By: Ken Weingartner
If there was ever a game to give the Monroe High baseball team a good feeling about the future, it was last week’s win over South River.
The Falcons closed the year with a 6-5 victory, rallying from a 5-3 deficit in the seventh inning before winning on Anthony Viani’s RBI single in the eighth. For a squad that had squandered several late-inning leads this season, it was a nice reversal of fortune.
"I was happy to see that," said senior Scott Modzelewski, who scored the winning run. "It was a tough game. They had a couple mishaps, but we did everything we needed to do. We drew walks, we bunted, we got the ball in play. Sometimes the breaks go their way; sometimes they go yours. This time, we won. I was thankful it was our last game; I didn’t want to go out losing. It’s good to close out on a win.
"This gives us hope for next year. We have some fire that we can fight back with. One thing we need to focus on is being ready from the get-go. That was our problem this year. Our season was up and down, but Coach (Greg Beyer) kept telling us one time it’s going to drop our way. [Against South River] it did."
Even though he is graduating, Modzelewski talked about next season using "we" rather than "they." It’s an indication of his love for the game and the MHS program. The Falcons, who won just two games last season and opened this year by losing seven in a row, finished 6-17.
"I want to see the team succeed next year; I really do," said Modzelewski, who joined the varsity as a sophomore. "A team is a team; it’s not just about me or other individuals. I tried to contribute as much as I could. If we can bring up the consistency next year, I think they’ll pull through.
"We have talent. If they can all pull together and make winning a priority, I think they’ll do well. It’s not just about focusing on getting better individually. You need to focus on winning as part of the game. I want to see them do well, even if I’m not there."
Modzelewski, who received the Robert "Doc" Axelrod Award for his dedication to the game, tried to bring a focused, but relaxed, attitude onto the diamond.
"If you’re worried about messing up, you’re going to mess up," Modzelewski said. "When they relax, they find out things just happen good for them. When guys struggled on the mound, I’d go talk to them, crack a little joke, and get them to crack a little smile. I like to talk. I tried to bring a relaxed atmosphere. You can’t be great at baseball unless you’re having fun at it."
Modzelewski concentrated on pitching in previous seasons, but this year he gave more attention to improving his hitting. It worked, too, as Modzelewski batted .400 with two home runs and six RBI. He hit .500 (5-for-10) with runners in scoring position.
"I started working on hitting when I went to camps," said Modzelewski, who played third base when not pitching. "I was happy I got a chance to do it, and I got the job done when I needed to. It shows the work I did paid off. I focused on hitting, and something happened with it. I hit my first home run this year, and that was a highlight."
Modzelewski, whose uncle, Dave Meads, was an MHS grad and pitched for the Houston Astros in the late 1980s, said playing with the varsity as a sophomore was another highlight during his career at Monroe.
"I was a decent player playing with good players," he recalled. "I felt like I was part of the team. That was pretty cool."
The Falcons played a number of freshmen, sophomores and juniors over the past two seasons, which should benefit the team down the road. If Monroe’s 6-10 finished this year is any indication, the direction is positive.
"We were better than last year," Modzelewski said. "It wasn’t just that we won more games, we played a lot better as a team. We just need to find some consistency. The last few years were hard at times, but I’ve got to think about how the future is going to be."
