BASEBALL: Southold starts preseason practice amid a slew of changes

BY BOB LIEPA  |  SPORTS EDITOR

A new home field, a new nickname and a new classification, not to mention new uniforms. Change could be the theme for the Southold High School baseball team this season.

Say goodbye to the Southold / Greenport Clippers and say hello to the Southold First Settlers. Greenport and Southold no longer share the same baseball team for the first time since the 1990s.

"We've proven ourselves as Clippers, now it's time to start proving ourselves as Settlers," said Coach Mike Carver.

But that isn't all that has changed. Because of renovations being done to the Southold High School fields, the First Settlers will call Jean W. Cochran Park in Peconic their home this season. In addition, they will play as a Class C team. Last year's Clippers competed as a Class B squad.

The First Settlers will also see some changes in the lineup. They lost some familiar faces to graduation. Joe Barszczewski, Rob Clausen, P. J. Ofrias and Ryan Schlichter have moved on.

That is an awful lot of change for one season, and yet, the First Settlers seem to welcome it. Perhaps that is because they sense that they have the makings of another good team.

Last year's Clippers were the runners-up in the Suffolk County Class B double-elimination tournament, falling to the Southampton Mariners, who picked up their first county championship in 31 years. The Clippers finished with a 17-8 record.

Competing as a Class C team against smaller schools could open up an opportunity for the First Settlers to go even further this year.

"Our goal is definitely a county championship," senior catcher C. J. Nicholas said. "That's what we're going to strive for first before we go any further than that, but this will hopefully open up some doors for us."

Monday marked the start of a new era in Southold baseball with its first preseason practice at its new home away from home, Jean W. Cochran Park. For a number of the First Settlers, though, the Peconic field is anything but new to them. They have played on it for years with their travel teams.

The level, well-maintained field with its 15-foot fences in left field and right field is clearly popular with the First Settlers who were interviewed after Monday's practice.

"I love this field, even with the higher fence and the longer fence," said senior second baseman Zach Jobes.

Darrin Standish, a senior shortstop/pitcher, has more than one connection to the field in Peconic. Not only has he played there numerous times with travel teams, but his father, Jeff, oversees the field in his position as the Town of Southold 's deputy supervisor of parks.

"I'm really excited for us because I've been playing on this field for years," Darrin Standish said. "I look at it like my home."

One thing that apparently hasn't changed, though, are the wind patterns the First Settlers will have to contend with. The Southold High School field is notorious for being a windy place, but the wind was gusting at Jean W. Cochran Park on Monday, causing fly balls hit to left field to slice dramatically toward center field.

Jobes said he had been looking forward to the first day of practice. "All day I sat in school just waiting for the bell," he said.

On the first day of practice, the First Settlers threw baseballs, went through a fielding drill, caught fly balls and did conditioning work. They also undoubtedly thought about what the coming season holds for them. Their season will begin on March 26 with a non-league game against the Mattituck Tuckers in Peconic.

"I'm expecting big things this year, I really am," Carver said. "I may only be carrying 13 or 14 kids, but every one of those kids can be starters. . . . I got a bunch of good ballplayers."

That much hasn't changed.

bliepa@timesreview.com