Some Changes Coming for Pierson Baseball After Pair of Losses

After suffering a pair of rough losses to start the season, Pierson baseball head coach Jonathan Schwartz isn’t hitting the alarm just yet — but admitted things might have to change if his team wants to the see the success it expected this spring.

After losing, 7-0, at Babylon on March 29, the Whalers lost, 14-2, at home to Mattituck the very next day. Both games were mandatory nonleague contests.

“We have some things that need to be sharpened up and we need to keep finding the right guys for the right spots,” Schwartz said on Monday evening. “There are some things that still need to be ironed out, changes that might have to take place, and that’s what happens when you have a slightly inexperienced group of varsity players. There are some changes that are going to be made, we’ll make those changes and I’m looking forward to this week. I think we’ll play better.”

Schwartz admitted that the cold temperatures in the season opener at Babylon may have played a role in the loss, but his starting pitcher Andy Wayne didn’t use that as an excuse. He had a hard time finding the strike zone, Schwartz said, which allowed Babylon to jump out to an early lead.

Braeden Mott relieved Wayne on the mound and Schwartz said he was excellent. Overall, Pierson scattered six hits on offense.

“They’re the class of the conference,” Schwartz said of Babylon. “We knew they’d probably be in the top two going into it, and we just wanted to compete. It was a lot of the guys’ first time seeing 85-plus. Their ace was tremendous, filled the zone, didn’t miss. Our guys just got thrown right into the fire. I think they responded okay. They understood to take the result with a grain of a salt, learn from it and move on. But still, it wasn’t up to our standards.”

Pierson did not play well defensively in the loss to Mattituck, and couldn’t get a timely hit to take advantage of the five walks it had drawn. Nathan Dee started on the mound for the Whalers, and Schwartz said he was fantastic in the first inning, but then had some trouble finding the strike zone in the second inning that led to some walks and then the defense didn’t help things. The umpires ended the game early after five innings of play due to what they said was darkness, although Schwartz said he would have liked to have kept playing. The game was official since five innings were played.

Schwartz said some positives after the first two games were that Wayne’s bat seems to be a little more potent than he expected, and that senior catcher Gavin Gilbride has left off exactly where he did last season, being aggressive behind the plate in picking runners off and catching them trying to steal bags.

Pierson played at Southampton on Tuesday and will host Center Moriches in a mandatory nonleague game at Mashashimuet Park in Sag Harbor this Saturday at 10 a.m., before hosting Southampton in a nonleague game this Monday, April 10, at noon.