by Jacob Gurvis

Despite cold and undesirable weather conditions through much of April, boys’ baseball, 7-0, has been very hot so far this season.

The Tigers’ pitching and defense have been excellent so far, according to coach Joe Siciliano.

“Our pitching is doing very well. We have let up only two earned runs in seven games. Also, our defense has committed only 1.7 errors per game,” he said.

Seniors Tom Hodgson, Ted Rodliff, and Dylan Sbordone, the team’s starting pitchers, all have earned-run averages under one, according to Siciliano. Juniors Spencer Anderson, Curtis Beatrice, and Theo Resnick, the team’s relievers, are also performing well.

Siciliano said that the biggest area the Tigers need to improve is getting quality at-bats from the entire order. “When we face the elite pitching as the season progresses everybody in the order must have quality at-bats.”

In addition, the team has been giving their opponents an average of 4.5 free walks per game, and Siciliano hopes to drop that number to under three.

Siciliano said the team’s goals for the season are to “come ready to play good baseball every day, win practice every day, and execute what we’ve been taught in practice during the game. If we do these things then the record will take care of itself.”

A big component of the pitching staff’s success, according to Siciliano, is starting catcher senior Alex Joyce, and his ability to handle the pitching staff.

“He’s calling all the pitches and doing a remarkable job. Also, he’s a clutch hitter, having driven in nine runs.”

Joyce is a captain with Beatrice, Hodgson, and junior Ben Porter.

The Tiger infield, with senior Kevin Alexy at first, senior John Little at second, junior Christian Cox at third, and sophomore Eric Mah at short, has done terrifically on defense, said Siciliano.

“Our outfield of Beatrice, Porter, and sophomore Thomas Joyce has also gotten the job done. And finally our two designated hitters, juniors Mike Barbieri and Dom Precopio, have done well.”

Porter, the team’s leadoff hitter, has on on-base percentage of over .500, which, according to Siciliano, “sets the table for the rest of our offense.”

The Tigers defeated Braintree in 10 innings and beat Xaverian, two wins Siciliano thought were especially impressive.

The team faces Framingham at home tomorrow.