By Justin Feil, Packet Media Group
In the winter, Erik Mathisen got his first look at some of the players that will be the future of the Hillsborough High School baseball team.
He has seen plenty of growth, and is expecting more as his team begins play in the inaugural freshman division of the Pyramid Baseball League.
“It’s a group that probably hasn’t faced this level of competition in their lives so far,” said Mathisen, the Hillsborough team’s manager. “This is kind of their first taste of that rec-is-done-and-we’re-preparing-for-high-school.”
Mathisen knows what is in store for the group at the highest level. He is an assistant to the HHS varsity team where standards are high. The emphasis and expectations are not on winning now, but building a base to win later.
“Teaching them how to be mentally there and have the right mentality and the intensity level every pitch is what we’re working on,” Mathisen said. “Getting them prepared for the high school level is really what the emphasis is. I’m focusing on the littlest of details. If we don’t win a game, but I see that progression where they’re upping their game to get to the next level, that’s really what we’re focusing on.”
The freshman division team consists of players who are finishing their eighth grade year now. They have been developing their skills over the last six months.
“I’ve had them since winter time,” Mathisen said. “They did the training, and played USABL, which is a Sunday league. We played more in a B divison and were in the playoffs in that. The improvements have been amazing since the winter. They’re starting to really gel as a team.”
Members of the team include: outfielder/third baseman Joseph Bijas, middle infielder/outfielder Michael Cady, catcher/outfielder Eric Demare, first baseman AJ Dillon, second baseman Ryan Gyllenhammer, first baseman/catcher Luc Hackel, outfielder/third baseman Josh Kanter, center fielder Kyle McAvaddy, catcher/third baseman Dylan Morrello, third baseman/shortstop Ishaan Parikh, third baseman/shortstop/outfielder Jesse Previte, catcher/second baseman/outfielder Kevin Quabeck, catcher/outfielder Gavin Tynan and third baseman/first baseman Cooper Whaley. Nils Gyllenhammer is coach. The group started with back-to-back losses to the New Jersey Jays 14U team, 6-3, and to Delaware Valley, 11-3.
“Our pitching is our strongest part,” Mathisen said. “That game against Del Val, they still had rec playoffs and had USABL playoffs, so we had to monitor pitch counts. We’re trying to get through that.”
Mathisen has a bevy of pitchers he can use, and others that will be used to pitch in the busy schedule out of necessity. The main pitchers are: Cady, Morrello, Parikh, Previte, Dillon and Whaley.
“Those are the guys that will start games,” Mathisen said. “The thing with this group and this league is most of these kids are going to have to pitch. They have tournaments, districts, playoffs. We’re playing a ton of games. As soon as we have one focus, it’ll be a little better.”
The development has already begun. He has seen the players improve in how they play the game since they started their winter training.
“It’s the pitch to pitch focus,” Mathisen said. “The first game we played, we had no idea how to hold runners on base. We had no idea how to mix pitches and keep runners close. That’s the biggest progress. When we have the ball, we can hold the runners close. We work so much on pick-offs. We’ve limited the base running of other teams. We pick a ton of runners off base. They were letting other teams dictate how we play. They realize, I have the chance to dictate.
“It’s the same at the plate. They’d get up there and hope to put the ball in play. Now they realize if they’re in a hitter’s count, or if the pitcher is rushing I can step out and look down the line and take a sign. With runners on first and second, they realize it’s a situation they can bunt them over. They’re starting to understand the nuances of the game that make the difference between winning and losing.”
Improving how they handle those situations has aided the group in another way. It’s made them more confident.
“When I started working with them, it was almost like a deer in headlights,” Mathisen said. “You want them to be in the moment, but baseball is such a you-have-to-know-the-next-play sport. Now before the pitch, they’re thinking where do they need to go next? And they know what to do.”
The Legion season extends longer than any other and gives Mathisen a chance to work with the group into the summer. The newly formed league gives them a consistent format to play in together, whereas rising freshmen would have had formerly to find another outside team or play here and there in tournament showcases.
“This is more of a season for them,” Mathisen said. “When this opportunity was given, when the guys who runs the Legion asked out it, we liked it. They’ll be doing this the rest of their high school lives too. It’s a great experience for them.”
As they get older, players from HHS follow the program’s philosophy of playing against even older competition. It can be a challenge, but it’s something that the Raiders — winners of this year’s Somerset County Tournament — have seen benefit them at the high school level. It’s not easy to make a jump at the high school level with so many established players. The Pyramid League helps them prepare when it is their chance, and it could even help a select few make a jump to varsity or JV.
“It does not happen very often,” Mathisen said. “There might be two kids to have the opportunity to make the jump to the JV level.”
The group continues to strive toward improving its game. It was looking for its first win of the Legion season Wednesday against Phillipsburg. Hillsborough has been held to three runs in each of its first two games.
“We’re definitely a singles hitting team,” Mathisen said. “We put the ball in play a lot. They’re coming around on the hitting. That’s been a big thing. For Coach (Eric) Eden, our hitting philosophies are things that kids maybe haven’t been taught.
“It’s coming around. We’ve been a little streaky to say the least. When we get going, we hit good line drives. Our situational hitting is good. We put the ball in play. So far I think we’re hitting like .286 as a team. That’s pretty good.”
As the season continues, Mathisen expects to see the progress that the players have made will pay off, if not this year, down the line when it matters even more.
