By Ryan Massad, Contributing Writer
Shrewsbury – Members of the Shrewsbury High School (SHS) baseball team have high expectations for their team entering the 2012 season. After rival St. John's High School ended SHS's 2011 season, and with the departure of all-star pitcher Josh Desai, the Colonials have a lot to prove. Desai, who will pitch for Suffolk University this spring, is just one of four key losses for the Colonials: Ryan Stowe started in center field last season, and the pitcher-catcher combo of Jimmy Hunt and Trevor David also graduated.
However, there's now a new group of juniors and seniors that has the SHS coaching staff excited for the first pitch. “We have high expectations for several players coming into the season,” said coach Lee Diamantopoulos.
The key players are four seniors and three juniors. Senior Brett Mikolajczyk looks to take Desai's place as the ace of the pitching staff. Senior Matt Bodley hit .339 last season and is solid defensively at third base. Seniors Bill Theis and Drew Marquedant will take up the right side of the infield, and are both expected to have big seasons at the plate. Junior Spencer Resnik had an impressive 2.86 ERA as a sophomore, and will be key to the pitching staff, along with Jay Reynolds, who also plays outfield. Among all these experienced student-athletes with high expectations, none may be higher than those for junior Mike Coggeshall. When Coggeshall isn's pitching, he's the starting shortstop for the Colonials. He led the team last season with a .394 average, and was one of the youngest players selected to the Mid-Wach A All-Star team.
“We have a good team this year,” Coggeshall said. “We have strong pitching, and the hitting is coming along. Come the first game, we'sl be ready.”
To the Colonials, anything short of a Mid-Wach A title, to them, will be considered a disappointment.