Spring is perhaps the best time of year for baseball.
The grass on the field still boasts a bright green shine, not yet having been chewed up by outfielders’ cleats; the smell of hot dogs wafts from the concession stands, carried by a light breeze; and fresh rain has washed away any memories from the season before – good and bad alike.
Which is good for Russ Smithson and his White Rock Tritons, because as far as they’re concerned, the less said about last season, the better.
The 2010 Premier Baseball League season was not kind to the Tritons, who were coached at the time by Brent Swanson – Smithson helmed White Rock’s U16 junior squad – and plagued by player defections to other programs, inexperience among the players who stayed, and injuries and indifference that made it tough for Swanson to field a full team on many nights.
On more than a few occasions, the team had to forfeit due to a lack of available players.
As the season came to a close, Swanson – who left the Tritons to take an assistant coaching job at UBC – also took pot-shots BCPBL executives on a litany of topics.
“We just came in and tried right away to put last year behind us,” said Smithson, who took over the U18 Tritons in time for the team’s fall training season. “And I’m excited about this season, big time. I really am. We’ve worked really hard this fall, and a lot can change in a year – guys get older, bigger and improve.”
Smithson has plenty of reason to be optimistic. For starters, with a combined 38 players on the rosters of the junior and senior Tritons – max allowed by the league – he shouldn’t run into the same roster issues the squad faced last season.
And the team should be far more competitive than finished dead last in the PBL last year, with an 8-36 win-loss record. They recently returned from an trip to Tuscon, Ariz., where they played eight games against various junior colleges. And though the Tritons were winless, they did enough good things to give Smithson a positive feeling heading into the PBL season.
“It went really well, even if we didn’t win. We did a lot of things right,” he said.
While the offence remains a work-in-progress – Smithson predicts they’ll be middle of the pack when it comes to scoring runs – where the team should be much improved is in the field and on the mound.
“Defensively, we should be right at the top of the league,” he said.
“And our pitching staff has a lot of real live arms – they’re young, but have the chance to be very good.”
Returnee Josh Larsen will be the Tritons’ No. 1 pitcher, Smithson said, followed in the rotation by Blaine, Wash. lefty Nathan Trueblood – another returning player, who’ll join the team in May when his high school season is complete, state-side.
Last season in White Rock, Trueblood, who is in Grade 11, struck out 49 in just 32.2 innings of work.
“He’s going to be big for us – he’s a very talented pitcher, and he’ll slot right in behind Josh,” Smithson said.
The rest of the rotation will be filled out with Shay Buis, who split time last season between the junior and senior Tritons, fourth-year Triton Sean Mcguire, Joel Lamont – a transfer from the Abbotsford Cardinals junior team – Adam Shumka and Cody Didyk, who played last year with the Vancouver Cannons’ junior team.
In the field, White Rock will rely on veteran Josh Sigurdson – who will play shortstop as well as the outfield – and senior outfielders Brandon Sonnenberg and Brandon Novak and infielder Tony Tabor.
Behind the plate, the team also boasts catching depth, as junior graduate Evan Douglas and senior Dustin Dhanani will split starting duties, and will be spelled by Nathan Ackerman and Brett Walker.
And while the team is unlikely to lead the circuit in home runs – round-trippers were hard to come by last year anyhow, with Fraser Valley Chiefs’ Brandon Bufton first with four – the Tritons will instead play what’s known in baseball circles as “small ball.” Rather than wait for the three-run home run, they’ll focus instead of sacrificing, bunting, and moving runners.
Oh, and they’ll most definitely run.
“Oh yeah, we’re gonna run – I’ve been sending guys left and right. That’s just how I like to play. I’m really trying to stress the small things.” Smithson said.
“In the course of a game, there’s so many little battles, and we’re just trying to win as many of those as we can – whether its getting a hit or walk on a 3-2 count, or having a runner go from first to third.
“If you win enough of those battles during the game, you’ve got a good chance to win it.”
The Tritons begin the season on the road this weekend, with a double-header against the Vancouver Cannons Saturday, and two more games in Victoria Sunday against the Mariners. Saturday’s game start at 1 and 3:30 p.m., while Sunday’s tilts are slated for noon and 3 p.m.
White Rock also plays Tuesday evening in Langley, against the Langley Blaze.
Scholarships
A pair of Tritons – Larsen and Sigurdson – wasted little time securing for themselves a baseball future next season, when the graduate from the PBL.
The pair have each agreed to play next season for El Paso Community College in Texas. Currently, El Paso CC is the home of former Triton Keenan Chanin, and is also the former school of Smithson, the Triton’s new coach, who played there in 2003/04.
“We are excited to add both Josh Larsen and Josh Sigurdson to our 2011-2012 recruiting class,” said El Paso coach Adam Gawason in a release.
“I expect both to be impact performers as freshmen. Not only do both fill immediate needs for us but we also believe they have the ability to be successful right away.”