Hawks looking for fourth straight title

Matt Metcalf, Sports Editor
Posted 3/31/15

When all a team does is win, it can at times become commonplace.

But after three straight titles and six in the last seven years, Hendricken head coach Ed Holloway has instilled in his team early …

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Hawks looking for fourth straight title

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When all a team does is win, it can at times become commonplace.

But after three straight titles and six in the last seven years, Hendricken head coach Ed Holloway has instilled in his team early that it is difficult to win a state championship.

And with a majority of its starting lineup returning this spring, Hendricken is as hungry as ever to continue the school’s winning tradition.

“There’s a lot of tradition here and our guys are trying to keep up with it,” Holloway said.

The Hawks should have a good chance to do that this season. They will return six key contributors to their state championship lineup from last spring, as well as the bulk of their pitching rotation.

Highlighting the lineup will be catcher Gian Martellini, third baseman John Toppa and shortstop John Willette. All three players were First Team All-State selections a year ago, while Martellini also earned the Rhode Island Gatorade Player of the Year honors, as well. Toppa was the MVP of the title-clinching series against La Salle.

Another big bat for the Hawks will be Dante Baldelli in centerfield, who will return for his junior season.

Andrew Ciacciarelli and Billy Keegan – a pair of seniors – will both see time at first base, while Kevin Sutyla will reassume his duties in left field.

Christian Aybar, Jason Comeau, Brendan Conley and Mike Webb are battling for time at second base and in right field.

Backing up Martellini behind the dish will be Jordan Carvalho, Nick Feola and Colin McBride.

Elijah Brown, a transfer from Moses Brown, will also be in the mix in the infield after he sits out an allotted number of games for his transfer. Andrew Flint, another transfer, is in a similar boat and will compete for time in the outfield and for innings on the bump.

Southpaw Mike McCaffrey will anchor the Hawks’ pitching staff after hurling for them in the past two seasons – earning a First Team All-State nod in his junior year.

Other key pitchers will be Anthony Cofone, who pitched a shutout to clinch the championship last June, Matt Kennedy, Kyle Barbato, Webb and juniors Joe Maynard, Marc Andrews and Caleb Wurster.

Assisting Holloway this season will be Chris Sheehan, Ian Smith, Bill Campbell and Bryan Leahey, who have been doing a tremendous job in preparing the players for the start of the season.

When a team has title aspirations, it’s easy to look forward, but Holloway knows that his team can’t afford to because the league will be strong this year.

“Hopefully we give ourselves a chance to be in it at the end, but there are a lot of good teams – Pilgrim, Cranston West, La Salle, Lincoln, South Kingstown, North Kingstown – just to name a few,” Holloway said. “We’re just going to take it one game at a time. We want to make the playoffs and be playing our best baseball at that time of the season. Hopefully we’ll have a shot to win the title.”

There’s no doubt that Hendricken is a confident team going into the season – and rightfully so. But with all of the experience that the Hawks have, the players have learned that, if they don’t work hard, the ultimate result won’t be what they want it to be.

“People may say we’re the favorite, but that doesn’t mean anything,” Holloway said. “If we go through the motions, then we won’t win. We have to work hard.”

Hendricken’s quest for a fourth consecutive crown will get underway on April 8, when it plays at Pilgrim, a team that will be much improved from a season ago, at 4 p.m.

The Hawks will then get two more tough tests in their second and third games of the season against Cranston West and La Salle.

Some of Hendricken’s players may have changed this season, but the goal remains the same – to win a championship.

“The returning guys know that they can’t take anything for granted,” Holloway said.

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