The following is an article written for the Penobscot Bay Pilot’s series called “In their own words...” which allows local sports figures to speak their minds about sports. 

This piece was submitted by Will Hyland, a senior baseball player at Belfast Area High School. 

To pen an article for the series, email George Harvey at sports@penbaypilot.com. All fans, coaches, referees and players of all ages are welcome to inquire. 

BELFAST — Three months ago, I ironically wrote about the coming of spring and baseball, only to have over 70 inches of snow hit the Midcoast in the following weeks. Today, I am writing on only the second day in which the Belfast Area High School baseball team has been outside for practice.

This speaks volumes on the winter we have had in Maine and the challenges that have come our way as a result. If I can remember, this is the first year in my 12 years of playing the game that I haven’t been outside on the field before the tenth of April. You surely can bet that Coach George Ross was feeling “hope springs eternal” this year.

However, we are not alone, as nearly every team across the state, including the professional and collegiate teams, have dealt with the inclement weather impacting their practices and games. Coach Ross and Coach Chris LaValle have told us that the team that comes out of the gym the strongest and working hard the most will be the most successful. My teammates and I believe this as well.

The apparent lack of a significant preseason, in comparison with other years, is definitely something that not a lot of our current varsity players have experienced. We will play in Topsham at Mount Ararat on Monday for a double-header and on Tuesday in Belfast against Maine Central Institute.These will be our final tuneups before our opening game at home versus Erskine Academy.

Being around the guys each day, I am not feeling a sense that we won’t be ready for our first regular season game, despite the setbacks due to weather. Like many baseball fans and players in our state, we are preparing at anticipating the start of our favorite game.

Even with the excitement and confidence within our own locker room, we are not getting a lot of love from the preseason polls and predictions. To an extent, we are flying under the radar without notoriety from news outlets in Bangor and Portland or online blogs.

In the Press Herald’s 2015 Top 25 players to watch, only two came from the Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference. Emery Dinsmore, our junior ace pitcher was a first-team KVAC selection last year and was off the list. In addition, Drew Stanley, our senior outfielder, batted .400 in 2014 with 20+ RBI and 15+ stolen bases and still wasn't on the list.

But anyone who knows baseball is aware that there is more to the game than what people say about you and your previous season’s statistics. Like any team sport, one or two players cannot carry the weight of more than a dozen ballplayers.

There are certain intangibles, like hard work, dedication and camaraderie that make a successful team.

Take some of the older members of our team for example. Many of us, including myself, Stanley, Dinsmore, Lucien Gordley-Smith, Matt Smith, Kyle Artkop, Alex Flagg, Sam Kulikowski, and Alex Canning have played on several school and summer teams with one another over the years. Some of them, like Artkop, Canning, and Dinsmore, have been on the same team as me since we were nine or ten years old. I have gotten to know others, like Lucien, Flagg, and Matt, since we all merged in middle school. Lastly, in the case of Stanley, he has been my best friend since fourth grade and I’ll be his best man in July.

Needless to say, our team camaraderie is the best that it’s ever been. We have also worked extremely hard to get to where we are. Over the years we have endured painful postseason losses and tough gut-wrenching games. Now, in our waning years, together, we are ready for the challenge ahead.

Can I tell you exactly how we’ll do? Absolutely not, baseball is unpredictable.

Coach LaValle has said that we could either miss the playoffs, go undefeated and win the whole thing, or something in between. Anything is possible. But it comes down to how hard we’re willing to work and whether we’ll buy into the system that drives us. In a season that has already been interrupted, and will certainly have its ups and downs, we’ll just have to take Flagg’s advice and take it one play, one out, and one game at a time. If we do these things, it will be an unforgettable culmination of our years playing this game in Belfast. One thing is certain, however, we are all excited to be bringing back baseball to our corner of the earth.

A special memory to my late grandfather, namesake, and beloved baseball fan William E. Shardlow. Today he would have been 94.

Will Hyland is a senior student-athlete at Belfast Area High School and is a member of the baseball team. 

Reach the sports department at: sports@penbaypilot.com.