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Sports

Baseball is Back with an Abundant of Options as 'Cats Get Ready for Opening Day

Veteran cast looks to lead Weston.

Weston High baseball coach Jon Beverly will take a cautiously optimistic approach to the upcoming campaign as his Wildcats, who return 12 seniors, get ready to open the season against Marian High on April 4.

“Are we capable? Yeah,” said Beverly, whose squad finished with a 9-13 record last year, after advancing to the Division 3 North quarterfinals. “We just got to put some pieces together, approach it the right way, and stick to the process. Baseball is failure-driven to begin with. We’ll look at the little positives.”

One of those positives is senior starting pitcher Rob Charpie, a Dual County League All-Star last spring, who posted a 5-4 record with a solid 2.33 ERA. But Charpie is not just a mound sensation. He also plays shortstop, second base, and outfield. Offensively, he’s a huge threat in the leadoff spot, after batting a torrid .355 last season. 

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In fact, there are four players in the mix to play shortstop for Weston this spring, including Charpie, and fellow seniors Matt O’Connor, Zach Cannon, and Nick Neu. Whoever gets the nod, the others “will wind up somewhere,” Beverly said.

The coach added, “The middle infield is not yet figured out as we have four seniors battling it out. All have played well in the past, and because of their versatility and athleticism, all will play somewhere on the field.”

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Weston also has a lot of pitching options. Returning hurlers with varsity experience include Charpie, and seniors David Miller, Michael Guappone, and Vincent Nardone. However, the Maroon and White boast four more strong throwers in Wells, senior Nick Neu, junior Gage Hartman, and sophomore James Goulart.

“Our pitching is good, we got a lot of pitching,” Beverly said.

O’Connor and Wells, who can also catch and play outfield, figure to help fill out the heart of the batting order. Like Charpie, both standouts hit in the .350 range last year.

Miller, Wells, senior Zeke Silverstein, and sophomore Noah Tocci could all see action at first base. Like many of the positions, how it all shuffles will depend on how Weston’s pitching rotation will align.  As another example, the Wildcats can choose their outfielders from a field of eight players, six of whom are pitching possibilities. The others are seniors Tom Neufeld and Adam Stewart.

In the infield, the four possible shortstops are also among the team’s options at second base. At third base, meanwhile, Gauappone, Silverstein, and Tocci all provide depth. And Neu and Tocci could play catcher to fill out the trio with Wells.

“We have a fair amount of experience coming back,” Beverly said “The kids are aware of our strengths and our weaknesses. How we look to make our weaknesses our strengths will be the key to our team’s success this year.”

Weston will miss the services of last year’s captains, Paul Nelson and Chris Conlin, who both played in the outfield. Conlon was a two-time Dual County League All-Star, while Nelson made the league’s All-Star squad once.

“We had two great leaders last season who knew how to prepare and had a drive to them that was phenomenal,” Berry said of Nelson and Conlon. “They knew how baseball works. They came early and stayed late. They set the tone. I hope this year’s group can apply the work ethic set forth by last year’s group.”

The coach summed up, “Our coaching staff really believes that this group has a lot of potential. We’ll have to see how hard they are willing to work to meet that potential.”

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