2010 Season Update
Tourney Dreams Come Up Just Short
For
the third consecutive season the Blue Devils qualified for post-season
play, unfortunately the relatively young squad went down to defeat in a
well-played 3-1 loss to Taconic High School in Pittsfield.
Despite falling behind 3-0 after two innings, starting pitcher
Sam Kerstetter held the tough Taconic team to just two singles the rest
of the way. Andrew Sadowski plated Matty Bak with base hit to
narrow the gap in the fourth inning, but the Blue Devils stranded four
runners in the fifth and sixth innings to come up just short.
Congratulations to the Senior Class of 2010 for successful
careers that helped the varsity team win 44 games and make the Division
1 Tournament three times.
Blue Devils win Sportsmanship Award!
The Hampshire-Franklin Baseball Umpires Association awarded Northampton its 2010 Sportsmanship Award
for exemplary conduct by the players during games. Congratulations to
all the players.
| Booster Club Sponsors | The 2010 Season Recap
[updates are forthcoming...]
Click
here for Details
|
|
" The
credit in life does not go to the critic who sits on the sideline and
points out where the strong stumble, but rather, the real credit in
life goes to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face may get
marred by sweat and dust, who knows great enthusiasm and great devotion
and learns to spend himself in a worthy cause, who, at best if he wins,
knows the thrill of high achievement and if he fails, at least fails
while daring greatly, so that in life his place will never be with
those very cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat. "
Theodore Roosevelt
|
TEAM POLICIES |
ACADEMICS: Any candidate who is
not academically eligible based on second
quarter and first semester final grades will
not be
allowed to try out. That means if a player has more than one
failing
grade (less than a 60% average) on his February report card he will not be considered for a
spot in the program.
During the season, a player with a D or F in any
class at progress report time will not play until he has earned at
least a 70% grade or better. Progress reports and report cards
will be monitored
Rationale: it is simply a matter of fairness. Playing
sports is a privilege and with it comes the responsibility to perform
in the classroom. If a failing player were to be kept on the
roster, he would miss a minimum of 8-10 games and take a spot from a
more
deserving student athlete.
DRUGS & ALCOHOL
- ZERO TOLERANCE ! Any player who
violates Northampton High School's Drug & Alcohol policy in-season
will be
immediately suspended from game competition for the entire season. Off-season
violations carrying over into the baseball season will
disqualify a player from
participation.
Rationale: high
school athletics promote healthy lifestyles and sound
decision making, and the use of illegal substances violates both of
these tenets and will not be tolerated. |
|
2010
SPRING OUTDOOR PRACTICE SCHEDULE
|
|
Regular Season Practices:
VARSITY TEAM:
All outdoor practices on non-game
days are at Kearney Field, NHS, from 2:20-5:00pm.
In case of inclement weather, practice will be from
2:45-4:00pm, NHS Gym.
JUNIOR VARSITY & FRESHMEN TEAMS:
Most
outdoor practices on non-game days are at JFK Middle School
from 2:45-5:00pm.
In case of inclement weather there
will be no practice.
|
TRYOUT EVALUATIONS & CRITERIA
While the selection
process for any athletic endeavor
always entails a great deal of subjectivity, the NHS Baseball Coaching
Staff strives to make the process as objective and fair as possible.
Toward that end, the coaching staff wants all prospective players
to understand exactly what is expected of them. The following are
some of the criteria on which players will be evaluated. Each
category is not weighted equally | 
|
Working
Together.
| | BLUE DEVILS REACH OUT TO THE COMMUNITY |
The Northampton High School baseball team has a long tradition of
active involvement with the city's youth baseball programs. For
over 17 years, varsity players have helped with Little League
evaluations, and more recently the team has conducted clinics for youth
league players and coaches. In addition to those
activities, the Blue Devils have dramatically increased their community
involvement by hosting several major teaching and coaching events at
NHS' Kearney Field, including events for the Northampton Little League
and the Cal Ripken League.
This year the Blue Devils also assisted the Northampton St. Patrick's
Parade Committee by marching and carrying banners in the Holyoke Parade.
|
Sam Barron '09 conducts a hitting drill with Cal Ripken players.
|
Blue Devils
lead Little Leaguers
in stretching.
|
Varsity
players field questions
from Little Leaguers.
|
|
| During early March, 2009, the
Blue Devils hosted the 1st Annual Winter Warmup,
a free indoor instructional clinic at NHS for over 30 boys and girls
aged 9 to 12. The varsity players also helped conduct a coaches
clinic for Farm League coaches in April.
The most ambitious project in recent seasons was 2008's 3nd
Annual Youth League Mini-Camp. Twenty Blue Devils players and
staff and over 100
Cal Ripken League players participated
in an evening of intensive
instruction, utilizing the beautiful facilities at Northampton High
School.
Groups of Ripken
players were instructed by NHS players at six different
skill stations, including base running, bunting, live hitting, ground
ball technique, fly balls, and individual hitting mechanics. The
players and their coaches were exposed to many of the same
techniques and drills the high school players use, and the format of
the day modeled (on a much bigger scale) a typical Blue Devils
practice. The day's activities helped provide the young players with a
solid foundation of skills on which to build during their season.
In the past, the Blue Devils also have conducted the mini-camp
for Northampton Little League players.
All of these events not only helped provide the youth league players
with baseball skills, but also just as importantly the NHS players
learned a variety of important lessons. The high school players
had a
chance to build valuable communication skills and to show they really knew baseball by having to teach
it; they gained confidence in their leadership abilities, and most
importantly they had FUN helping
others.
|
Mixing History and
Baseball
 | On November 12, 2008,
Blue Devils senior varsity players were proud to help Historic
Northampton dedicate a memorial to the
Florence Eagles, a team from the 1860’s that was noteworthy not only
for its
many on-field successes but also because it was the first integrated
baseball team in the nation. Located at
the Florence Civic Center,
the kiosk
commemorating the Eagles
is part of a city-wide initiative celebrating Northampton’s rich history. Visit Historic Northampton’s impressive
web site at www.historic-northampton.org
for complete information about this important project and the history
of
baseball in Northampton. |
|
Pictured
here at the dedication ceremony are Casey
Savino ’09
dressed in a
replica 1866 Florence Eagles uniform
and Jim Laizer ’09 wearing a 1905
Northampton Braves uniform.{Return
to Title Page} | |
|
|
Grand Slam Sponsors
The Feingold-Yoss Family
The Labbee Family
Mass Commerical Cleaining
Florence Savings
Ostberg & Associates
Financial Planning
351 Pleasant Street
Northampton, MA
D.W. Polachek, C.P.A.
335 South Street
Northampton, MA
|
Let’s Go Blue Devils !!
SASSON, TURNBULL &
HOOSE
ATTORNEYS AT LAW
______________________
HOWARD S.
SASSON, CYNTHIA J.
TURNBULL,
DAVID P. HOOSE, LUKE RYAN ______________________
Criminal Defense including: Juvenile Delinquency, Family Law, Bankruptcy, Wills and Estate Planning, Automobile
Accidents, Lead
Paint Poisoning
_________________________________
100 Main Street
Northampton, MA
(413) 586-4800
www.sthlaw.net
|
Knowledge Matters, Inc.
85 Woodland Drive
Florence, MA 01062
Home Run Sponsors
|
LET’S
GO BLUE DEVILS:
GET OUT THE WHOOPIN’ STICKS!!
Best wishes from the coaches and board of directors of the
MIKE LAGA YOUTH BASEBALL ASSOCIATION.
The
Mike Laga Baseball Association features competitive, travel baseball
for players aged 13-18 in three different divisions: Sandy Koufax,
Mickey Mantle, and Connie Mack.
Join us for some
summer baseball!!
For More information: www.mikelagayouthbaseball.org
or dhoose@sthlaw.net
| |
The Paynter Family
The Ellerbrook Family
Mr. James M. Dostal
Premier Supply Group /
Northampton Plumbing Supply
Locust St., Northampton
FIERST, PUCCI & KANE LLP
ATTORNEYS AT LAW
|
Triple-Play Sponsors
Joe's Cafe
Market Street
Northampton, MA
|
Wright Builders
The Lenkowski Family
The Dissinger Family
The Quinlan Family
|
|
| " Do the ordinary
things
extraordinarily
well."
Earl F. Tonet
Massachusetts
Baseball Coaches' Association
Hall of
Fame Member |
|
|
The Bluebonnet Diner
King St., Northampton
| |
|
|
2010 VARSITY SCHEDULE & RESULTS
|
Day
|
Date
|
Place
|
Opponent
|
Result
|
Score
|
|
Tue
|
04/06
|
Away
|
Westfield
|
Loss
|
7-0
|
|
Thu
|
04/08
|
Home
|
Amherst
|
Loss
|
4-1
|
|
Mon
|
04/12
|
Away
|
Agawam
|
Loss
|
11-8
|
|
Wed
|
04/14
|
Home
|
West Springfield
|
Loss
|
3-1
|
|
Fri
|
04/16
|
Away
|
Longmeadow
|
Loss
|
14-2
|
|
Tue
|
04/20
|
Home
|
Chicopee
|
Win
|
11-1
|
|
Thu
|
04/22
|
Home
|
Easthampton
|
Win
|
4-1
|
|
Fri
|
04/23
|
Away
|
East Longmeadow
|
Loss
|
10-1
|
|
Fri
|
04/30
|
Home
|
South Hadley*
|
Win
|
6-3
|
|
Mon
|
05/03
|
Home
|
Minnechaug
|
Win
|
3-1
|
|
Tue
|
05/04
|
Away
|
Central*
|
Win
|
12-2
|
|
Wed
|
05/05
|
Home
|
Holyoke
|
Win
|
8-1
|
|
Fri
|
05/07
|
Away
|
Chicopee
Comp*
|
Win
|
17-2
|
|
Mon
|
05/10
|
Home
|
Belchertown*
|
Win
|
4-0
|
|
Wed
|
05/12
|
Home
|
Ludlow*
|
Win
|
3-1
|
|
Fri
|
05/14
|
Away
|
South Hadley*
|
Loss
|
9-2
|
|
Tue
|
05/18
|
Home
|
Central*
|
Win
|
1-0
|
|
Fri
|
05/21
|
Home
|
Chicopee
Comp* SENIOR DAY at Arcanum
|
Loss
|
11-4
|
|
Tue
|
05/25
|
Away
|
Belchertown*
|
Loss
|
6-1
|
|
Fri
|
05/28
|
Away
|
Ludlow*
|
Loss
|
7-6 (8)
|
| Thu | 6/3 | Away | Taconic
Division One Tourney | Loss | 3-1 |
|
Final Record: 10 Wins, 11 Losses; Suburban League Record: 6 Wins, 4 Losses, 2nd Place Finish
|
*Suburban League
Opponent
Varsity
home games
are played at Kearney Field, NHS, unless noted.
Junior Varsity home games are
played at JFK Middle School.
| | | Double-Play Sponsors |
For
updated schedule changes due to inclement weather, visit
www.highschoolsports.net
|
O'Rourke's Auto School
122 Federal St.
Florence, MA |  |
" Nothing in the world can take
the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common
than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius
is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated
derelicts. Persistence and determination are omnipotent. "
Calvin Coolidge
|
| Valley Miniatures, Inc.
141 Damon Road
Northampton, MA 01060
Rigali and Walder Orthodontics
The Silk Mill, 269 Locust St.
Northampton, MA
|
2010 Varsity Preview
| Michael J. O'Brien, DDS
41 Locust St., Northampton | 
Sam Goodwin-Boyd '11
|
The
strengths
of the 2010 Blue Devils squad should be solid pitching and defense.
Anchoring the defense will be experienced returning infielders Dylan Kaufman, Zack
Kennedy, and Sam Goodwin-Boyd. The defensive focus for 2010 will be on replacing the graduated
starting outfield and there will be excellent
opportunities for newcomers to earn important starting outfield jobs. Matty Bak will
guide the team at catcher, with Nick Behrens and
Jake Konowitch providing excellent depth behind the plate.
Unlike in 2009, the 2010 team returns several pitchers with varsity
experience, led by Sam
Kerstetter (3 wins, 3.41 ERA) and Sam Goodwin-Boyd (1 win, 4.38
ERA). Combined with an experienced defensive unit, the pitching
staff gives the team outstanding ingredients for success.
The challenge for the 2010 team will be developing a solid offensive
lineup. Leading the offense will be Suburban League All-Star Sam Goodwin-Boyd
(.386 BA, 14 RBI) Dylan
Kaufman (.275 BA) and Matty Bak.
Leading JV hitter Dan
Kane (no strikeouts in 2009!) will play a key offensive
role. If the 2010 team works hard to manufacture runs, it will
contend for the league title and advance to the post-season.
|
| The Dennis Griffin Family
Acme Automotive Center
220 King St., Northampton
Easthampton Savings Bank
J.E. Clayton, DMD
243 King St., Northampton
| 2009 Blue
Devils Defeat
Amherst
in Cooperstown, New York |
|
One of the
biggest team highlights in recent seasons was a victory over the
arch rival Amherst Hurricanes in the first-ever Cooperstown Classic
played at historic Doubleday Field in Cooperstown, New York.
After last season's game was disappointingly rained out, both teams
kept their collective fingers crossed for good weather in 2009, and
fittingly on Mothers Day, mother nature cooperated.
| Mr. Bob Daniels,
Finck & Perras Insurance
63 Main St., Florence
| Both teams
traveled together to scenic upstate New York, toured the National
Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, and then squared off in a thrilling
come-from-behind 3-1 Northampton win.
Jim Laizer, Jeff Powers and
Max Talbot all had key hits, and Sam Barron smashed a game winning
two-run double to deep center field to put the Blue Devils on top for
good. Junior Sam Kerstetter
pitched his best game of the season to earn the complete game
victory.
All the athletes and coaches involved had a tremendous time playing on
the
same pristine field that major leaguers use. The teams hope to
make
this a regular part of their schedule.
|
Northampton
players wait out
the rain in 2008. |
| The players, coaching staff, and parents of
the Northampton High School baseball team would
like to
sincerely thank all of our generous Booster Club sponsors. With their help and
support, we funded a freshmen program and an assistant coach position
and upgraded our equipment and facilities. Please support all of
our business sponsors with your patronage. | |
Sam
Barron '09 smashes the game winning
hit at Doubleday Field.
|
Max
Talbot '09 drives a double. |
| | |
(as of March, 2010) | |
Seniors
Matty Bak*
Dylan Kaufman*
Sam Kerstetter*
Zack Kennedy*
Jake Konowitch
Brendon O'Leary*
Juniors
Nick
Behrens
Enwil
Berrios Maldonado
Dylan Chatterton
Anthony Fappiano
Sam Goodwin-Boyd
Michael
Jasinski Dan Kane
Justin Ruyffelaert
Michael Schmittlein
Chris Tacy
Sophomores
Yuji Aoki
Bryan Borges-Vega
Ives Fisher
Jake Griffin
Jack Heath
Jared Murphy
Dan Musante
Rousseau Nutter
Cody Robinson
Andrew Sadowski
Woody Tucker
|
| |
{Return
to Title Page}
| | 
Looking forward to next season. | | | | | The Coaching Staff | | MARK BALDWIN,
46, enters his twelfth year as the Blue Devils head varsity
coach and twentieth as a high school coach. The eighth coach in
NHS
history, Coach Baldwin
has guided the Blue Devils to seven post-season appearances
in
his eleven
seasons, including consecutive Suburban League championships in 2000
and 2001. His
teams currently have the third most wins in school history. Coach
Baldwin earned a bachelors degree from Dartmouth College in 1986 where he
was a member of the baseball program for two years. He also holds
two graduate degrees from the University
of Massachusetts. Coach Baldwin played
high school baseball at Hampshire Regional High School for MBCA
Hall of Famers Earl Tonet and David Grills from 1979 to 1982. He began
his high school coaching career in 1988 and has coached at Hampshire
Regional and Hopkins Academy. In 1996 he
began
teaching social
studies and coaching at NHS. He also coached Haydenville Post 236
American Legion baseball for eight seasons, capturing a division title
in 1992. He is a member of the National High School Baseball Coaches
Association and Vice President of the Massachusetts
Baseball Coaches
Association and an MBCA executive board member.
| 
Coach
Baldwin
| MIKE SOUCY, 32, will begin his
second season as the NHS
freshmen baseball coach. Coach Soucy also is the NHS
varsity soccer coach and in 2008 he guided his team to a tourney berth
in just his
second season. Previously, Coach Soucy has coached junior varsity
baseball at Suburban
League arch-rival South Hadley
High School, and he
still plays and coaches baseball
for Easthampton
in the Tri-County League. Coach Soucy has been teaching social
studies and math at John F. Kennedy Middle
School
since 2007,
and he graduated from Keene State College with a degree in Social
Sciences/Secondary Education in 2000, where he played soccer for 4
years.
| | PAUL MARCINEK, 33, will begin his
ninth season as a Blue Devils coach, this season leading the junior
varsity team. In
his first season as a varsity assistant in 2000, Coach Marcinek helped
dramatically improve the Blue Devils’ running game, and over a two
season span the varsity squad stole a record 156 bases under his
tutelage. In 2006 Coach Marcinek's freshmen team went 11-1, a school
record. Coach Marcinek was an all-star infielder at Quaboag Regional
High School and he still
plays baseball, currently starring in the Tri County League for the
2006 League Champion St. Joseph’s of
Palmer where he has earned League All-Star honors.
Coach
Marcinek received his bachelors degree from Westfield State College in
1998, and he also holds a masters degree. Coach Marcinek teaches
math at NHS and is the Mathematics Department Chair, and he serves our
country as a sergeant in the Army National Guard.
| Coach
Marcinek | | DAVID GRILLS, begins his fifth
season as a
Blue Devils varsity assistant, but his sixth decade as a high school baseball coach! Coach Grills taught physical education for over 30
years and is a graduate of the University of Rhode Island. Coach
Grills is a member of the Massachusetts
Baseball Coaches Hall of Fame, and he is the only coach in Massachusetts
to have won sectional championships in three different sports. His Hampshire Regional and Williamsburg High
School
teams won Western Massachusetts Championships in baseball, basketball,
and
cross country. Obviously, Coach Grills’ experience, knowledge, and
leadership is invaluable to the program. |
Coach
Grills
| | SCOTT SAVINO, 45, begins his
second
season as a Blue Devils varsity assistant coach. Coach Savino is
a graduate of the University of Massachusetts and Northampton High
School, where he
was an all-star performer for the Blue Devils. He also starred
for Northampton Post 28 American Legion and in the
Tri-County men's league. Coach Savino has
coached all levels of youth baseball in Northampton, and he still
coaches Little League. When he is not involved with guiding the
city's youngsters, Coach Savino is a recently promoted captain with the Northampton
Police Department. | Coach
Savino
| | DYLAN RICKLES, 24, finished
his first season as the new Blue Devils pitching coach, helping the
team post one of its lowest ERA's in a decade. Coach Rickles was
a League All-Star in his playing days at NHS, pitched in college, and
still stars in the Tri-County men's league. Coach Rickles
graduated from Western New England College in 2008 and teaches at
Hampshire Educational Collaborative. He also is pursuing a
masters degree in education. | 
Coach Rickles
(in his playing days) | | Recent Blue Devils as Collegians
since 1999 |
PLAYER
|
SCHOOL
|
Tom Ellerbrook, NHS '99 - captain
|
University of Massachusetts '03 -
captain
|
Joe Golec, NHS '00 - captain
|
Western New England College '04
- captain
|
John Lenkowski, NHS '01 -
captain
|
St. Anselm's College '05
|
Scott Samolewicz, NHS '02 - captain
|
Springfield College '06
|
| Jon
Feingold, NHS '03 - captain |
Vassar College '07
|
Mike Messinger, NHS '03
|
Macalaster University '07
|
Dylan Rickles, NHS '04
|
Western New England College '08
|
Chuck Labbee, NHS '05 - captain
|
Worcester Polytechnic Institute '09
|
Miles Harlow, NHS '06
|
Macalaster University '10
|
Ryan Keilty, NHS '06 - captain
|
Springfield College '10
|
Anthony Cooper NHS '06
|
Holyoke Community College '08 |
| Noah Feingold, NHS '08 | Wesleyan University '12 |
Nick
Kellogg NHS '08
|
Clark
University '12
|
Joe Popielarczyk '08
- captain
|
University of Massachusetts '12 |
Adam
Metzger '09 - captain
|
Worcester State
College '13
|
| Sam Barron '09 - captain | Curry College '13 | | Luke LaPlante '09 - captain | United States Coast Guard Academy '14 |
|
| | Booster Club | Any
alumni, parents, or community members interested in becoming a
Baseball
Booster Club sponsor or member of the Booster Club should contact
Varsity Coach Mark
Baldwin at Northampton High School, telephone # 587-1344 or Email
us.
Money raised by the Booster Club is used to fund an assistant
coaching position and the entire
Freshmen program, as well as
supplementing the team's equipment and facilities budget. |
| | | | "Reality rarely matches dream.
But only dreams give nobility to purpose."
Lyndon Baines Johnson | |
QUESTIONS
OR COMMENTS?
We
would love to hear from you, so Email us,
especially
if you are an alumnus
of the program.
We're especially looking for any statistics from before 1984.
{Return to Title Page}
Bookmark
this
site's address:
www.nps.northampton.ma.us/nhhs/devilsbaseball.htm
|
|
|
