. The Comets play in a Greater Miami Conference JV tournament this weekend.
"Baseball's so streaky," said Popplewell, who is in his first year as the head JV coach. "That's how the sport is in general. You get it going in the wrong direction, it can stay that way. We play so often. If you get it rolling in the right direction, you can go 6-0. It's such a short season."
In their first season in the GMC, the Comets won nine of their first 15 league contests.
"We won five in a row because they didn't pack it in," Popplewell said. "They kept believing."
Twenty players are on Mason's roster — two juniors and 18 sophomores. With two freshman teams totaling 30 players, Popplewell's job in the preseason was tough.
"The competition in tryouts is fierce for those spots," Popplewell said. "But we like the talent level that we kept. It's a great mix of kids right now."
Junior Tyler McCarthy is the club's top pitcher, while sophomore Rhett Durbin is the starting shortstop and hitting around .530.
Sophomore outfielder Preston Carr, sophomore second baseman and leadoff hitter Chris Lawson, and sophomore third baseman Evan Harris also are key contributors.
"To prepare them to play varsity baseball," Popplewell said of the main goal at the JV level. "We want to teach them that if they do things right and are a good teammate, good things will happen to you also. The kids have bought into that."
Junior Aaron Brodie; and sophomores John Bovenzi, Anthony DeLotell, Alex Evdokiou, Alex Farren, Charles Hammond, Michael Hubsch, Jacob Kinnett, Andrew Lattocha, Alex Mumma, David Richmond, Shane Riley, Cody Rutowski, Tyler Siekmann and Sam Simpson round out the Comets' roster.
"They're all great kids," Popplewell said. "They don't do anything to make themselves a bad teammate. They're all good teammates, encouraging each other."
Popplewell is assisted by coaches Cliff Carter and Drew Spaeth.
Contact this reporter at (513) 755-5113 or smatthews@coxohio.com.
