Heritage baseball hopes to keep hot play going rest of Cap-8 slate

Heritage had already established a winning tradition during Thomas Ferrara’s tenure as an assistant baseball coach. And in his first season at the helm, Ferrara is keeping it going.

With just more than half of the conference schedule behind them, the Huskies (11-4 after Friday’s win) are in a three-way tie for first in the Cap-8 Conference with Leesville Road and Millbrook.

“We need to focus no matter who our opponent is. We’ve gotten timely hitting, executing when we need to execute and our pitching is getting a little better every game. We’re not getting behind too much,” Ferrara said. “I just want us to be mentally tough. There’s so much physicality out there, but we have to pick up signs and know what to do when it’s time to do it.”

Heritage has been scoring runs in bunches – the Huskies have been held to less than six runs just five times in 15 games.

Thayer Thomas has been one of the Huskies’ senior leaders.

“I’ve been seeing the ball pretty well, and I’ve been confident at the plate,” Thayer Thomas said. “Coach Ferrara was my JV coach two years ago, so I’m pretty used to the way he does things. The main things we have to do are be aggressive and play hard all the time.”

Christian Staresina has had a big responsibility for the Huskies as a sophomore, leading off and starting in the outfield.

“I try to have a good approach and get on base,” Staresina said. “I’m not supposed to try to do too much. I just need simple base hits. And I’m trying to run the bases and steal as many bases as possible. … Coach (Ferrara) emphasizes us playing as a team. If we get down, it’s important to cheer each other on and help us get back in the game.”

This story was originally published April 15, 2017 at 4:54 PM with the headline "Heritage baseball hopes to keep hot play going rest of Cap-8 slate."