Sawyer leading Husson Kolasinski pleased with southern trip

Husson College baseball coach John Kolasinski was on his baseball field earlier this week.

He was measuring the snow.

“Fourteen inches,” reported Kolasinski, whose Braves 12 days ago completed their most successful spring trip since 1994 but haven’t played since. The Braves went 7-5.

Still, the seemingly endless winter isn’t dampening Kolasinski’s enthusiasm.

“We had a great spring trip. In the Warner Southern tournament, we played against some of the better NAIA teams in the country from different regions and we held our own,” said Kolasinski.

That included an 11-6 win over host Warner Southern (Fla.), which was ranked fifth in the country last week.

Kolasinski expected his pitching and defense to carry the team until the hitting came around. He figured his team might hit 10 homers all season long.

Twelve games into the season, the Braves have already hit nine homers and seven regulars are hitting .297 or better. Six of the seven have between eight and 11 runs batted in.

“We worked a lot harder in the cage [inside],” said second baseman Donnie Sawyer, the 1999 Maine Athletic Conference Player of the Year who has returned to the lineup after missing last year recovering from shoulder surgery.

Sawyer, who has moved from shortstop to second base, hit a team-leading .462 with 10 RBIs on the trip.

“Donnie has made a huge difference,” said Kolasinski. “Our [increased] maturity level and the [thorough] way we approach the game has a lot to do with Donnie. He plays the game hard and it trickles down to the other players.”

Veteran pitcher Jeremy Nelson called Sawyer the “cr?me de la cr?me” when it comes to hitting.

“He has the quickest hands I’ve ever seen,” said Nelson.

First baseman Tony Creek, known more for his glove than his bat, was the biggest surprise on the trip. Not only did he hit .394 but he led the team in homers (3), extra-base hits (6) and RBIs (11).

“Tony swung the bat awesome,” said pitcher-outfielder-DH John Montgomery. “He really worked hard in the off-season.”

Another vastly-improved hitter, according to Kolasinski, was outfielder Tony Laprino (.389-0-8). The Braves leadoff hitter has scored a team-high 15 runs.

“He doesn’t run exceptionally well but he goes deep into the count and works pitchers looking for his pitch,” said Kolasinski. “He has improved the most from last year to this year.”

Center fielder Matt Soucie (.385), third baseman John McGlinn (.303-2-10), outfielder Jared Foster (.297-2-10) and Montgomery (.297-1-8) also had productive spring trips.

“We showed more power than I expected,” said Kolasinski. “And we showed some patience at the plate. When we got ahead 2-0, 2-1 or 3-1 in the count, we looked for a pitch to drive.”

Montgomery led the pitchers with a 4-0 record and a 2.63 earned run average. University of Maine transfer Rob Worcester (1-1, 4.73) and Keith Simmons (1-2, 5.87) also gave Kolasinski some quality innings as did Nelson, who just finished up his clinical work in his physical therapy major in Portland.

“Now he can jump it up a little bit,” said Kolasinski, who hopes to eventually make Montgomery his closer.

“I’d rather start but I’ll do anything to help the team out,” said Montgomery.

The defense was yet another unexpected surprise.

Husson will play Massachusetts College of Pharmacy Sunday and will face Castleton State (Vt.) Monday and Tuesday in Massachusetts.