SEASON PREVIEW - CHATHAM BASEBALL

Greg Dedrick
ccSCOOP Sports Editor

04-03-09 - Although the Patroon Conference often gets little respect from their Section II compatriots in most sports, the league has staked its claim as an elite-level conference in at least one sport: baseball. Last season, the league had a number of strong teams scattered throughout four classifications. Rensselaer was solid in Class C, Maple Hill was very good in Class CC, Cairo-Durham and Catskill fell one game shy of sectional bids in Class B, and Coxsackie-Athens made it into the first round of the post-season. The four Columbia County teams represented the league well. Although Taconic Hills was a bit down, both Hudson and Chatham were very good in Class B. Chatham was so good, in fact, that they captured the Section II crown and made a run to the State Finals, while Ichabod Crane shocked many as they captured their second straight Section II Class A title. After speaking with some coaches and players from our four Patroon Conference Columbia County teams, we’ll take a look at what they expect from this upcoming season.

CHATHAM
The Panthers lost some key players from last year’s Section II championship team—especially University at Albany pitcher Zach Kraham—but the Panthers should have a chance to compete for their third straight title in the Patroon Conference.

Despite the losses from last year’s team, this year’s version of the Panthers features a twelve-man roster headed up by seniors Mike Sirani and Brian Gauthier. "Both are four-year starters who lead by example and work extremely hard and love to be challenged," said Chatham coach Scott Steltz. This year’s team will also feature seniors Parker Niles, Matt Fisher, and Ryan Boehme along with junior Joe Cozzolino. "Our team is looking good," added Steltz. "They have been working extremely hard in the gym, and once we get a few games under our belts, we should be comfortable."

Looking toward the season, Steltz does see some weaknesses from his two-time defending champs. "Our weakness is the experience at this level, and the only way to fix it is to start playing." Early on, however, the coach also sees good things. "Our strength’s to this point are the team’s attitudes. Our seniors have done an extremely good job of leading by example through hard work and determination in practice."

Taking a look around the league, Steltz expects to see some familiar faces a top the standings. "The league should be very good overall this season. Maple Hill, ICC, and Hudson should be at the top when all is said and done." Steltz also sees some other teams who can make some noise. "Coxsackie and Catskill should also do a lot of damage in the league, especially with the back-to-back game scheduling that forces each team to throw their ace only once per team."

There are also a number of players around the league that Steltz feels can be real impact players in the Patroon Conference. "Josh Ingham and Derick Horn at ICC are both strong players offensively and defensively and can beat you in a variety of ways." "[Mike] Rigos and [Justin] Brantley at Hudson both have strong bloodlines for the sport, a good knowledge of the game, and are fun to play against, and [Jaime] Schultz and [Nick] Pappas at Maple Hill are two outstanding athletes who can crush any mistake you leave over the plate, and both have good arms,” Steltz said.

"All twelve players are key to our success," Steltz continued. "We are only as strong as our weakest link." The Panthers begin their quest for a third straight league crown on Friday at Greenville.