Leesville Road baseball getting hot at the right time

Leesville Road baseball coach Guy Civitello, who is in his fifth season, is looking to get his team up the Cap-8 Conference standings after last year’s 9-12 mark ended a string of three straight winning seasons.

And wins over perennial conference contenders Sanderson and Millbrook may be a big step. The Pride moved to 8-4 (5-1 in the Cap-8) on Tuesday with an 8-7 win over Millbrook.

The Pride had won seven of its last eight going into Thursday night’s game with Wakefield.

“This is a big win, just for us this year,” Civitello said after a March 17 win over Sanderson. The Pride fell at Hoggard in the second round of the 4A playoffs last season. “We’re trying not to think about things past. Our conference is extremely difficult and everybody is well-coached. We’re going to get our opponents’ best every night and we’ve got to be ready to go.”

Civitello’s team is led on the mound by Noah Latta, who is 2-2 on the mound but has a 2.78 ERA. Latta was more than solid in an eight-inning win over Sanderson.

“I was able to locate my fastballs both on the outside and the inside, and I had my off-speed when I needed it,” Latta said.

Center fielder Jack Kaelin, who is hitting .425 with three homers and 17 RBIs, helps lead the offense. Landon Choboy is averaging .486 and Sid Credle .455.

Leesville entered its game with Wakefield tied with Heritage in first place of the Cap-8, though Heritage won the head-to-head meeting. Leesville and Heritage will play again April 4.

This story was originally published March 30, 2017 at 11:49 AM with the headline "Leesville Road baseball getting hot at the right time."