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06/07/2021 12:00 AMThe Valley Regional baseball squad had a strange end to its season last week. The Warriors competed in the Class S State Tournament, but took a loss in the first round against Northwest Catholic.
Head Coach Brian Drinkard’s squad finished the season with an overall record of 15-7. After the Warriors took their loss in states, they were named Shoreline Conference Tournament co-champions along with Coginchaug after the cancellation of the Shoreline final.
The original date of the final was scheduled May 28 but was postponed to May 29 due to inclement weather. That date was further postponed after a washed out Memorial Day weekend. Without any available days left to play before the Class S State Tournament, the potential final was placed on hold to be made up if both Coginchaug and Valley were out of the contention. When Coginchaug advanced to the Class S quarterfinals, the decision was made to name both teams co-champions of the Shoreline Conference.
The 2021 season proved a very successful one for the Warriors, and, even though they would have loved for the opportunity to play in a conference final, a piece of the Shoreline crown is still a major accomplishment. Drinkard knows his guys are disappointed, but they have a lot to be proud of as well.
“They’re bummed out. They earned a right to play for a championship. After a year that so much got taken away because of COVID, they lost this game because of weather,” said Drinkard. “I feel great about what they did this year. I’m proud of them. They played well. We had a mix of upperclassmen and underclassmen that played together very well, and our record was definitely positive.”
On June 1, Valley hosted Northwest Catholic in a first-round states matchup and took a 5-2 loss. The Warriors saw some solid performances in the game even though they cam up just a bit short. Senior captain Sam Helsel laced a single in the game. Additionally, sophomore Brayden Shea got a shot in a big game and performed very well. Coach Drinkard knew that Shea would prove that he belonged in that states contest.
“Brayden Shea has been playing well all year. We had a hunch he would be able to have a great game, and it was great to see a kid wait all year to have an opportunity have a strong game in states,” said Drinkard. He made a diving play in right field. He had a line shot to left field for a base hit. He was definitely ready to play.”
Shea’s move into the starting lineup at states typified the dedication that every player on the team had to fielding the best squad on a given day. When Coach Drinkard decided to make a change, there was no push back from his upperclassman.
“Shea had a really strong second half of the JV season. It was great to see a player sitting behind a hot senior all season long get his chance,” said Drinkard. “Any time I have had to have a conversation about moving somebody to a different position or anything like that, the standard answer from these kids is just that we want to win. It’s the most unselfish group of talented baseball players that I’ve been around in my 25 years of coaching.”
Coach Drinkard thinks that a lot of that selflessness comes from the top in senior captains Ryan Ellison, Helsel, and Kyle Metz. Coach Drinkard has a great coaching staff helping him out in the dugout in Assistant Coaches Charlie Wolfe, Lou Rolon, and Nick Mardjekaj. Coach Drinkard believed that Coach Wolfe hit the nail on the head in the type of players that the Warriors were looking for to lead their squad.
“They have been great. When we named the captains, Coach Wolfe put something in my ear,” Drinkard said. “He said that we’re looking for leaders not foremen. Being a captain isn’t just picking up equipment. They need to be leaders and be positive influences on the squad. They were also voted on by all the players on the team, and the player definitely chose well.”
Drinkard was also impressed with his pitching staff for stepping up after losing their presumptive ace pitcher, junior James Marsden, for the year. The rotation boiled down to Ellison, sophomore Colin Carver, and sophomore Braeden Sparaco along with fellow sophomore Henry Breckenfeld coming out of the bullpen.
“We didn’t have Marsden all year. At the end of the season, we had three starters and a reliever,” Drinkard said. “There was no one, two, or three really. Every one of Carver, Sparaco, and Ellison were able to beat anyone on any given day. We had 100-percent confidence with Breckenfeld coming out in relief. We had a pitching staff that was really capable of winning games.”
The Warriors also saw some end-of-year recognition with Andrew Salbinski and Metz earning All-Shoreline Conference Second Team honors. Coach Drinkard also thought that Sam Hutchinson and Helsel played well most of the year, and were especially hot at the end of the season.
Coach Drinkard also wanted to provide some recognition for another key component to the team’s success Casey Metz, the Valley Regional Baseball Booster Club President.
“The booster president Casey Metz is leaving us this year. She went above and beyond for a booster president,” said Drinkard. “She was helpful to the program and got the boys what they needed. She really bridged the gap between us and the parents. We thank he and we’re going to miss her.”
Coach Drinkard was impressed that his squad was able to stay ready after the states loss for any potential matchup with Coginchaug. It made for an interesting week, but the Warriors decided to use their depth to play an intersquad game to close out the year.
“It’s a weird ending. After the states game, we didn’t know what was going to happen. We had a good idea that Coginchaug wasn’t going to lose, but we had to mentally stay ready in case,” said Drinkard. “We decided that we were going to have a full scrimmage of varsity players, and we’re going to have a banquet to follow outside. That’s how much depth we have, we can play a full scrimmage with varsity players.”
That depth bodes well for the Warriors for next season. While this year may have had an odd twist at the end, Coach Drinkard believes that Valley will be a team to contend with in the future because of its talent and mindset.
“This group doesn’t need a chip on their shoulder. It wouldn’t have mattered if we went .500, these guys always think they are going to win their next game,” said Drinkard. “It was a whole season of team baseball. It was great to see everyone working together to be a strong team. Most of this group is back, and there are still kids that are waiting to step in. The Shoreline is usually very good, but Valley is going to be a tough team to beat for years to come.”