LYNN — Classical baseball coach Mike Zukowski had plenty to be proud of given how his team did last season.
Pitching, hitting and defense all came together for Classical — and the results came along. The Rams finished their season 19-1, went undefeated against Northeastern Conference opponents and earned the No. 1 seed in the Division 2 North state tournament. But the season came to an early end when Marblehead eliminated the Rams in a first round upset, dashing Classical’s hopes of a deep postseason run.
“We had a great regular season,” Zukowski said. “We were undefeated in league play. We lost one game to Reading, a non-league opponent. Pitching, defense, timely hitting-it was all there. We happened to have played our worst game in the first round of the playoffs. I’m not taking anything away from Marblehead, they weren’t letting us back into that one. All around we played great and I was very happy with last season.”
With a new season inching closer, it’s time for Classical to turn the page on 2017 and gear up for another go in 2018. The Rams were moved up from to Division 2 to Division 1 this year.
Key returners for the Rams include shortstop AJ Luciano, second baseman Christian Burt and outfielders Sean Devin and Kevin Durant. All four are seniors and will serve as team captains this spring.
“We lost a key part of our lineup with Tyler Way graduating,” Zukowski said. “He was our leadoff guy and you can’t match his speed. We’ll have a tough hole to fill there. AJ and Sean were both NEC all-stars last year. David (Barnard) and Christian will slide up in the order.”
On the mound, Barnard will return to form a 1-2 punch with fellow right-hander Brett Bucklin. Barnard and Bucklin are both juniors.
“David pitched in a lot of our big games and did very well,” Zukowski said. “He went out and hit his spots. He went out and pitched in an instructional fall league this past fall over at St. John’s Prep. I’ve talked to him and I can tell he’s really focused coming into this preseason. He’s in great shape and he’s ready to go.
Zukowski added, “If we can throw strikes we’ll be ok. The experience David and Brett gained last year is unmatched. We’ll rely on their experience.”
With six key varsity returners who know the challenges that come with playing at the varsity level, the Rams will look to their experience to be their biggest team strength. If they can develop team chemistry throughout the course of the season, Zukowski said, they should be competitive.
“Our team strength will be experience,” he said. “A lot of the guys that weren’t starters were able to get in some games last year. A couple through injuries, a couple were able to get in the lineup and stay in it because they were hitting well. The important thing is how we’re able to gel. We have to be able to develop that chemistry and gel.”
Classical began its tryouts Monday and the key focuses have been getting the younger guys adapted and the rest of the team back into the fold.
“We’re just kind of eliminating the learning curve for the young guys in the gym,” Zukowski said. “We had 50 guys in the gym Monday night. The older guys are extensions of us as coaches. We’re just getting guys the reps and looks they need so we can evaluate them properly. We’re getting back into the swing of things.”
Zukowski foresees a competitive NEC this season.
“If you look at the state tournament every year, you’ll see plenty of NEC teams,” Zukowski said. “The Division 2 North bracket had plenty of NEC teams last year. The conference is always strong. With the addition of the GBL teams, you don’t know who your playing sometimes. You can go up against a pitcher that’s ready to play. We have to be ready to play regardless of who the opponent is. It’s a tough league.”
Classical begins the new season April 5 when the Rams host Masconomet.
