BOYS OF SUMMER BACK IN ACTION-DISTRICT FIVE AMERICAN LEGION BASEBALL-WHITESTOWN PREVIEW
Story contributed by Delaney Buckley-legionbaseball.com
With the new season just underway Paul Engelhart, coach of Whitestown Post is anticipating a season similar to last, with the results that his team will again go on to win the New York State Legion Baseball title.
Whitestown has started the season 2-0 with wins over Sidney and Parkhurst Post.
Having fifteen players returning with the majority playing for him for the past three years, they have the experience and chemistry to repeat history again.
Engelhart believes that teamwork is what earned them the outstanding record and success in playoffs.
His winning tactics focused on one pitch at a time in every game, and always encouraging his players to keep working hard.
Although the playoff schedule was very taxing on the players’ bodies, five games in five days, the competition did not intimidate his team.
As a young team, they went into playoffs with confidence, winning the title to what Engelhart believes is the best district in the state.
After all the heart and hard work, they finished runners up in the Northeast Region. Engelhart says getting that close was just “The icing on the cake to a great season.”
This year Whitestown Post isn’t looking to surprise anyone, they are just ready for another great season. Engelhart believes that pitching is what got them so far in the playoffs.
His four main pitchers are Matt Engler who attends Onondoga Community College, Mike Bunal who plans to attend Binghamton University in the fall, and Ryan Watson and Dan Smith who both are students at Herkimer County Community College.
The bullpen also showed off its skill last year, Ron Adamczyk, who attends Onondoga Community College, Rob Kelly, who goes to MVCC and Zach Gnatek, a student of Whitesboro High school, came into some games and helped improve Whitestown’s winning record.
Paul credits not just his players, but also his coaching staff. His team is not backing down this year.
They are ready to have another successful year. His team wants to win the regional title and be the first team from the area to move on to the World Series.
Fielding a team lead by veterans, with a strong pitching staff, and a bunch of college players, everyone expects Whitestown to continue to show their winning ways.
Check back with My Hometown Sports for District Five American Legion scoreboard updates and game stories all season long.
