Sussex Academy looking to earn respect on the diamond
To soar with some of the big programs in the Henlopen Conference, the Sussex Academy baseball team will need to play small ball in 2024.
“I think we’re going to be a little bit better than people think we are,” coach Doug Nowell said. “We do some things a little different – our style of play is a lot different. We play fast. When we’re on defense, we are trying to get the ball out as quickly as possible. We are very young, but we’ve got some super young talent that are above their years physically and mentally.”
Nowell said his team will be aggressive in everything they do and will not mind taking a risk if there is a significant reward.
“As long as the percentages are on our side, we’re going to continue to do things to try and get outs, produce runs and move runners,” Nowell said.
Leading the group of fledgling and hatchling Seahawks will be sophomore Victor Goodhue and junior Emerson Layton.
“This is a big rebuilding year to get better with our new young players,” Layton said.
“This year, we have a really tough schedule, a good schedule, so we just need to grind it out,” Goodhue said. “I'm really excited because in the future we are going to be a scary, big team to beat.”
Goodhue said the coaches have been working with the players on small-ball techniques such as various styles of bunting and deceptive stealing.
“You just need to be unselfish,” Layton said. “Know that while you might be giving up an at-bat, it’s what’s best for the team and what’s best for the game in this situation.”
Layton said on defense, the pitchers will need to throw strikes and trust the defense.
“We can’t walk people, and we need to be sound defensively in the infield and outfield,” Layton said.
A recent trip to Florida has made the team closer, according to Layton, and Goodhue believes they are building up their team.
“We’re very underrated,” Goodhue said. “We’re going to get slept on this year; we’re going to steal some games, and I’m expecting us to be competitive.”
On a team with no seniors, two eighth-graders and five freshmen, it will be on the four sophomores and four juniors to provide leadership the younger players will need as they begin to season themselves.
Sussex Academy opens its season at 3:30 p.m., Friday, March 22, when they travel to the Smyrna-Clayton Little League fields to take on First State Military Academy.
