The Bucks Men’s Baseball season concluded three weeks ago in a playoff loss, and despite an overall record of 5-7, the team and coach still see their season as a
success.
“We had a lot of one-run losses,” Coach Mark Bohling said, “our record wouldn’t indicate
how good of a season we really
had.”
Bohling has coached baseball at
Bucks for the last three years.
With some highs and lows, he has
been able to have a lot of success
in that short time.
“It was kind of an experimental
season for us. This was my first
season coaching in the fall, and it
was good,” Bohling said. “We had
the potential, just never reached
it.”
“We made errors during many
key moments, like when there
were runners in scoring position
or when we were trying to hold
runners,” Bohling said. “You can
make errors here and there and recover.
You just can’t do it in those
key moments.”
“Had we not let a ball into the
outfield or over-thrown a ball at
times, it could have been the difference
between winning by a run
and losing by a run,” Bohling said.
He also mentioned that had those
games been won, they probably
could have had a 9-3 record.
Out of 16 players from the previous
season, only one player returned.
However, that had little
impact on the team and their season.
“I was impressed with the
chemistry of the freshmen; they
didn’t really know each other before
this year. Some of them
maybe played against each other
in summer leagues,” Bohling said.
While the team didn’t have any
captains to officially lead the
freshmen and team, they did have
two standout stars.
“We had two guys who were
vocal and knew what I wanted and
conveyed that to the team. They
were [freshman first baseman]
Brian Rodda and [freshman first
baseman] Matthew Elias.”
Bohling said, “Brian kind of led
the infield and helped motivate the
guys.”
Bohling was very excited when
he talked about the team’s talent
in the infield. He was thrilled because
of their chemistry and playmaking
ability.
“Our infield was phenomenal. It
was probably the best I’ve had in
my three years of coaching baseball
here,” Bohling said. “The infielders
were probably the
highlight of our season.”
“As for Elias, he was kind of the
joker of the team. However, he
knew when to turn it on,” Bohling
said. “He kind of had that aggressive
approach. He could play
catcher, first base, or pitcher.”
Bohling spoke highly of Elias’
assertiveness. “He would charge
every play and make every play
he could. Just that aggressive attitude
is something I really look for
in a player.”
There were plenty of other
standout stars from the fall season.
“My surprise player of the season
was Dustin Milewski. He’s
definitely a notable mention for
what to watch out for,” Bohling
said. “He’s consistent in everything
he does on offense and defense.
He moved from eighth in
our lineup to second.”
Freshman outfielder Anthony
Drago has also caught Bohling’s
attention.
“Drago is the freshman I look
forward to next season. He is a
phenomenal outfielder. I haven’t
seen a guy as fast as him in a long
time, and guys trust him in the
outfield,” Bohling said.
However, Drago’s potential is
not in the outfield.
“It would be a shame to take
him out of the outfield, but I see
more potential in him as a starter,”
Bohling said. “He can go five innings
for us easily. He has a lot of
potential; the potential just needs
to be focused.”
Because the outfield was one of
the team’s weaker spots, Bohling
is reluctant to remove Drago’s talent
and place it in the starting lineup.
“The outfield was very questionable.
We had five outfielders.
There was plenty of speed, and
they all had good arms. We just
couldn’t find the chemistry,”
Bohling said. “We needed someone
in the outfield to be vocal and
take charge.”
“I guess my issue with the outfield
was that out of the five guys
we had, their bats would fluctuate,”
Bohling said. “Overall, batting
was okay and pitching was
good, but we didn’t have many
go-to starters.”
There was one go-to pitcher in
the season: Sophomore Angelo
“Jell-O” Capria.
“[Capria] could pitch every
other game; he had a pretty good
rubber arm. But he was never
dominant,” Bohling said. “He
would always mix up his pitches;
he’s a very, very smart pitcher,” he
added, comparing him to Hall-of-
Famer Greg Maddux.
It was pitching performances
like Capria’s that would keep the
team in the game. However, issues
arose in the later innings of the
game.
“At least for the first five innings,
we were usually tied or
ahead; then we would lose in the
sixth or seventh inning,” Bohling
said.
In the Eastern Pennsylvania
Collegiate Conference (EPCC),
pitching can dominate like in any
other league. However, Bucks
found little pitching depth in the
league.
“Most teams will carry one phenomenal
pitcher, and that’s their
guaranteed win,” Bohling said.
“After that, it becomes a hitter’s
league; we’ll win some games
with 20 runs. However, in this
league, if you have the pitching,
you’ll do really well.”
“I look forward to a huge
turnout in the spring; I hope to get
a lot of true position players like
pitchers and catchers,” Bohling
said.
“Baseball is unique, it always
looks good on paper; but the thing
is that you have to go out there and show it.”