Highlanders Baseball Getting Ready for 2011 Season

The baseball team that steps onto on March 25 might look a little different from a year ago, mainly because the Highlanders will have several new faces.

But one thing that hasn’t changed is the team’s expectations to compete for a spot in the postseason and contend for a WPIAL championship.

Baldwin loses 10 seniors from last year’s team, including the entire starting infield, but 10 new players on the varsity roster will look to fill the void.

“We should have a team of mostly juniors that are going to get most of the playing time,” BHS Head Coach Dan Caponi said. “We lost some guys with major RBI production and batting average, but some of these (returning players) have played full-time. So, we’ll see what happens.”

The 2010 campaign saw the Highlanders begin their section schedule with a five-game winning streak, only to lose four out of their next five to finish in third place in that section.

The team took a 12-5 overall record into the playoffs, where it suffered a disappointing, 6-4 first-round loss to Norwin High School at neutral-site Seton Hill University.

Among those expected to immediately step into regular roles for the Highlanders this year are junior pitchers Casey Jones – who threw a complete game in a 6-4 victory against Bethel Park High School last season – and Kenny Gault, a 6-foot-6 right-hander whom his coach says has unlimited potential.

“You can’t teach that size,” Caponi said. “Everywhere this kid goes, people want to know who he is, and I think the upside is unbelievable for him.”

Gault won his first varsity game last season in a 10-6 decision at Thomas Jefferson High School on April 2. Caponi says that Gault throws a fastball consistently in the mid-80s with “a nice curveball” but admits that he is still a work in progress.

“When you get a sophomore, nothing’s really expected of him,” Caponi said. “Now that he’s a junior, now we’re counting on him a little bit. I look for a lot of good things from him.”

Seniors Kevin Fleishaker and Kevin Greiner are also expected to be key parts of the pitching staff, while last year’s entire starting outfield of Sammy Palermo, Troy Bell and Christian Holland returns. Palermo is now a senior, while Bell and Holland are juniors.

“If you can pitch, you’re going to be able to compete with a lot of teams,” Caponi said. “We have a few pitchers that have seen some (varsity) time, so hopefully, we can fill in the gaps and go from there.”

The Highlanders will open the 2011 season with non-section home games against , North Allegheny, North Hills and Penn Hills high schools, along with a trip to Woodland Hills High School.

Baldwin’s WPIAL AAAA Section 3 schedule begins at on April 4.

Bethel Park, , McKeesport Area, Mount Lebanon and  high schools field the other Section 3 teams.

Caponi says that staying focused on a day-to-day basis is a major priority in a very competitive section where all of the teams consider each other to be rivals.

“We play in a tough section; everybody beats each other up,” Caponi said.

“But we’ve been pretty successful. We’ve been really competitive, and I’ve tried to tell these guys, ‘One year has nothing to do with next year. One game has nothing to do with the next.’”