COACH CROWLEY SEES BASEBALL'S RESURGENCE
by Steve Sheppard Independent Sports Editor
Baseball coach Art Crowley takes a look at the numbers and he likes what he sees.

"They're up the last three years," he says. "There's a definite increase." With 26 players on the varsity and junior varsity squads, and 22 more at the middle school level at Cyrus Peirce, C r o w l e y believes baseball is on the upswing. Add in the firm foundation of Little League which, Crowley notes, "has more numbers than it's ever had," and the lean years of not having enough players to field a junior varsity team may be safely in the past.

For the third year in a row, Dennis Caron returns to coach the junior varsity. "I attribute a lot of our success to Dennis," Crowley happily reports. "The kids like him - he does a great job and he attracts kids to the team."

As for his varsity squad, Crowley looks to returners Eric Hughes, captain Adam Spencer, Ethan Bell, Eric Lowell, Chris Welch and Tomas Smaliorius to help anchor the team. He looks, too, to Brian Reis (third base), Jamie Reid (left field), Will Soverino (right field and backup catcher), Beau Garufi(utility infielder) and Anthony Valero (outfield and pitcher) to offer solid contributions.

Last year's one season tryout with the Mayflower League will be remembered as the year that wasn't for Crowley. He lost four starters, including Spencer, his "sparkplug," to season-ending injuries, making the long road trips even longer. "In 15 years of coaching I never had that many injuries - combined - than I did last year."

He also isn't lamenting his team's move out of the Mayflower League. "I'm glad to be back independent," he said, citing the additional travel demands connected to being affiliated with teams that are mostly off- Cape. It will be an adjustment meeting different teams again this year, but he's certain his team will make great strides this season.

"We're looking pretty good. We've got four pretty good young pitchers, and all of them throw strikes. The defense looks good."

Also returning is Crowley's perennial second in command, Nick Duarte, who has coached alongside him for all 11 years he's skippered the Whalers' varsity. "He's fantastic," Crowley said. "The kids love him, and he's a great coach. He's both a calming influence on the

team, and he's a motivator." I