Life in the Suburban Council South Division won’t be easier for the Bethlehem and Guilderland baseball teams this season.
Columbia returns six players from last year’s division championship team. Averill Park has several players back from a squad that won the Section 2 Class A title last year. And Colonie is looking to be more competitive this season after returning the bulk of its roster.
“To be quite honest, playing in the Suburban Council is brutal,” said first-year Bethlehem coach Pat Rehbit. “When you look at last year’s standings, there were a lot of 8-8 and 9-7 teams.”
Here is a closer look at Bethlehem and Guilderland.
Bethlehem
Rehbit takes over for Rob Helm as the Eagles’ manager after coaching the junior varsity squad, which makes the transition to coaching the varsity team that much smoother for him.
“It’s exciting, since I’ve coached all of those guys,” said Rehbit. “I know it’s a talented group.”
Bethlehem returns six players from a 2014 team that lost seven one-run games on its way to a sub-.500 record, led by pitchers Kevin Cahill, Andrew McCullough and Jake Smith. Outfielder Zach Mendelson and corner infielders Jake Generali and Kevin Weber are also back.
“As long as we can get the bats going and finish games … I think we can challenge in the Suburban Council,” said Cahill.
The Eagles will also have several members of last year’s Bethlehem Babe Ruth 15-year-old division all-star team that reached the Mid Atlantic Regional semifinals, including Ned Engelbride, Jon Hogg, Jack Rooney, Andrew Wollner and Trevor Kniffin.
“I think they can really make an impact on the varsity team. They’ve got a history of winning,” said Generali.
Guilderland
Meanwhile, Guilderland is looking to keep its recent history of winning going. The Dutchmen return several players from last year’s team, which nearly defeated eventual Section 2 Class AA champion Shenendehowa in the quarterfinals.
“We were leading that game 2-1 in the bottom of the sixth inning,” said Guilderland coach Doug LaValley.
Pitching will be Guilderland’s strong suit once again, as the Dutchmen welcome back their top three starters from last year — Nick Bruno, Jack Grabek and Matt Pierce.
“We’re going to pound the (strike) zone and challenge the hitters,” said LaValley. “That’s our philosophy.”
“There’s a lot of good competition (in the league) this year, but we feel that if we play our game, we can win a lot of games this year,” said Grabek.
