St. John Paul II Lions head coach Mark Santos – 2015 Capecod.com All-Cape & Islands Coach of the Year – with his senior captains Blake Waters, Matt Santos, Kevin Marsh and Christian Hegarty.
Phil Garceau/Capecod.com Sports
2015 Capecod.com All-Cape & Islands Baseball Coach of the Year: There are so many intangibles that go into what it takes to be an outstanding coach in any sport, and baseball certainly is at the apex of just how difficult it can be to foster the right kind of team chemistry to pull off a championship season. With a record of 51-2 over the past two seasons, five consecutive Cape & Islands League championship titles and a pair of MIAA Division 4 State Baseball Championships under his belt, it’s impossible to ignore the grasp St. John Paul II’s Mark Santos has on what it takes to harness glory.
One does not necessarily need a Major League resumé to be a good teacher or to engender an environment of success and Santos is fully cognizant of that simple truth. Is the man perfect? No. Does he have detractors and is he blasted by bleacher-seat naysayers from time to time? Absolutely.
But Santos shields his troops from such blather and has routinely put up the numbers, statistics and hardware so that he need not worry about what others think. Leaving few stones unturned in his drive to succeed, his players feed off of that energy and “believe” they can succeed, regardless of the opponent. Few teams, to be frank, have been witnessed working as hard as the student-athletes in his charge, and joyously so. The best compliment that can be given about the 2015 Capecod.com All-Cape & Islands Baseball Coach of the Year: his players are gentlemen, they play with heart, they play together and down to the last man they are unified in every move they make. It’s a rarity, but so is winning back-to-back state championship titles in a game as fickle as the Cape Cod weather.
Faith in the intangible is a core aspect of the education process at St. John Paul II and while its mission may not appeal to everyone, one cannot deny that a little bit of faith and trust can move mountains and any coach who can take the raw ore that was the State Champion Lions baseball team this spring and churn it into the gold it became is more than deserving of this recognition. Bottom line: he cares deeply about the young men in his charge and their attitude reflected his leadership till the end.
Joe Oriola – RHP – St. John Paul II
2015 Capecod.com Pitcher of the Year
2015 Capecod.com All-Cape & Islands Pitcher of the Year: Joe Oriola, Junior, St. John Paul II High School, RHP: What Joe Oriola meant to the superlative St. John Paul II baseball club was inarguable. The staff ace went 9-1 on the season and threw pinpoint, laser beam strikes throughout the Lions’ storied campaign. He struck out a remarkable 87 batters in just 61 innings pitched while walking only nine and boasted a 1.72 earned run average. A pitcher’s pitcher, if nothing more, Oriola stepped his game up a notch this season and he did so when the Lions needed a go-to guy on the mound who took the pressure off the remainder of the staff. He was an ardent competitor but controlled his emotions at all times and focused always on getting the job done until it was done. He left it on the field every time he stepped on it. Oriola was without question the 2015 Capecod.com All-Cape & Islands Pitcher of the Year.
2015 Capecod.com All-Cape & Islands Player of the Year: Kevin Marsh, Senior, St. John Paul II High School: If one simply places statistics aside, Kevin Marsh’s inspirational courage in stepping up to the plate just 24 hours after learning his mother had passed away to lead the Lions down the road to its second straight state title would be enough for consideration of this honor. Marsh’s postseason performance was brilliant as it was remarkable, and in particular, his complete-game win over Mashpee at Campanelli Stadium in the state semifinals may one day prove legendary. Baseball is a game that without heart is impossible to be a success at, but throughout the 2015 season few hearts beat more fiercely for the Blue & Gold than this young man’s did. His stoicism, his athletic skill and his dignity cast a special if not ineffable glow over his teammates on the days that led up to their repeat championship, but more
Kevin Marsh – St. John Paul II – 2015 Capecod.com Player of the Year
importantly he proved by example that resilience and selflessness still exist not only in the game of high school baseball, but in life. Marsh went 7-0 on the pitching mound for St. John Paul II this spring, and he struck out 42 batters in 48 innings pitched with a 2.12 earned run average. He walked just eight batters. In addition, he batted .522 with 16 extra base hits, belted two home runs and drove in 34 while scoring 34 times. College scouts behind the backstop at numerous games were overheard talking about him and deservedly so, because Kevin Marsh earned every bit of the 2015 Capecod.com All-Cape & Islands Player of the Year Award.
2015 Capecod.com All-Cape & Isands Team:
David Nichols, RHP, Monomoy Regional High School Sharks
Noah Nickerson, SS, Monomoy Regional High School Sharks
Dalton Nickerson, DH, Monomoy Regional High School Sharks
Brandon Hamilton, RHP, Monomoy Regional High School Sharks
Matt Santos, SS, St. John Paul II (Batted .615, 42 RBI, 17 SBs)
Bobby Higgins, 3B, St. John Paul II (Batted .538, 29 RBI, 18 SBs)
Blake Waters, OF/LHP, St. John Paul II (6-0, 1.66 ERA; batted .482, 34 RBI)
Nauset Warrior southpaw Paul Prue was spectacular throughout the season for the Nauset Warriors.
Sean Walsh/Capecod.com Sports
Paul Prue, LHP, Nauset Regional High School (6-2)
Gerritt Merrill, SS/RHP, Nauset Regional High School (3-1, 39 Ks, 31 ip)
Willy Boyd, 2B, Nauset Regional High School (batted .429, 20 SBs)
Jason Demers, LHP, Mashpee High School (7-2, 1.37 ERA, 69 Ks, 66.1 ip, 13 BBs)
Nick Carpeneter, 3B, Mashpee High School (.389, 4 HR, 29 RBI, 37 hits)
Ari Purdy, CF, Mashpee High School (.356, 2 HR, 18 RBI, 25 SBs)
Chris Parkin, SS, Sturgis West (.408, 20 runs)
J.P. LaBarge, RHP/OF, Sturgis West (.300, 2.82 ERA)
John Ryan, 1B, Sturgis West (.414, 4 triples)
Nick Pepe, C, Sturgis West (.393)
Cooper Gavin, 1B, Sturgis East (.455, 35 RBI, 2 HRs)
Jared Joy, C/RHP, Sturgis East (.379, 17 RBI)
Ryan Havey, SS, Sturgis East (.375, 27 hits, 12 SBs)
Joe Colesano, 2B, Sturgis East (.339, 21 hits, 21 runs)
Michael Dunn, C, Dennis-Yarmouth Regional High School (.352, 2 HRs)
Mike Knell, SS, Dennis-Yarmouth Regional High School (.357, 1 HR)
Trevor Allen, 1B, Dennis-Yarmouth Regional High School (.323, 2 HRs)
Drew Gallant turned in a brilliant campaign for the D-Y nine this spring.
Sean Walsh/Capecod.com Sports
Drew Gallant, LHP/DH, Dennis-Yarmouth Regional High School (4-1, 2.92 ERA, .318 avg.)
Matt Dahl, LF, Sandwich High School (.439, .495 OBP)
Riley Sorenson, RHP/1B, Sandwich High School (6-2, 2.33 ERA, 65 Ks; .364 avg., HR)
Brady Doherty, OF, Sandwich High School (.431, 11 SBs, .525 OBP)
Austin Smolinsky, DH, Upper Cape Tech
Tom Cummings, RHP, Upper Cape Tech
Cooper Thornell, UTIL, Upper Cape Tech
Eric Holzman, RHP, Barnstable High School (4-0)
Andrew Atsalis, OF, Barnstable High School
Riley Fusaro, RHP, Nantucket
Tim Roberts, DH, Martha’s Vineyard
Nainoa Cooperrider, UTIL, Martha’s Vineyard
Kylar Macoratti, UTIL, Bourne High School
Jacob Ashworth, UTIL, Bourne High School
Tyler Rondeau, UTIL, Bourne High School
Nick Couhig, RHP, Falmouth High School
Falmouth’s Nick Couhig was the backbone of the Falmouth High nine this spring.
Sean Walsh/Capecod.com Sports
Gates Kelliher, C, Falmouth High School
Daniel Crossen, SS/RHP, Cape Cod Academy
Jack Massari, C, Cape Cod Academy
— The 2015 Capecod.com All-Cape & Islands Team was selected based on recommendations, nominations and input from Cape Cod High School varsity baseball coaches. Sean Walsh is the sports editor for www.capecod.com. His email is [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @coachwalshccbm
About CapeCod.com NewsCenter
