Scarborough baseball player Zack Crouanas was ready to get on with the regular season after Friday’s scrimmage against Deering. Enough with the meaningless games already, Crouanas wanted to start racking up some Heal points.
His coach, Bryan Harvie, was of a different mindset, though. Thinking that this finally could be the year that Scarborough gets over the hump and joins perennial powers Deering and Portland at the top of the heap in Class A, Harvie has savored every minute of important preseason preparation time.
“This has been huge for us because we came into the season with a lot of unknowns,” said Harvie, in his third season coaching the Red Storm. “We knew our pitching staff was pretty much there and we knew we had a catcher and a center fielder, but other than that we kind of had to find some guys that could play and step up. I think these games have allowed us to do that.”
Scarborough lost to Deering, 6-1, but Harvie wasn’t concerned about the final score. His team got quality pitching out of junior starter Kevin Chamberlain and senior reliever Matt Wahrer; the defense made just one error in the game; and the players swung the bats well.
Harvie was hesitant to say his team is peaking at the right time, but he is happy with what he’s seeing so far.
“I feel like we’ve got a good nucleus of seniors this year. We’ve got about 10 to 12 seniors that I just think are ready to step up,” he said. “They’ve been playing Class A ball for two years now and just gotten to know me as a coach. We’ve sort of jelled as a team.”
The first year Scarborough played in Class A, also Harvie’s first year as coach, the team went 4-14 and didn’t make the playoffs. Last season, the Red Storm made it into the playoffs with a 5-9 record, but lost in the first round.
This year, team captains Crouanas, Wahrer and Derek Poulin think that earning a top-four seed is a realistic goal.
“The first year maybe we were little bit starstruck against teams like Deering, Portland, the big guys,” said Wahrer. “But we’ve been around them long enough now, so it’s just another team.
“We’re always shooting for a championship. That’s why we play, but if we can finish in the top three and have a great postseason that would be a great season for us.”
So, how did the Red Storm go from being starstruck against the big guns to knowing they can compete with them?
It has a lot to do with Harvie, a former South Portland High School and University of Maine shortstop.
“I was a hard-nosed player who loved to get dirty and loved to play the game, and that’s what I’m trying to get across to these guys, just go out and play hard every day,” he said. “Have fun with it, enjoy it and just bring that spirit every day and you’ll be successful.
“As far as what I bring, I’ve just tried to get them to believe in themselves and believe that they can compete at this level. I teach the little things about baseball. I think, fundamentally, you need to be sound in order to be successful.”
That means lots of practice time spent on things like first-to-third base running, hitting the ball the other way and bunt defense.
The players trust that Harvie knows what he’s doing.
“I mean, the first season we didn’t do that great, but he loved us and we loved him as a coach,” said Crouans. “He’s great.”
“He’s our commander out there,” added Poulin. “He doesn’t get down on us, but he always picks us up and keeps us in line as well. He definitely knows a lot about the game.”
Scarborough plays their first game of the regular season today (April 20) at Biddeford with the first pitch scheduled for 1 p.m.
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