Strong pitching to spearhead Zone 1 Falcons

Brewer’s American Legion team may have lost a sizeable portion of its offense off its state championship team and the Falcons will have some inexperienced players in their starting lineup. But, first-year coach Dave Gonyar also knows that pitching can take a team a long way and Brewer will be in good shape in that category.

“Pitching will be our strength, no question,” said Gonyar, who comes to Brewer from the Old Town-Orono Legion program, where he was the head coach for three summers. “And I think the hitters will do the job for us. We should be solid through the first six or seven spots in our order. But defense will be our biggest question mark. Will we be able to make the big play defensively?”

The Falcons, who will be gunning for their fifth straight Zone 1 title in their sixth year of existence, have been bolstered by the return of ace righthander Ronnie Hewes, who had considered passing up his final year of Legion ball to play in the Eastern Maine Amateur Baseball League.

Hewes had a 5-1 record and a 1.79 earned run average with 69 strikeouts in 40 1/3 innings during the regular season last summer and finished with an overall record of 7-2.

Hewes, a first-team All-Zone 1 choice a year ago who hurled 6 2/3 innings at the University of Maine last spring, struck out 13 over six innings of Brewer’s 8-7 win over Bangor on Sunday. He allowed one run.

“Ronnie is a legitimate stopper,” said Gonyar.

Hewes will be complemented by Bucksport’s Greg White, who was 2-2 last summer and 5-1 with a 3.18 earned run average for Gonyar’s Bucksport High team this spring; Billy Swift, who was 4-0 last summer and 1-2 at Brewer High; Jamie White, who was 5-2 with a 2.17 ERA for Brewer High in the spring; Alan Perkins, 2-1, 2.58 for Brewer High and Tony Mottola, who saw limited Legion mound duty last summer and came on to get the save in the win over Bangor.

The Whites combined to four-hit Mount Desert Island 7-1 Tuesday night to give the unbeaten Falcons their fourth straight win. They opened the season with a 12-2, 9-5 sweep of Pittsfield.

Offensively, Gonyar will be relying on veteran Legion players like All-Zone 1 second-team catcher Andy Kiah, a .358 hitter last summer, Hewes (.354) and speedy center fielder Matt Ayer (.326).

Gonyar also expects offensive production out of Swift, who will be the first baseman when he isn’t pitching; Jamie White, who will play left field, and Greg White, who will play right and went 8-for-19 at Bucksport this spring.

Swift hit .365 for Brewer High with a team-leading four homers and 15 runs batted in during the regular season and Jamie White was a .293 hitter.

The Falcons lost the heart of their batting order as Chad White, Sonny Spratt and Ed Vanidestine, each of whom drove in 30 or more runs last summer, have used up their eligibility.

The second baseman will be Bucksport’s Aaron Chambers, a .375 hitter for Bucksport High in the spring; Hewes, Searsport’s Mel Grant or Hampden’s George O’Connor will play shortstop and Brewer’s Scott Moorhead will play third.

O’Connor could also play in the outfield.

Brewer’s Jeff Fogg and Bucksport’s Marshall Tracy will back up Kiah behind the plate; John Bapst High School’s Dave McManus is a reserve second baseman-outfielder and Brewer’s Ryan Soucy, Bill Butterfield and Chris Hersey are also reserves.

Soucy is a pitcher-infielder; Butterfield is a backup third baseman and Hersey is a utility player.

Gonyar will be assisted by his brother, Gary, along with Kev Brewer is 90-40 in its five-year history.