AUBURN – A veteran of the St. Dom’s baseball program, senior Jon Rutt is accustomed to looking around the diamond and seeing teammates who were old enough to vote, or at least on the verge.
Not this year, though.
“This year’s going to be different. We’re going to have some kids in the infield,” said Rutt, who hit over .500 last year. “We’re going to have a lot of younger guys in the lineup. That’s not a bad thing.”
It’s certainly not a bad thing as far as coaches Allan Turgeon and Bob Blackman are concerned. The Saints’ braintrust has made it a point to get their younger players ready to play major roles at the varsity level.
Last year, sophomores Brent Cary, Brady Blackman and Mike Carpenter were critical in helping the Saints reach their first state championship game in seven years.
This year, sophomore Peter Lewis will get the starting nod at shortstop, while classmate Andy Allen will see playing time in the outfield and, the coaching staff hopes, will develop into a No. 2 or No. 3 starter by mid-season.
The process of getting Lewis and Allen and others ready to contribute as sophomores began last year.
“We always try to develop as much of the freshmen as we possibly can at the varsity level,” Blackman said. “You’ve got to get those freshmen so that by the end of the year, they’re ready to step in and contribute.”
Lewis and Allen didn’t get any varsity playing time last year, but their on-field experience at the JV level and the lessons they learned watching from the bench as the varsity was on the cusp of a state championship should prove invaluable, just as having accompanied the varsity to the 2003 regional final helped for Blackman, Cary and Carpenter last year.
“When they got back there the next year, they weren’t intimidated by Jay (the Saints opponent in the last two regional finals). They weren’t intimidated by playing in the Western Maine final,” Bob Blackman said.
“This year, (Lewis and Allen) walk out on the field like they belong there,” Turgeon said. “And for us, our job was accomplished in terms of having those kids mature and having them ready to play.”
The youngsters can’t afford to be intimidated or immature at the varsity level, because the coaches don’t cut them a lot of slack.
“We don’t do this and hope that they get it. We expect them to get it,” Turgeon said.
“We’ve got to work as hard as everyone else, actually, work harder, just to play at the level that we’re expected to play this year,” Allen said.
Turgeon and Blackman credited the leadership of their upperclassmen with helping to make it a smoother transition for the sophomores.
Rutt is one of only three seniors returning who saw significant playing time. Jake Albert and John Emerson are the others. Along with the juniors who are just one year removed from being in the sophomores’ shoes, the group has made a conscientious effort to help the youngsters blend in seamlessly.
“Just because there are less of us, we’re going to have to take the bull by the horns,” Rutt said.
The Saints have been able to stay on the bull a little bit longer each of the last three years. In 2002, they reached the Western C semifinals. Two years ago, they made it as far as the regional final. Last year, they were just one win away from their first state championship.
The seniors hope the pattern continues one more year. The coaches are trying to make it last a lot longer.
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