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Overpowering Kneeland keeps Vikes in tournament contention

Friday, May, 16 By John Shimer
Staff writer

For now, call the Triton baseball team the giant killers.

In a few weeks, the Vikings may be known as the double-digit seed in the Division 2 North Tournament that no high seed wants to draw in the first round.

The Vikings left little question yesterday that they have the talent to be in the state tournament after beating Newburyport for the second time. Cam Kneeland's brilliant pitching performance (7 strikeouts, 1 earned run) sparked a 13-2 drubbing.

But one question remains for Triton: Can the squad recover from its recent 1-8 stretch?

With only six games remaining Triton (6-8) must finish no worse than 4-2. However, with two games against Oliver Ames | a top 10 program in the state | looming at the back end of the schedule, the Vikes would be wise to take care of business early.

The Vikes have been a tough team to figure. At the beginning of the season they looked like world-beaters starting 4-0 with quality wins over the Clippers, Pentucket, and most impressively perhaps against the Cape Ann League's top pitcher, Brian O'Neil of North Reading. Since then losses came against Lynnfield (6-9), Ipswich (5-10), and most recently Hamilton-Wenham (2-10).

"In my years coaching high school and college at Northeastern, this year has been the craziest time," said a smiling, yet relieved Triton coach Steve Padovani after his team's big victory. "We started 4-0 and got a win over O'Neil, who might be the best pitcher in the league. But from there to this point, it's been like a bad nightmare.

"I think we paid too much attention to our schedule and looked at who we were playing," analyzed Padovani. "Then we just played down to our opponent's level. We need to play consistent baseball no matter who we're playing."

In Padovani's opinion his team needs to get back to the basics, cutting down on errors and playing fundamental baseball.

"I think it's going to take getting back to fundamentals; everyone battling at the plate, pitchers throwing strikes, being smart on the base paths, and making the plays," Padovani stated. "I think if you play smart fundamental baseball, the rest takes care of itself."

The biggest positive for Triton is its dominant front-line pitching of Kneeland and Joe Katin. If the Vikes can play like they did against Newburyport | creating their own breaks, taking advantage of their opponents' mistakes, and going for the jugular when the opportunity presents itself | then Triton should certainly have tournament aspirations. However, if the mental miscues creep back into Triton's play, anything is possible.

"I'm not going to make any predictions, but we're going to make a commitment not to lose," Padovani stated. "We're going to take it one pitch, one game at a time and try to win out playing good, solid baseball heading into those two with Oliver Ames."