Lakewood baseball still trying to find its way
Piners have a 1-6 record
BY MIKE WHITE Staff Writer
While the Lakewood High School baseball team has struggled through the first quarter of the season, there have been a couple of players who have provided bright spots for the Piners.

Seniors Chris Guzman and John Sanchez are both off to fast starts for Lakewood, which is 1-6 overall.

Guzman leads the team with a gaudy .438 average. He is 7 for 15 with a double and just two strikeouts. Assistant coach Vinnie Currao is impressed with Guzman's ability to work his way on base.

"He has had good at-bats for us so far this season," Currao said. "He is the kind of player who is going to put the bat on the ball. He isn't the most powerful kid, but he does a good job of not chasing pitches out of the strike zone. Chris is using the opposite field a lot. He has shown a lot of patience at the plate."

In addition, Guzman has played both middle infield positions. Equippedwith sure hands and quick feet,Guzman has seen time at both second base and shortstop.

"He is solid defensively," Currao said. "He is comfortable at both positions. His flexibility has helped us tremendously in setting our defense."

Sanchez is batting .300, which includes a pair of doubles and a home run. He paces the team with five RBIs.

"He can hit for power," Currao said. "He is the guywe look for to drive in runs.He has beenwith the programfor the past couple of years and has gotten better each season.He is really valuable for this squad."

Indeed, Sanchez gets plenty of work on the mound and behind the dish.

"We've used him in both positions," Currao said, referring to Sanchez's value as both a catcher and pitcher. "He is one of the better pitchers on the team, and he has continued to be one of the best catchers around. He has very good arm strength and a quick release. When he is behind the plate, not too many teams are running on him."

Lakewood's lone victory came over Manchester. The Piners scored a run in the eighth inning to post an 8-7 win. The two schools are scheduled to square off again Friday afternoon.

 

"That was a pretty exciting win for the kids," Currao said. "We're off to a rough start, so getting that extra-inningwin overManchesterwas big formorale. I expect Friday's game to be another dog fight."

In the firstmeeting,Dean Seda provided LHSwith the game-winning hit, anRBI single in the eighth. Sanchez smacked two doubles and contributed a run batted in, while Jordan Sedawas 3 for 4with twoRBIs.Guzman had a pair of hits.

Antonio Gonzalez pitched six innings before giving way to Nick Sasfano, who picked up the win in relief.

"Our pitching has been pretty good," Currao said. "Our guys are throwing strikes and limiting teams to just a few runs.We're just not scoring enough to win games. We need to get more people involved in the offense."