BASEBALL
Crowley reflects
BY STEVE SHEPPARD INDEPENDENT SPORTS EDITOR
It was a year in which expectations were met and then some for the Whalers' baseball team, as the squad pulled together to forge a winning record and make the playoffs.

With an overall record of 9-8, Nantucket was vastly improved over last year, thanks to the emergence of solid pitching and a renewed emphasis on teamwork.

"I think the difference this year was team chemistry," coach Art Crowley said. "They hang out together; they like each other and like playing baseball together."

Like the other spring teams, the baseball edition of the Whalers will be returning most players. "We'll have five seniors and five juniors next year," Crowley noted, pleased that the team will come back as a solid unit; one that now has some playoff experience under its belt.

No one was sure when the season began what the team's strong points would be, but it's obvious now that the young pitching staff led the way. The low earned run averages of Eric Lowell (3.00 over 42 innings pitched), Tomas Smaliorius (2.57 over 34 innings) and Chris Welch (1.57 in 22 innings pitched) go a long way toward proving the point.

No pitching staff functions well without good catching, and those low era's have a lot to do with Erik Hughes behind the plate. "Hughes' handling of the pitching staff added a huge difference," Crowley pointed out. "Not much got by him, and he kept the runners in place on the basepaths." Indeed, during the tournament game against Bristol-Plymouth, only two runners even made an attempt against him.

The offense also developed as the season progressed, with Lowell pacing the team with a Rogers Hornsby-like .433 average, and Welch and Will Soverino at a similar plateau with .400 averages to their credit.

All of which makes Crowley eager for next season to roll around. "I wish the season wasn't over," he said. "They're a lot of fun, and it was fun watching them get better.

"It was a good confidence building year," he continued. "We should be able to put it all together next year. If they choose to work as hard as they worked

this year, they'll go deep in the playoffs." I