AMESBURY — A collection of former Amesbury High baseball players were dealt the second unforgiving ending to their respective baseball careers last evening.
Amesbury's Senior Babe Ruth team, which is comprised mostly of recent Amesbury High graduates who received little playing time as seniors, fell to Haverhill in a two-game sweep of the championship series. Haverhill outscored Amesbury, 27-2, over two nights.
Amesbury coach Steve Cynewski ignored the unfortunate ending to his squad's season following the game, distributing T-shirts and photos to his players in a sign of appreciation for their collective effort. The squad rebounded from a 1-14-1 mark last summer to post a 13-2 record. The Indians were one of two teams in the nine-team league to qualify for the postseason.
"Our catcher, Nick Sheehan, and our ace pitcher, Mike Corrigan, were the only two players to have a share of varsity playing time at Amesbury High," Cynewski said. "The rest of the guys were pushed off the team. Either they didn't play or things didn't go well, and they ended up quitting. Being 18 and going off to college, I think they had a lot to prove, and I think they proved it."
Cynewski, who also coached the squad last summer, implemented an equal-playing-time philosophy at the start of both seasons. Every player saw the same number of at bats and innings in the field. He changed that strategy this summer after his team started 4-0.
"We saw what we were capable of doing, and we started taking it a little more seriously and kept on winning," Cynewski said.
The 13-win season appears to have justified Cynewski's claims that many of his players deserved to make the Amesbury High roster this spring. The high school varsity team posted a 5-15 record in Gene Burnham Sr.'s first year as head coach. He replaced Jerry Mondalto, who was not rehired after 19 years in the position.
"Without a doubt, this provides some redemption for these guys," Cynewski said. "A lot of them were unhappy with the coaching situation at Amesbury High. They spoke loudly for the community. The whole town of Amesbury is unhappy about what's going on over there. You don't take players who have been with the program for three years and bump them in favor of freshmen. The team's record reflected that based on how poorly they did."
In fairness, Babe Ruth is not considered the highest level of summer baseball in the area, as many of the top players in the Cape Ann League flock to Legion District 8. For example, Amesbury standout David Smith plays for the Newburyport Nor'Easters in that league, as do many of the best players from Newburyport, Triton, Pentucket and Georgetown.
"I wasn't too surprised by our success because it's a different atmosphere," Corrigan said. "It's a lot more laid back in this league. There are fewer systems and a lot more freedown. We have a left-handed second baseman, so we don't play for score. We keep it loose."
