As March rolls in, so does baseball. Considered as one of America’s pastime sports to watch, the Major League Baseball (MLB) has started their Spring Training to prepare for the upcoming season, although the Westhampton Beach Varsity baseball team starts their official season much sooner. Attempting to make the Varsity baseball team’s season a success is the head coach of the team, Thomas Hoare. Some may know him as the guidance counselor of the middle school, but in High School, Coach Hoare may be known as a great baseball coach.

Interviewed in his office in the middle school, Coach Hoare was able to express how successful he believed his team will be this upcoming season. “I believe we are going to do well. We had a very good year last year,” Coach Hoare expresses. “We made the playoffs for the first time in over a decade, and I believe this year’s group has the potential to be even better.”

Coach Hoare has high hopes for this season, and he wasn’t afraid to say his goals for this season. Coach Hoare enthusiastically said, “Our primary goals are to make the playoffs again, win League Six, and make a far playoff run into the county tournament. Our ultimate goal is to win the Suffolk County title.”

When asked about any key players that were on the team, Coach Hoare was able to answer. “Daniel McEvoy and Ernie Geraci are our two key players,” quoted Coach Hoare, “but we’re only going to go as far as our pitching and we have a great pitching staff anchored by Jake Bramwell, Zach Downs, and Nick Arpino.”

There are most likely going to be a lot of challenges for the Westhampton Beach Varsity baseball team during this season, so Coach Hoare answered a question regarding any specific teams that will be a challenge, but there may not even be any specific teams. “Every team in League Six is going to be a tough team this year,” Coach Hoare answered, “There will be no easy series.”

When asked about improvements the Varsity baseball team will need to make to have a successful season, Coach Hoare was able to answer confidently. “We just need to continue to progress in all areas of the game. Last year, we gained valuable playoff experience and this year we’re ready to take the next step,” he exclaimed.

Coach Hoare was also approached with the question about any perfections that the team already has going into the season by saying, “I can’t say anything is perfect, but this team can hit, field, and pitch. When you have that kind of combination, you’re going to win a lot of baseball games.”

The first Varsity baseball game for Westhampton Beach’s season is on March 20th, where the team heads to Center Moriches for their first challenge. “My assistant coach, Paul Gibson, and I are excited for the season to start, and I know the guys feel the same way,” Coach Hoare added.