English baseball celebrates successful season

SAUGUS – They were the most prolific offense in the Northeastern Conference from the opening pitch of the 2008 baseball season. And for the Lynn English Bulldogs and head coach Joe Caponigro, Monday’s awards banquet at the Prince Restaurant was all about celebrating one of the best years the program has had in a while.The Bulldogs finished the season 14-7, losing to Division 1 North finalist St. John’s Prep in the opening round of the North sectional. English actually began the season 11-0 before losing four of its next five games to fall out of a heated race for the NEC North Division title with co-champions Peabody and Beverly.English hit an amazing 25 home runs in 21 games, including a five-homer effort against Revere and three against the Eagles when the teams met in the tournament.”I was disappointed to see the season end,” Caponigro said. “But not because we lost to St. John’s, but because us as coaches wouldn’t see this cast of characters together again.”The Bulldogs had four players named to the NEC all-star team during the regular season. Two of them – Jonathan Surette and Esteban Paula – were named the team’s co-MVPs.Paula was the Bulldogs’ leadoff hitter and proved to be one of the most dangerous outs in the league. The English second baseman hit .417 with one homer and 12 RBI, and scored an amazing 26 times.Surette, meanwhile, was the ace of a pitching staff that had an ERA of just over 4.00, going 6-1 with 57 strikeouts in 47 innings pitched. He also led the team with a .454 batting average and belted three homers while driving in 25 runs and scoring 22.Senior right fielder Anthony Ortiz was given the team’s Most Improved Player award. Ortiz hit .341 this year with two homers and 15 RBI, and stole 11 bases. Shortstop Richie Arias received the Golden Glove Award, and Gabe Smith was a Coaches Award recipient.”These kids never stopped fighting,” Caponigro said. “And as a coach, that’s all you can ask for.”Junior Santos was given the junior varsity MVP award with Jose Torres being a coaches award recipient. Derek Elwell was named the freshman MVP and Al Castillo got the coaches award.