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07/24/2023 09:29 AMIn many ways, it’s been a trying summer for the 16u Huskies baseball team. Competing in the East Shore Wooden Bat League, the Huskies have lost all 15 games they’ve played.
However, when assessing the totality of circumstances, we must remember there are myriad reasons for how the Huskies got to where they are, including the lack of experience and unity among the players.
“It’s a year with a lot of young kids,” Head Coach Dave Perrotti said. “A lot of kids have never played together before.”
The Huskies are based in Clinton and pull players from surrounding towns, including Guilford, Madison and Old Saybrook. They started the season up in June, days after the conclusion of the high school baseball season, with 16 players. Because most of them had not been teammates before, there was a lot of relationship-building to do in a very short amount of time.
Through it all, Perrotti commended the performances of several players on his squad, including Sean Green, Luke Perrotti, Aidan Devaney, Finn Strabley, Connor Barry and Lucas Hedge-Terreri.
“Some of those kids we’re playing (against), they have been with their program since 8 or 9. They’ve been with the program for almost 10 years,” Perrotti said. “Our kids, they just met each other five weeks ago.”
Thus, they knew there was a lot of catching up to do.
“If the (high school) baseball season ends on a Wednesday, we start playing on a Thursday,” Perrotti said. “You’re not allowed to do anything until high school season ends. So maybe you’d get in one practice. Then you just go. You’re usually getting in four to five games a week. We didn’t have the ability to have many practices. Field time is an issue, and then you run right into the season. All the coaches are volunteers, so we’re limited as to how many days we’re available.”
On top of the lack of preparation time for the summer campaign, injuries also complicated matters. Two of the Huskies’ top pitchers went down early, weakening valuable depth. With nowhere to turn for more pitching, the Huskies struggled early and often. On top of that, the hitters needed time to adjust from using metal bats.
“Pitching was an issue because we just didn’t have enough,” Perrotti said. “The kids who did pitch were fine. A lot of kids have never played with a wooden bat, so it took some time to get familiar with it. Nobody complained about it. They seemed to like the Wooden Bat League. They went and bought their first wooden bats, these kids. They didn’t really know if it was going to be the right bat for them.”
With Hedge-Terreri a catalyst atop the lineup, the Huskies’ offensive production picked up as the season progressed. Still, it didn’t translate into any wins against stronger, more experienced teams from the likes of Fairfield, Meriden, Norwich, Trumbull and Wethersfield.
There was a club team dynamic that often left the Huskies overmatched.
“Kids do switch clubs, but most of the time, they play with that same club from when they were young,” Perrotti explained. “They probably play together 60 games a year. That’s what makes it tough for us. We’ve never played together, and we’ve got a 20-game schedule.”
Despite those circumstances, the Huskies stuck together. And Perrotti suspects they’ll continue to do so as they head into their final week of the season. Because of postponements, there could be some doubleheaders remaining.
No matter what happens, Perrotti doesn’t want the Huskies to be defined by their record.
“Everybody looks at the record, but they got a lot out of it,” Perrotti said. “All in all, it wasn’t as bad as the record would say. They all got along. They all made friends. It was a good experience for them. Now, they’re more familiar with a better level of play.”
In addition to Green, Perrotti, Devaney, Strabley, Barry and Hedge-Terreri, the Huskies’ roster also includes Jackson Marcello, Tegan Guile, Vin Palatiello, Luke Powell, Dillon Moore, Zach Elder, Mikey Ferraiolo, Dom Larabee. and Griffin Velardi.