Staff Writer
Having had a taste of semifinal baseball in the 2007 season, the returning 2008 Fort Fairfield High School varsity baseball players are hungry to return to the field and move their way up in the standings again. The ’07 Tigers ended regular season play in fourth place with a record of 9-5. “After reaching the semifinals last season, our guys are very motivated to achieve that success once again, and then achieve even more,” said head coach John Ala.
The 2008 Tiger starting lineup features all returning Tigers who gained experience starting for Fort Fairfield last season. Cody Closson, who boasts a .408 batting average, will play in leftfield. Senior Ryan Noyes will play in centerfield and junior Patrick Kinsey in rightfield.
Juniors Austin Dufour (first base) and Matt Cresenzo (shortstop) will also start for FFHS. Sophomores Josh Churchill (second base) and Josh Booth (third base) and junior Ian Towle (catcher) finish off the starting lineup.
Four Tigers will share the majority of the time on the pitching mound including Towle, Dufour, Closson and Booth. Noyes, Churchill, Kinsey and freshman Austin Bixler could also possibly pitch in 2008.
Coaching staff look to senior Beau Everett, an outfielder, to have a leadership role on the team.
Also donning their baseball uniforms for FFHS are senior Keith Langley; juniors Andrew Forsman, Erik Lundquist, Brian Bixler, Matt Lamoine and Jason Hoyt; sophomore Jeremy Dillon; and freshmen Will Sullivan and Andrew Sheppard.
“Overall, I expect this year’s team to be better than last year’s team,” commented Ala. “We lost two very strong players, but we make up for what we lost in a year of growth and experience. I expect for us to have a very strong defensive team that will rely on our pitchers throwing strikes. On the offensive side, we will have a solid lineup of guys who can put the bat on the ball.”
Fifth-year coach Ala is assisted by Mark Dillon and Shawn Rogers. “We are very fortunate to have two excellent assistant coaches,” said Ala. “Mark Dillon has been working with the team for the past few season, and Shawn Rogers has also returned to the team after missing the past two seasons due to military service in Iraq. Both coaches are very well respected by our players, and play a very important role in the success of our team.”
