Monarch On The Mound In 2014: Three-Headed Monster

Most teams would be concerned about heading into the season without a distinguished number one pitcher. In the case of the Monarch Knights, this is one of their strengths.

The team returns a trio of top-line hurlers in seniors Nick Alonzo, Brennan Bosworth and Andrew Rohloff. With such an alignment in their favor, the team heads towards the season without designating which of these three will lead the way.

“We have three seniors who are all going to eat up a lot of innings this year,” Monarch Manager Joe Franco admitted. “The number one remains to be seen. They are all competing to be that main guy on the hill, and whoever does the best will be our number one. It could be any of them.”

Chances are decent that most any other ballclub would gladly welcome this situation with their own teams. There can never be enough pitching, and the Knights provide an experienced staff that returns over 85 varsity innings from a season ago. Of the team’s five departed seniors from that squad, they lose but one arm from that group.

Yet while the competition for the main role could be a heated battle, the bond among the three pitchers only helps to make the team that much stronger.

“It’s been awesome to be able to throw with those two guys,” said Bosworth. “We’ve been teammates for so long and basically I’ve been playing with them since I started playing baseball. We’ve played all our lives together.”

Team unity has always been a fixture of Coach Franco’s teams over his eight seasons at Monarch, and this year’s roster exhibits a great blend of players ready to carry on this tradition.

As a unit the Knights batted roughly .350 last season, and among the returning offensive leaders are Nick Ritornato, Joey Hennessey and Rafael Tardi. Meanwhile newcomer Eddie Mercado adds to an already strong infield defense. Mercado, a transfer from Douglas, is competing with Joey Gerber for the hot corner at third base.

“Everybody has a role on the team and if everybody contributes and does their role, if everybody pulls in the same direction, we will realize our goal of winning a championship,” said Franco. “You really have to play well at the right time to win this district. There is no guarantee, but if the kids can buy into that team mentality they’ll have a chance to win back the district title we lost last year.”

District rival Northeast carried off that trophy last year, and the Knights finished 11-9 overall with a season-ending road loss to St. Thomas Aquinas in the 7A regional quarterfinals.

“Northeast got the better of us last year,” said Franco. “Coach Carney did an excellent job with his team and getting them to play as a team. It really showed when they came together at the right time. They out-performed us, and that’s why they took home the title. We’ve developed a really good rivalry with them. They are fun, competitive games.”

Following the new district realignment, these two rivals now welcome Ely and Fort Lauderdale to the mix.

Coach Franco admits that he is excited to face the Flying L’s and Coach Terry Portice, who he learned from and who he admits to having the utmost respect for. He recognizes what quality programs Coach Portice always provides, and what competitive baseball it will be.

“It’s going to be an even matchup and it’s going to be fun,” said Bosworth. “When it comes to these three teams, we are never going to give up. Getting that number one spot going into the playoffs will be really important.”

The Knights have always prided themselves on character, with a tradition of strong but fair play led by classy ballplayers. This legacy of winning the right way has always transitioned well form year to year, as Franco’s rosters mix players across every grade. This is again the case in point, with a fairly equal blend of upper and lower classmen making up the squad.

“It’s nice to have guys look up to you. It’s always nice to be looked at as a leader and not just one of the guys,” Bosworth said. “It’s also good to know when we are gone there are a bunch of guys who will keep the program going strong. Even though they are younger, we have guys who can play. I just want to be the best player I can be and help to make sure everybody does their job.”

One thing that the team looks to improve upon is their hitting against faster pitchers. Despite the strong overall team batting average, last season’s squad struggled with a mark below the Mendoza Line against high-velocity pitching.

“We’re really focused on trying to speed up their bats and teach them how to trigger a little earlier,” said Franco. “The coaches and I are just trying to get them to catch up to that fastball. You’re going to see fastball in high school baseball. Now it’s up to the hitter to react to it and hit the ball.”

Leave a comment using your facebook account!