Spring sports get underway; Spartan baseball coach Dana optimistic for 2009

The temperature may be struggling to get out of the 40s and the fields are still a mess, but there is a light at the end of the tunnel.The high school spring sports season officially got underway Monday, which means area coaches, including St. Mary’s High baseball coach Derek Dana, are assessing their returning players and sizing up the newcomers.Dana is in his second year as head coach of the Spartans, who are coming off a 13-10 season that saw them make it to the Division 3 North quarterfinals before losing to Tyngsboro, 5-4, in nine innings.Dana said last year’s team tugged along at about .500 before heating up and winning five of its last seven games. A Clancy Tournament title also went a long way to solidifying a good season, as did knocking out O’Bryant, the No. 2 seed in D3.Although he lost nine players from the 2008 team, including No. 1 pitcher Nick Conti, Dana has a good nucleus back that includes his three captains – second baseman Joe Kasabuski, shortstop/pitcher Ryan Beliveau, and third baseman Yano Petruzzelli.The Spartans also return junior pitcher Mike Scanlon of Swampscott, who went 2-2 with a save in six starts last year. Last year, he and Beliveau were the two and three starters behind Conti. Rounding out the list of returning players who saw considerable time is Anthony Disciscio, who plays first base and is the designated hitter. Another player who found himself seeing some varsity time by the end of the year was pitcher Matt Turmenne, a sophomore from Peabody.Dana has a few spots to fill with the loss of Chris Kefalas, A.J. Capano, Anthony Struppa, Angel Rodriguez, John McDonnell, John Diaz, Tommy McPherson and Tade Ogunbona to graduation. The good news is he has plenty of talent to pick from with 82 players showing up for tryouts for the four programs (varsity, junior varsity, freshman and middle school).”We have some good-looking underclassmen coming up,” Dana said. “We have plenty of candidates ? I’m very happy with the participation overall. They did a nice job in the weight room in the off-season ? It was a step in the right direction.”Dana’s varsity coach staff is the same as last year, with Tom Donahue and Tim Fila serving as his assistants. Brian Mulvey will coach the junior varsity, Tom Slavin the freshmen, and Jason Bullock the junior high.”We’re definitely ahead of schedule (this year compared with last year),” Dana said. “The kids know what to expect from me and from the rest of the coaches. There are some kids with some good baseball skills at all the levels.”The Spartans will have to contend with some tough competition in the Catholic Central League, including last year’s champion, Austin Prep. Bishop Fenwick, Matignon, Cardinal Spellman and Arlington Catholic are also always a challenge.St. Mary’s non-league schedule includes North Reading, Everett, Beverly and either Classical or English, depending on how things go in the Clancy Tournament. Dana has scrimmages lined up with Swampscott, Salem and English. Opening Day is April 3 against Marian.