Amerine Named District Coach of Year

By: Sam Ehsani (June 11, 2004)

A brief rally in the bottom of the seventh inning fell short and the Mustangs lost 4-2 to the Clarke County Eagles last Thursday. The loss ended the season and the Mustangs’ record finished at 11-8 overall, 6-5 in the district.

Freshman Byron Mendenhall pitched the complete game giving up five hits and no earned runs. Unfortunately, the Mustangs did not hit well, with only five hits total, two coming from John Schwangel. The game was dominated by errors, giving up three runs early. The reason for the errors seemed to be due to the nervousness of the Mustangs at the start. "We were nervous at the beginning, but after we got over it, we played even with them," said Joseph Mauro.

After giving up another unearned run in the sixth, the Mustangs opened a rally in the seventh that produced two runs. "We just came up short," said coach Adam Amerine, who was recently announced Coach of the Year for the Bull Run District. In the game, Amerine was also ejected, which animated the Mustangs to begin the rally in the seventh inning. 

The game completed an overachieving season in which the Mustangs finished second in the district. Before the season began, Coach Amerine said that the team would probably end up in the middle of the district. Yet his young baseball players improved expectations. "It would have been really nice to finish off the season with the District title" said Amerine. Unfortunately, the inexperience may have cost them, because they began their first playoff game nervous. 

With only three players leaving the team, the Mustangs are looking towards a promising season. The team will retain First Team All District Catcher Will Straub, Second Team All District Third Baseman John Schwangel, as well as Second Team All District First Baseman Matt Foley.

Seniors Josh Sadtler, First Team All District Shortstop Andrew Yancey and Second Team All District Pitcher Joseph Mauro will be leaving, but those are holes that Amerine believes they can fill. They will be missing two outfielders but Dan Stroup and Paul Mene will be taking over the starting outfielding positions, and Andrew Phelps will come in as aid in the outfield to complete the rotation.

As for pitching, someone will need to take over for Mauro’s absence. With Mendenhall leading the rotation, someone will need to take over, be it Foley, Schwangel, or Phelps. Nonetheless, next season looks to be a promising one, where the Mustangs will be in contention for the district title.