Dustin Dobbs ’10
Sports Editor

As the 2010 baseball season gets underway, one question remains for the reigning back-to-back FCIAC Champs. Will they win a third straight title, becoming the first team in FCIAC history to do so?

With seven returning starter and an experienced group of seniors, all signs point in the direction of a “3-peat.” However, this squad, which is establishing itself as a perennial powerhouse in the FCIAC and even the CIAC, is plagued with the one thing in baseball that never seems to go away: pressure.

However, the experienced team is no stranger to pressure.

“Pressure is something that comes with baseball,” Grant Moss ’10, quad-captain, said. “There is constant pressure game to game, to play at a high level.” Moss, who is the team’s starting catcher, played a key role for both the 2008 and 2009 Championship teams.

“Because we’re returning so many starters, we know what it’s like to play in those situations,” Moss said.

Returning outfielder Brendan Bernstein ’11, a vital part of the 2009 Championship team as a sophomore, also acknowledges the fact that there is not so much pressure to “3-peat” as there is pressure with the nature of the sport itself.

“It’s a sport with a ton of pressure all the time, so there’s defenetly pressure, but I think we’re all used to it by now,” Bernstein said.

“Every season brings pressure and expectations—we need to embrace it to be successful,” Jack MacFarland, head coach said. MacFarland also said that in order to compete at the highest level, he will “need to find the right combination of players on the field at all times.”

Some of the players seem to block out the pressure to avoid any distractions.

“Since it’s never been done before it’s definitely on our minds, but for now we need to take one game at a time, quad-captain David Speer ’10, who pitched the team to the 2008 and 2009 Championship said.

This will be the key to their success this year: taking the season game by game. With a short but fast spring season ahead, every game matters.

“With such a short season we need high energy baseball all the time,” said Moss.

“If we take one game at a time, we should be playing our best baseball,” returning pitcher and quad-captain Jimmy Sikorski ’10, who pitched in last year’s FCIAC Championship victory said.

Newcomer Mike Rustemeyer ’10, who will look to add to the Wreckers’ infield this season said that the season “needs to be taken game by game.” Rustemeyer was not aware of the back-to-back FCIAC titles at Staples when he moved here, but was motivated even more when he found out.

“It’s really cool to come here and try and help a team do something that’s never been done before,” Rustemeyer said. “I just heard Staples had a really good team, and when I found out it just made me more excited. I just hope I can help the team get a third in any way.”

The Wreckers will be expecting high competition from everyone they play this year, since they are the team to beat.

“A lot of teams are out for us, but we have the capability to beat any team, so we have to show that,” Bernstein said.

Quad-captian Jack Hennessy ’10, who has led the team to success since his freshman year, looks to complete his Staples career on top.

“Jack is excited and definitely has high aspirations for the team,” said Mark Hennessy, parent of this two-time All FCIAC infielder.

Hennessy also pointed out the success of the program. He said, “with the leadership, coaching staff, and returning players the team has, the team should be able to stay focused one game at a time.”

“Staples Baseball has been on every other teams’ radar now for a couple of years,” said Hennessy.

To accomplish their goals of a “3-peat” and a possible CIAC title, the Wreckers “will have to play their best baseball every single game,” Bernstein said.

“We are going to need to play every game like it’s a Championship,” Moss said. “We are also going to need to conserve our starting pitching come playoff time, because that hurt us in States last year. We have a lot of depth in our bullpen this year and there’s no need to waste it.”

Coach MacFarland believes his squad will play with the “team first concept”, which will help them reach their goals.

On top of winning another FCIAC title, the Wreckers all want to make a run at a State Championship.

“Although we won the last two FCIAC Championships, our last two seasons ended a little too early,” Sikorski said.