LIMESTONE, Maine — The Eagles’ baseball team has one motto to carry them through the season, according to second-year coach Eric McGough — “win the day.”
Whether that be working hard in practice, studying hard in school, or giving 100 percent in that day’s game, McGough believes that the key to a successful season is taking it one day at a time.
“Our first goal was to work hard every day in pre-season practice, and there is no doubt in my mind that we accomplished that,” McGough said. “Our current goal is to stay positive, work hard and improve every game.
“With the exceptional group of young men that we have on the team, I am very confident we will achieve this goal,” he added.
This confidence comes from a team that is returning eight players from last season’s squad that made it to the Eastern Maine championship game, but the Limestone-MSSM players and coaching staff aren’t ones to rest on their laurels.
“I think there is the potential to be distracted by expectations coming from the outside,” McGough stated, adding that he believes that working hard and focusing on improving every practice and game is the key to getting another shot at the championship.
The Eagles are anchored by senior captains Sam Kupiec, Andy Whitman and Paul Gentile, as well as sophomore Victor Negron and juniors Bret Morgan and Gordon McCulloh. They will guide a team that has plenty of fresh faces, with 10 players making their debut this season.
“We have a very young and enthusiastic team, and it has been a very fun group to work with. Our returners have definitely set the tone in our practices, and the new players have really adjusted quickly,” McGough said. “We know that there are going to be a lot of challenges with such a young and inexperienced team, but our outlook is that we plan to play our best baseball as the season progresses.”
Rounding out the Eagles’ roster are junior Jared Elliot; sophomores Andrew DeChaine, Matthew Hancock and Travis Hatfield; and freshmen Trevor Hale, Jacob Hatfield, Davis Levesque, Willie McGirt, Morgan Miles, Matthew Pelkey, Alex Sprague and Dustin Wallace.
The Eagles’ coaching staff also includes Pierre Huntress and Justin Cross.
