For Petaluma HS baseball, three commandments

New coach likes what he sees from Petaluma baseball players as athletes and young men.|

New Petaluma High School baseball coach Jim Selvitella has three commandments for the Trojans.

1) For pitchers: Challenge hitters.

2) For fielders: Focus on every pitch and make the routine plays.

3) For the hitters: When you get your pitch, be aggressive and attack.

Selvitella isn’t sure how the Trojans will fare in the won-lost column, but he does know it will be a good year.

“This is a good group,” he explains. “Beyond baseball, they are a good group of students and a good group of young men. They are all good students. Their cumulative GPA is around 3.4.

“We’ll have a fun year.”

How successful that fun year will be will depend largely on how well a very inexperienced pitching staff can come together.

Petaluma has two quality pitchers at the top of the mound in left-handed Danny Marzo and right-handed Blake Buhrer. Both are juniors.

Marzo was a mainstay for the Trojans as a sophomore, with a 3-4 record and a solid 2.77 earned run average. Both he and Buhrer have thrown one-hitters to account for both Petaluma wins in what, so far, has been a 2-4 season.

Connor Richardson gave the Trojans some solid innings last season, finishing with a 2-1 record and a 2.59 ERA, and will be counted on again.

A pleasant surprise in the early season has been Nick Andrakin. The junior is the Petaluma catcher, but his strong right arm has made him a pitcher as well. Although he lost a 4-2 decision to Maria Carrillo last week, he pitched very well after being touched for three runs in the opening inning.

Another junior, Jake Duca, pitched very well in a relief role in that game.

Seniors Matius Lipsie, Bryce Smith and Cole Tomei are also being counted on to help. Freshman Sam Brown, an exceptional all-around athlete with a strong arm, may also get a mound chance before the season has run its course.

Andrakin is continuing a long line of exceptional Petaluma catchers. “He is really coming into his own,” Selvitella says. “We’ve seen a lot of development. He has dedicated himself to being a good catcher.”

Providing catching insurance and working behind the plate when Andrakin pitches is junior Devin Gottschall, who is also sound defensively and has a good bat. Another junior, True Overton, is a competent catcher, providing good depth behind the dish.

The infield is veteran and strong with both bat and glove.

Buhrer has a good glove and is developing as a hitter at first base.

Junior Porter Slate takes over full time at second base. He is an excellent defensive player and an ideal No. 2 hitter in the Trojan lineup with his consistency and bat control at the plate. The underrated Richardson is back at third base. He makes all the plays at the hot corner and is being counted on to supply RBI power at the plate.

The glue to the infield, and perhaps the entire team, is shortstop Logan Douglas. Now a senior, he had an excellent junior season. He is an exceptional defender and bats in the heart of the order.

Selvitella said he expects even more this season from Douglas.

“I’m looking for him to be the spark we need,” the coach says. “I’ve asked him to step up and be the team leader and he has accepted that role.”

Tomei and junior David Haulot add depth to the infield.

There is plenty of pop in the Petaluma outfield with Marzo (when he isn’t pitching), Bradley Smith, Brown, Austin Paretti, Bobby Miller and Kempton Brandis all strong hitters.

Marzo is the leadoff batter, who not only hits well, but also has shown a keen eye at the plate and has speed once he is on base. He is batting close to .500 in the early going.

Paretti is an excellent defensive outfielder with good speed. “We need his glove,” the coach says.

Smith, a junior, played with the varsity at the end of last season, and showed good power. Selvitella says he is much improved.

“Coach Marc Nadale has been working with him on his approach at the plate and it is paying dividends,” Selvitella says.

Brandis, another junior, was an all-league selection last year. He is the team’s clean-up batter and probably its best all-around hitter. He also covers a lot of ground in center field.

“I absolutely love the way he plays the game,” says Selvitella.

Brown appears to be one of the rare freshmen who can handle the pressure of a varsity sport.

“He is very talented,” says the coach, but anytime you expose a 15-year-old to that level of baseball, you aren’t sure what will happen. “Based on a small sample size, he is going to be able to handle it. I don’t think he has a clue he’s a freshman.”

Selvitella brought Paul Braa, a superb organizer, over from the Casa Grande junior varsity team to help him with the Trojans and retained Nadale and Greg Pease with him on the Petaluma varsity.

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