Thu, Nov 26 2009
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Kingsville has right recipe Locals will represent District 1 at state tournament ADAM RAEDERStar Beacon “He’s a fast runner too. I can’t remember the last time he got thrown out stealing,” Zappitelli said. “And a very, very good center fielder. One of the best around. I don’t think many people realize how important a center fielder is. He’s the glue of the outfield.”
Then there are there’s Kingsville’s RBI guys, Zach Laugnand and Payton Boggs. “Them two are just our middle of the order hitters,” Zappitelli said. “They know their responsibilities — getting guys in. A ground ball, fly ball, bunt, whatever to get guys in and runners over. Their job is to put balls in play.” But Zappitelli said the most important part of his lineup is the very bottom. When Tyler Dufour, Connor DeGeorge and Nunistl are getting on base, Kingsville is putting crooked numbers on the scoreboard. “They’re very good at small-ball,” Zappitelli said. “That’s what we work with on the bottom of the lineup, small ball. Our best high-scoring games are when our bottom of the lineup is getting on base a lot.” In fact, hitting has been the area Kingsville has spent the most time working on in practice. “That’s probably what we need to work on the most, more than anything, is hitting. Half our team is from the minor league level and had to get them caught up with the rest of the players,” Zappitelli said. So the coaches put their players to work. Hitting rubber balls out of a pitching machine. Hitting miniature balls out of another machine. Having kids hit against their best pitchers. And, if what the coaches are seeing in practice is any indication, the hard work has paid off. “We went back to teaching the fundamentals,” assistant coach Patrick Arcaro said. “Right now, they’re hitting excellent.” And Arcaro lists Phil Sarbiewski and Zach Rogers as the most improved of all their hitters. Their stances were a little bit unorthodox at first, but we’ve gotten to the point where their weight — shifting back to front — is giving them better contact,” Arcaro said. “They’ve really come a long way.” It’s emblematic of the effort Kingsville has put in since tournament play started. “The team is very determined. They just want to push forward,” Zappitelli said. “We’re very proud of them, win or lose. They expect to go down there and win. So hopefully we can do that.” 
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