By Michael Moreci
Cathedral’s 4A state championship was a long time coming; a work in progress that extended over multiple season. In 2005 they made it to the final four; in 2006 they lost in the championship game. In 2007, the Fighting Irish finally combined the right mixture of talent and experience to win the whole thing. Coach Rich Andriole is quick to point out that it also took a little bit of luck and experience to get over the hump.
“Last year our fortune was good and we were able to win,” Andriole said. “All the guys in the program, all they knew was going deep in the tournament. We were mentally ready.”
Now that Andriole’s team has a state title in the bag, they’re anything but complacent. They return a big chunk of their 2007 team and, according to Andriole, are as tenacious as ever.
“The kids are extremely committed, driven,” Andriole said.
Amongst those returning is senior C and leadoff man Jack Lupo (.308, 5 2B, 34 R), the team’s leader. Joining Lupo is a pair of seniors who were integral to last year’s success: OF Justin Cureton (.393 BA, 8 HR, 10 2B, 41 RBI, 36 R) and 2B Alex Wright (.413 BA, 10 2B, 34 RBI, 28 R).
Also in the mix will be junior RHP Kevin Bower (4-1, 2.14 ERA, 32 SO, 19.6 IP) and sophomore RHP-OF Clay Wallace. Cathedral’s most gaping hole while be replacing the innings left by the departure of LHP Anthony Agnew, who went 12-0 last season with a 1.51 ERA over 69 innings. Senior RHP Tyler Koors, who threw 39 innings last season, will be looked at to step into Agnew’s role at the top pf the rotation.
While Andriole believes in his team’s ability and potential, he doesn’t want them to try to relive 2007. One of Cathedral’s most challenging hurdles will be forging their own identity. Yet whatever that identity ends up being, Andriole is confident that his players will share one thing in common: unselfish play.
“These kids see the big picture,” Andriole said. “They understand that they are part of a good program.”
“We all depend on each other,” Lupo said. “All the sweat we put in during the off-season makes it easy to depend on each other as teammates.”
Andriole attests the selfless attitude of his players to the tutelage they receive from the junior varsity coaches and his assistants. He also recognizes that his program is far from perfect, in spite of all of Cathedral’s success.
“We’re not the Yankees or the Red Sox,” Andriole said. “We have our issues too. Yet the combination of committed, unselfish players and talented assistant coaches make good things happen.”
Because they don’t belong to a conference, Cathedral gets to set their own schedule. Andriole uses that opportunity to have his team face the toughest competition in order to prepare for the state tournament. This year will be a bit different though; instead of Cathedral going after other teams, it’ll be the other way around.
“There’s going to be a lot of teams marking us on their schedule,” Lupo said. “We’ve got a bull’s-eye on us now, but we’ve been getting ready for that all off-season.”