McDonough, Wells have high hopes for 2011 baseball season

WELLS — Paul McDonough of Wells defines the term multi-sport athlete.

In football, McDonough helped lead the Warriors deep into the Western Class B playoffs last fall with his play as a quarterback and defensive back. In basketball, McDonough hit a clutch shot at the last second to send Wells’ lone playoff game into overtime.

But of the three sports he plays, baseball may be his best.

McDonough, a junior, had a .510 batting average as a sophomore last season, better than any baseball player in York County, while also driving in 16 RBIs. A shortstop for the Warriors, he only made one error in 26 chances. When it was his turn on the mound, he struck out 25 batters in 17 innings of work.

With an inexperienced group, Wells finished the regular season with a 5-11 record. But all that could change in 2011.

“I just hope we do better than last season,” McDonough said. “Get more wins, and make it to the playoffs.”

The Warriors proved that in its first game of the season on Thursday, beating Poland Regional 11-1. McDonough finished the contest with a triple, and made a dandy of a double-play in the field, but was not the only Warrior who produced. Wells catcher Louis DiTomasso slammed a pitch over the left field wall early in the game. Cole Boston was sharp on the mound, allowing no earned runs in four innings of work. Even Justin Lareau, in his first varsity at-bat, helped Wells with a walk-off home run to end the contest via the 10-run rule.

“We’re doing pretty well,” McDonough said. “We’re still a young team, all juniors, no seniors on the team. Our pitching is pretty good this year, and our fielding is looking a lot better than last year. We should be good this year.”

It’s a trend head coach Jay Audet hopes to see continue this season.

“Hitting and defense is a strength,” Audet said. “I think we’ve got some tough decisions to make with starters in the infield. But I’m very happy with how the guys have worked with hitting and defense. The question is going to be pitching”¦.It will interesting to see how the pitching works out. We just hope the hitting comes together. It should be a pretty good year.”

If it’s anything like Thursday, the rest of Western Class B should take notice.

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