Rosemont High School Baseball Hungry for More

After a playoff berth last season, the Wolverines baseball team is back for more in 2011. The team finished 21-7 overall and a perfect 15-0 in Metro League play before falling to Roseville High School in the playoffs. A sluggish offensive start has the Wolverines at 3-3 to start this season, but there is hope and optimism for improvement.

Head coach Paul Martinez talked about his team's early performance.

“Our strength is our pitching and defense,” Martinez said. “Our weakness is offense right now.”

Martinez attributed the lack of offensive punch partially to the implementation of new bats that are now mandatory. The bats, which Martinez said the team has only been using since Feb. 9, have a smaller sweet spot which makes it harder to hit the ball hard.

A press release from the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) Baseball Rules Committee said the use of composite bats is no longer legal in high school baseball. The bats were reportedly becoming too powerful and were seen as another form of performance enhancer, as well as historically being very easy to tamper with.

Rosemont center fielder Lamar Henderson said he has noticed that the new bats are a little bit heavier and agreed with coach Martinez that they don't have “a lot of kick off the bat.” That is not such a big problem for Henderson, as his role is to get on base. He takes pride in being the speed guy for the Wolverines.

While Henderson also agreed that his team has struggled offensively early on, he thinks it's just a matter of time. “It's just that it's the start of the season,” he said. His focus is more on having his teammates come together as a unit.

“We just need to come together as a team, focus and work hard,” he said. “Those are the key things in my mind.”

The goal this year is to take the conference title and head into the playoffs once again. For Henderson, it is a lofty, but attainable, goal.

He responded with an emphatic yes when asked if his team has what it takes to win the conference. He added, “That's just how I think. Losing doesn't come across my mind.”

Taking the conference will mean battling with rival and fellow conference opponent McClatchy High School. Rosemont defeated McClatchy all three times the teams faced last year by a combined score of 25-7. The teams match up for the first time this year on March 29 at Rosemont.

“I look at the schedule every day and say 'That team is mine. I want to bury (them),'” Henderson said.