By Jason Benedek, Staff Writer
Led by new head coach, Craig Estrain, River Hill baseball is looking to have another dominant season. After a heartbreaking loss in their first playoff game of the season last year, the boys are hungrier than ever for revenge and a deep run in the state playoffs. River Hill’s roster is stacked this year with captains Demetre Koutras (junior) and Daniel Sheehan (senior) and 10 seniors: Ryan Pickus, Matt Rogers, Ryan Jee, Daniel Sheehan, Michael Flaim, Charlie Colvin, Sean McGowan, Will Kilcoyne, and Will Zatkowski. The team has depth in all of its positions in the outfield, infield, and on the pitching mound.
Coach Craig is looking to make an immediate impact on the team with his first season as the head coach of this team on the come up. He has spent many previous seasons as the head coach of River Hill’s JV baseball team, and is fired up to coach at the next level.
“Coach Craig is a great guy,” states Demetre Koutras, “He gets along with everyone and is always having fun. When it comes to games he is locked in and wants to win, just like our whole team. He is a great fit for this team and we wouldn’t want anyone else in that position.”
One of Coach Craig’s best assets is building relationships with the players. The players that played with him on JV have been perfectly developed for the varsity level through Coach Craig’s training, and they’re thrilled to have him as a coach again.
Charlie Colvin explains, “Coach Craig is an awesome coach who knows the game really well. He keeps the players motivated and eager to get back on the field every day.”
With the season starting soon, the team is fired up to start rolling with the schedule. Their goal is to win a state championship this year after falling short last year.
When asked what it will take to win a state championship, Charlie Colvin said, “We just need to trust our stuff. We have a deep roster with tons of talent that can definitely make a deep run as long as we play our game.”
If River Hill just plays their own brand of baseball, it will be quite the challenge for any baseball team in the county or even state to stop them.
“I am really looking forward to this season as we have a bunch of returning players from last season. We are a tight group of guys and we have some good talent this year. I know we are going to make a run in the playoffs,” says Demetre Koutras.
The team is eager to start slugging baseballs for the first time out of 20 games this season against Mt. Hebron on Monday, March 21 at 4pm. Other notable games for the upcoming season include Monday, April 4 at 4pm for the first battle of the season against rival Glenelg, and Friday, May 6 at 4pm against Mt. Hebron, which is Senior Night and the last game of the regular season. With more confidence than ever, River Hill baseball is determined to dominate the upcoming season.