The Bison baseball team has been preparing since late February with their new coach Matt Lamovec.

“Practices have been going well,” Lamovec said. “The team has been working hard to get ready for the season. We have a great group of players who are dedicated to getting better each and every day.” 

Coach Lamovec has been coaching for fifteen years. He was the JV B coach at Shaker Heights in 2013-2014. In the summer he coached for the Ohio Mavericks.

Tryouts were held on Feb. 20, and since then the team has been practicing daily, preparing for the first regular season game on March 27 against the Garrett Morgan Falcons. 

According to Lamovec, the team has been working on a variety of defensive team drills that focus on game-like situations. Pitchers have been throwing live at-bats against hitters, which is helpful for the hitters as well. 

Lamovec feels that drills are crucial for the team to improve their skills and to be ready to respond during games. 

To practice hitting, the team has been working at stations that include a mix of batting practice in the cage, hitting drills off of batting tees and hitting wiffle balls.

Players have set ambitious goals for the year. 

 “A goal for this season is to hopefully win the conference title,” junior Josh Rosenblitt said. “We have won the conference the past few years and hope to do that again this year.”

“Some of my goals for the season are to be a competitive team and have a good playoff run,” junior Jaycob Zabell said. 

The team last year made it far in the playoffs, but they lost to Waynedale in the district semi-finals. Waynedale went on to win the state championship for the second year in a row. 

The Bison are hoping to surpass last year’s playoff run, but they are aware that it will take a lot of hard work to get there, especially since the team has a lot of underclassmen on the roster.

Half of the varsity lineup this year are students who haven’t played varsity before and don’t have experience playing at a high level. 

“One thing that will take work to overcome is the loss of 5-6 starters from last year,” Lamovec said. “With that being said, we have a solid group of players who are excited about the opportunity to step up and be contributors this season”. 

For now Lamovec is focusing on fundamentals and making every player competitive at bat. He is also working on team team chemistry. 

“Adding new players to the mix always takes an adjustment period, but I am confident that these guys will get into a rhythm quickly,” he said.

On the other hand, the team has some major pitching talent between Rosenblitt, Zabell and sophomore Ethan Malek. 

“Our team’s strength is definitely going to be at the top of our rotation,” Rosenblitt said. “Me and Ethan Malek were both first team in our conference last year, so with us getting older and each progressing, I think we have a very good 1-2 on the mound.”

Coach Lamovec agrees.

“Our pitching staff is definitely a strong suit,” he said. “We have a solid group of pitchers who will give us a chance to compete in every game.”

“My strength as a player is my pitching, since my freshman season where I won the award of 1st team all CVC,” Malek said. “I look forward to winning this again this year.” 

“I find my pitching to be my strength because of my ability to throw the ball,” he added.
“Many kids this age in high school find it hard to hit the upper 80s.” 

The pitching rotation is critical to the team’s success. 

“Our pitching is going to stand out and is going to dominate teams,” Malek said.

Meanwhile, Lamovec focuses his coaching on the process. 

“Players who are involved take ownership and pride in the team and its success,” he said. “They tend to get a deeper understanding of the game and how it is played, which in turn makes them a better player and teammate.” 

Players are enjoying his approach and continue to get a deeper understanding of the game. 

“I personally like the new coach a lot,” Zabell said. “He has a lot of knowledge that he is ready to share and help take our team to the next level.” 

Another focus this year will be researching other teams to help coaches and players develop their game plans.

“With all the information available, such as Game Changer and social media, you have to know your opponent because they are going to know you,” Lamovec said. “We live in a technology era and you will be behind from the start if you are not researching your opponent.” 

Lamovec commented on some of the qualities that make Beachwood unique.

“Beachwood is different from other teams I have coached in the sense that all of the players know each other well, regardless of age and grade level”, Lamovec said.

On the other hand, Beachwood is not that much different from other teams. 

“At the end of the day, it’s baseball,” he said. “Everyone is there because they want to compete and get better. I think this is a universal ideology across all teams I have coached.”

Last year’s coaches, Coach Ben Shepherd and Scott Noel took jobs at St. Vincent-St. Mary High School in Akron. Lamovec feels that these coaches built a foundation for the team.

This year is tremendously different from last year though. The team has a whole new coaching staff for varsity and JV.  Coaches had to familiarize themselves with the personality and playing style of every player. 

“Some similarities between our old coaches and new coaches are that they both care for the team,” Malek said. “They try everything they can to set this team up for success, meaning getting very challenging games for us to play to make us better.”

Many feel that given the talent on the team, Beachwood has the opportunity to have a special season. After watching the players practice and play together, Lamovec has high expectations for this season.

“So far we are on the right track”, he said. “We need to keep building on the work being put in every day and set our expectations high. I have no doubt that if these guys stay focused on getting better each day, we will be right where we want to be at the end of the season”. 

“We are all very excited to have Coach Lamovec in Beachwood,” Rosenblitt said.

“I think he will help this team a lot and make us better players,” Malek said.