JOHNSTOWN – The Raiders baseball squad has been hard at work honing their skills indoors. The players are ready for the season to begin.
Head Coach Dave Hennessey and Assistant Coach Scott Mastroianni have been working with the team for weeks in the weight room, in the Raiders Den, and in the classroom. The roster shows a good blend of sophomores and freshmen. Their collegiate, high school, and summer ball experience, combined with their indoor performance, indicates that the 2015 Raiders will be a strong team.
The indoor work has benefitted from a new batting cage. The new cage is more spacious, allowing a pitching mound to be set at regulation distance from home plate, and with plenty of room for a catcher to work behind the batter.
Veterans on the roster include four of last season's top seven batters: James Waters, Christopher Rockefeller, Kristjan Maksuti, and Andrew Houser.
Also returning is pitcher Christian Maldonado. "Maldo" won five games while losing just two last season, and he was dominating on the mound in the Raiders' win that assured them a berth in the postseason. Maldo also struck out 52 batters in 41.0 innings.
Schedule
The Raiders are scheduled to take a weekend trip to play in Maryland on March 13-15. However, the weather in Maryland has been unusually harsh and the field may not be ready for play. FM baseball fans are urged to check this website for schedule changes.
FM's northern schedule is set to begin on March 31 with games against SUNY Adirondack at East Field in Glens Falls. The Raiders are to host Adirondack two days later. Again, fans should check this site for schedule changes.
The frost line is very deep this year, and it may take longer than usual for area ballyards to become playable. We Raider fans hope that the April 2 games will take place on the Raiders' field. But whenever the season can begin, we'll eagerly await the starting nine FM players running onto the field, and the umpire pointing to the pitcher and calling out, "Play Ball!"
C.J. Bonny, website writer
