Piper Readies For A Revival

The Piper Bengals are going to surprise teams this season. This young and hungry group embodies the team concept reminiscent of any successful ballclub at any level of the game. The players are young, inexperienced and unproven, but as a unit they are a capable bunch who love to play the game and are eager to bring success to their program.

Manager Don Collins is excited with the personnel he has to work with in the second season of his second stint at the helm of this program. Despite the team’s youth, they have slowly begun to embody the type of team he envisioned when he returned from a 14-year coaching hiatus to lead them. It’s a group of players who often remind him of the team he had at Piper back in 1998, which was their most successful season in school history.

“It’s a very young group, but they’ve been playing together for a while,” said Collins. “They all get along with each other. The next couple of years we’re going to be a very good team.”

Collins knows a thing or two about fielding good teams at Piper, after he won a district title and made two regional appearances in his three-year run as the Bengals Manager that ran through that 1998 season. He has a nice 61-34 career coaching record, all at Piper, where he is now in his fifth total season. Even after stepping away from coaching, he continued teaching at the school all these years. Bengals pride has always been in his heart, and his enthusiasm and excitement for his team is unmistakably genuine.

Piper struggled in Collin’s first season back last year, finishing 7-15 while starting a very young lineup. Although last year’s squad had minimal success in the win column, they did manage several marquee victories such as their upset over Coral Springs in the opening round of the district playoffs. Following graduation and the loss of several transfers, the team will again start a young group. Except this time it will be guys that have played varsity baseball already, as well as new additions that have plenty of baseball savvy.

It is a new district for the team due to realignment, and a fresh chance to build new rivalries within a district that is very much up for grabs. Piper now finds itself in a group that includes Cooper City, Cypress Bay, South Plantation and Western. They are hoping to establish that teams come north to face them, they may be in for a surprise if they do not come prepared for the Bengals.

“It’s a competitive district, but I feel we can compete with the teams in this district,” said Collins. “It’s coming together and I truly believe we’re going to surprise some people. Anybody who takes us lightly is going to be in for a surprise. Our future is bright, but our future is also now. We’re going to be young but we have good pitching. As far as the pitching is concerned, we have the guys. We’ve been playing much better defense and we’re hitting the ball a lot better this year. It’s just a matter of how long it takes the young guys to get there.”

The core of the team is sophomores, but it does not always show in the way they play. There is a ton of baseball smarts in these players, and they function well with one another. The team’s three juniors and two seniors find refreshing enthusiasm and desire in this eager group. Leadership is always important, but it presents a more welcoming position for the upper classmen. They can focus more on helping the new guys adjust to varsity baseball rather than worrying about their ability to execute fundamentals.

The two seniors have risen up to set the best example. Coach Collins refers to senior shortstop Daniel Pertwee as another coach on the field, a valuable set of eyes who is always in the game and always sharing his baseball knowledge. Meanwhile senior Chase Perry will be counted on a lot, serving as the team’s number three hitter, their closer and their emergency catcher.

Perry is coming off a strong junior campaign in which he batted .339 with 17 RBIs and seven stolen bases. He has pitched very little in his high school career, but did earn his first save last season. His greatest asset will be at the plate, as he is the only guy on the team who has logged any significant number of varsity at-bats. Heading into his final season at Piper, Perry is appreciative of how smooth it is for him to be a leader for this group of players.

“We all gel well as a team. Everybody knows what we have to do; we all have our jobs to do,” said Perry. “Everybody understands what their job is at the plate and on the field, so being a leader isn’t as hard as it’s supposed to be for a lot of seniors. These kids understand what they have to do well for a young team.”

What the team has focused on is their hitting, learning how to adjust to situations and move runners around the bases. Perry has noticed a tremendous improvement to this year’s lineup, as well as being pleased by the strong effort everyone has put in to get ready for the season. He believes their chemistry makes it easier for them to come together as a team.

“They are all happy and they don’t exclude anybody,” Perry said of his teammates. “We’re all one big family. We pick each other up, we make fun of each other obviously, but we’re out here to have fun. We come out here and we play the game the best we can play.”

The pitching will lead the way for the Bengals improvement. With most of the team’s experienced arms from a year ago now gone, the club has anointed sophomore Eric Rath as their lead guy on the mound. Rath will be making his first career varsity start when he takes the hill this year, after logging 14 relief innings in five appearances as a freshman. He is also still in search of his first career victory.

The team has shown a lot of faith in Rath in naming him their number one guy. He has shown the ability to stay cool in tough situations, which has almost served as the staple of his career which began against Broward powerhouse Nova late last year. The right-hander ended strong in allowing only one run over his final nine innings, and it is something he will build on as he looks to lead a revamped pitching staff. He understands that being the main guy means being prepared to log more innings and to face the other team’s number one in the big games.

“It’s a new role for me, and I still just see myself as one of the guys,” said Rath. “I’m still learning, but I have time. It’s nice to have a chance to be noticed and recognized for what I can do, and I hope it helps guys to be intimidated when I throw. We have a good staff with lots of guys who can throw, and it adds a lot of confidence for me knowing I have a strong bullpen behind me.”

As a staff, the pitchers have come along nicely in preparation for the season. The team gets back junior Eduardo Delgado, who missed last season, and returns junior Ricky Reinhard to round out the starting rotation. The pitchers are aggressive, and they pitch to contact and allow their defense to work for them.

That defense has begun to shape into form, with guys becoming comfortable in their roles. Chris Nunez moves from left field to man the main role in centerfield, and sophomore Mike Cuminale takes over in left field. Greg Snyder takes over the catching duties, and the coaches have shown confidence that he can step up and grow into the position after splitting time on the mound as well. Like many things, it just needs time to develop as the team comes together.

“These boys want to work. They are doing the things they need to do and I don’t have to egg them on,” said Coach Collins. “It’s good when you have that chemistry; as a team you develop better and when times get hard you can lean on one another. You know the other person is going to be there. It’s doing these small things that will help us win ball games.”

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