Baseball – 2014 Preview: Lakewood

Lakewood Piners

Head Coach: Gene Drumright, 10th season
Record Last Year: 3-16 (2-12, eighth in B South)

Key Losses: Mike Villalba (C/P), Alex Martinez (OF), Kristian Tate (1B/OF)
Key Newcomers: Ronny Figueroa (Sr., P/C), Juan Rivera (Sr., P/INF), Eric Segui (Jr., C), Brandon Jackson-Tinnery (Sr., OF), Hector Figueroa (Jr., OF/INF)

Team Outlook

Once again, Lakewood had some individual talent in 2013, but not enough of it to make any sort of headway in the Class B South standings. Replacing 2012 graduate and right-handed ace Brenden Downey proved to be too much, as the Piners could not get outs when they needed them last season. In a division with plenty of pitching talent, Lakewood suffered from not having enough players who could keep the Piners in the game while on the mound.

This year may have more of the same in store for Lakewood, as the rotation will be comprised of three seniors, only one of whom (Juan Carlos Jerez) pitched on the varsity team last year. That will put the onus back on the offense and the defense, the former of which was good at times last year. Junior shortstop Jaison Jerez was a coaches’ all-division selection after an impressive year in the field and at the plate (.429, a home run, a triple and four doubles). Outfielders David Patterson and Harry Brown both bring some speed to the lineup and the defense, and with a year to mature at the plate, both should see an uptick in their hitting.

Lakewood is behind the eight-ball in B South because it needs to find pitching more than any other team other than Monsignor Donovan, and the Griffins have demonstrated a more consistent pipeline from which to draw. The Piners, however, could benefit from seeing the back of a lot of opponents’ rotations and with hitting being as volatile as it is, Lakewood could knock some teams off in those scenarios.