Sports
With Depth and Camaraderie, Tam Baseball Squad Targets Playoffs
Hawks are deep on the mound and all around the diamond, boosting optimism for a club that has fallen just short each of the past two MCAL seasons.
As they get set to kick off their Marin County Athletic League (MCAL) season Tuesday, baseball coach Mike Terry likes what he sees in his 2011 team. Why? Because they no longer resemble the Los Angeles Dodgers.
“In the past, we were like the Dodgers - 28 guys, 28 cabs,” the third-year Red-tailed Hawks coach noted. “These guys get along.”
They certainly should know each other well at this point. Terry has 16 juniors and seniors on his club, one that finished seventh (8-10 MCAL, 8-16 overall) in the MCAL last season.
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This year’s goal: Make the playoffs.
“It not only realistic, it’s expected,” Terry boasted. “The last two years we were in playoff hunt down to the last week.”
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The Hawks kick off the MCAL season Tuesday and have started the year with a 2-1 record following a 5-1 win over Montgomery on Saturday.
Terry believes the difference this season will be greater depth. Not only are there standouts on the field, but there are talented players simply looking to get off the bench and contribute.
“I think we’re starting to get more talent throughout the program,” he claimed. “We’re not losing talent to other schools and other sports at Tam. Baseball players are excited to play in this program now, more so than in two years ago.”
The Hawks’ pitching staff resembles the rest of the team roster in that it is talented and deep.
It starts at the top with and doesn’t taper off much when Terry has to turn to Matt Davis, Kit Larson and Andrew Kennedy, the team’s shortstop when he’s not pitching in relief. Larson pitched a complete game and drove in two runs in the win over Montgomery.
“We’ve got some pitching depth this year,” Terry insisted. “And we have depth on the bench. When we have injuries, we’re not going to have a huge drop-off.”
Senior centerfielder Ian Light is the team’s top hitter, returning from a season when he ranked among the MCAL leaders. “I think he’s going to be an impact player for us this year,” Terry predicted.
The rest of the lineup is headed by third baseman Dan Sokoloski – “Give me nine Dan Sokoloskis and we’d be in pretty good shape,” Terry assures – and two quality catchers, Harry Spilman and .
TAM’S 2011 BASEBALL SCHEDULE (Home team in CAPS)
TAM 13, Galileo 1
Miramonte 11, TAM 3
Tam 5, Montgomery 1
March 8, MARIN CATHOLIC, 3:45 p.m.
March 11, at Novato, 3:45 p.m.
March 12, WASHINGTON (SAN FRANCISCO), 11 a.m.
March 15, SAN MARIN, 4:30 p.m.
March 18, at San Rafael, 4:30 p.m.
March 19, ALHAMBRA (MARTINEZ), noon
March 22, at Redwood, 4:30 p.m.
March 24, ACALANES (LAFAYETTE), 4 p.m.
March 25, TERRA LINDA, 4:30 p.m.
March 29, at Branson, 4:30 p.m.
April 1, at Justin-Siena, 4:30 p.m.
April 5, DRAKE, 4:30 p.m.
April 8, at Marin Catholic, 4:30 p.m.
April 19, NOVATO, 4:30 p.m.
April 21, at San Marin, 4:30 p.m.
April 26, SAN RAFAEL, 4:30 p.m.
April 29, REDWOOD, 4:30 p.m.
May 3, at Terra Linda, 4:30 p.m.
May 6, BRANSON, 4:30 p.m.
May 10, JUSTIN-SIENA, 4:30 p.m.
May 12, at Drake, 4:30 p.m.
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