AMCATS Featured in Telegram Towns
By Jay Gearan CORRESPONDENT
PAXTON — It was a struggle at the start for the Anna Maria College baseball team, but the AmCats are flying around the bases these days and piling up wins.
Since defeating Eastern Nazarene in late March, Anna Maria posted eight wins in its last nine games, entering competition this week.The AMCATS zoomed from a 3-11 record and were closing in on a .500 mark at 11-12.
"We didn't play our best in Florida to start the season," said coach Dave McNamara. "But since then we're starting to play really well, and we're finding a way to win the close ones now."
Last weekend against Albertus Magnus College, the AMCATS swept a doubleheader, winning two one-run games, 3-2 in extra innings and 12-11.
Senior Kevin Wodatch had a terrific game in the second contest, belting a home run and two doubles among his five hits. Junior John Sullivan also had quite a game, going five for seven at the plate with three doubles and a pair of triples for five runs batted in.
The day before the Albertus Magnus sweep, the AmCats split a doubleheader against St. Joseph's of Maine, a team ranked 21st in the country in Division 3.
McNamara noted that because of the harsh winter, his team didn't get a chance to practice outdoors before the AMCATS traveled to Florida for the opening part of its season.
"We had all that snow (and) we practiced in the gym for the opening weeks, so it was kind of tough to catch up when we arrived in Florida," McNamara said. "I think we have caught up now, though."
This year's team is led by six seniors. Besides Wodatch, the AmCats have Justin Hyland, Joe McNeil, Will Krug, Mike Guarnieri and Padraig Gilman. Wodatch, Hyland and Guarnieri were named All-Conference players last season.
"The seniors have a lot of experience, and they've been part of our 20-plus win seasons over their careers," McNamara said. "They've played in a lot of big games and have won a lot of big games."
Pitching is always the key to success, and the AMCATS are led by sophomore Tyler Stuart with three victories. Sophomore Lucas Davis has two.
Earlier in the season, McNamara earned his 100th career coaching victory at Anna Maria. His teams have posted three consecutive 20-win seasons and three straight postseason appearances. In 2011, the AmCats captured the ECAC Championship, the first in school history. Last year McNamara was named Coach of the Year in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference. The season before that, he won Worcester Area College Coach of the Year.
While winning 24 games last season, Anna Maria reached the GNAC Final Four and the ECAC New England Championship game. Also, the AmCats played the very first game in school history against Division 1 opponent Holy Cross. McNamara began coaching at Anna Maria in 2007, a year after the team posted a winless record.
It's been a remarkable upswing ever since.
McNamara is assisted by his brother, Jim, a former AMCAT all-star, along with Chris Logan and Sean Gregory.
