In the 2008 campaign, Andover will look to put together another terrific season and defend its title as New England Class A Champions. There’s a lot of excitement coming into the spring. The team returns 7 players at key positions, led by Co-Captains JR Santaniello ’08 and Mike Ciummei ’08. Pitching, a key to last year’s team, again looks to be one of Andover’s strength. Led by Santaniello and Ciummei in addition to fellow veterans John Gardner ’08, Preston Atteberry ’08 and Mike Palermo ’08. Offense is by no means a weakness on this squad. This year’s team features a very balanced attack from top to bottom. However, to replace the talent that left the championship team last season, many newcomers are expected to be key contributors such as Anthony Morlani ’09, Bryan Farris ’08 and Lucian Neville ’08. Morlani, a catcher, will to provide a good bat and a strong arm behind the plate. Farris and Neville add two more good arms in the rotation, further adding to the depth of the pitching staff. Andover, as usual, has a difficult schedule, including perennial power and rival Deerfield. In addition, Andover will play a home-and-home series against Cushing, a school looking for revenge after blowing a huge lead in the New England Championship last year to Andover. Coach Cline is retaking his post as manager after returning from a one year hiatus. Last year’s coach, Tom McGraw is on sabbatical. However, the change should not affect the squad, as Coach Cline inherits a team with a ton of talent. Although the team can’t figure to be as dominant as last year, Andover is a lock to trot out on the diamond as a competitive team every single day. Andover used a scrimmage against Andover High School to prep for the season and finalize its roster. While the pitching was impressive, the offense never got in gear as they fell 2-1. Santaniello started the game and hit a rocket over the center-fielders head for a double. He later scored on two passed balls. Farris relieved Santaniello and looked strong. Neville followed and pitched well, showing great poise by getting out of a bases-loaded jam. The team’s first league game is Saturday against Bridgton Academy. Bridgton, a team made up of postgraduate students, promises to provide solid competition.
