POLAND — In 2019, Poland head baseball coach Rich Murray had no reason to believe his program would be slowing down any time soon. The Bulldogs had not missed the district tournament since 2011 and had just won its fourth district title in six years.

“We thought we’re gonna do it again,” Murray said. “And that’s when COVID hit. Since then, it’s been a little bit of a struggle.”

With the 2020 season canceled, all of the momentum Murray and the Bulldogs had been building seemed to disappear. When Poland returned to the diamond in 2021, the team finished 12-12 and failed to qualify for the district semifinals for the first time in a decade.

The next season was more of the same, but just a little bit worse. Despite an identical conference record from the previous year, Poland lost each of its seven non-conference games in 2022, with its last defeat coming in the form of a 10-0 rout in the sectional final against Canfield.

While not an easy year, 2023 proved to be a season of improvement for the Bulldogs, who finished 15-9 and defeated Edgewood 7-6 in the sectional final to make their first district tournament appearance in four years.

Now, as Poland prepares to open its 2024 season, Murray has his sights set on building upon last season’s resurgence, returning to the district tournament and hopefully, winning it.

“That’s our goal. We put that even ahead of the league championship,” Murray said. “If it comes down to it, we want to win the district and go as far as we can in the tournament.”

PITCHING PROWESS

Poland has a distinct strength coming into the season: pitching.

“We got a lot of pitching,” Murray said. “I got about seven guys I can throw out there to pitch that I’m pretty confident in.”

In addition to the depth and versatility its bullpen provides, Poland also has a human safety blanket of sorts in the form of senior Dom Elia, its undisputed ace.

Elia dominated from the rubber as a junior while starting a third of the Bulldogs’ games. Despite facing nearly 200 batters total in 42.2 innings pitched, Elia allowed only five earned runs all season and recorded a team-best 0.82 ERA.

Junior Jacob Hayes and seniors Ryan Dilullo and Matt Paparodis all started at least three games last year and will likely be expected to contribute considerably from the mound once again. Dilullo, in particular, pitched the second-most innings on the team and recorded a 2.52 ERA, as well as the best strikeout rate (35.0%) of any Poland pitcher.

Mike Chambers, Aiden Thompson, Joseph Zuccaro and Owen McKenzie also started at least one game for the Bulldogs last season.

NOT PUPS ANYMORE

After graduating only a handful of players, Poland is set to field a very experienced team in 2024. Of the 17 players on the roster, nine are seniors, and all but two logged a varsity hit last season.

“The experience is definitely a plus because those nine kids — most of them have got a lot of experience, and some of them, this will be their fourth year playing,” Murray said.

While Elia is expected to remain the team’s go-to pitcher, Hayes and Paparodis return as two of the Bulldogs’ best hitters. Hayes led the team in batting average (.412) and slugging percentage (.529), while Paparodis tallied a team-high 22 hits and 1.008 OPS.

Matt Boccieri, another senior, will look to continue to find a way on base this season. Boccieri drew 15 walks, the most of any returning player, and was hit by a pitch more than any other Bulldog last season. His patience and pain tolerance resulted in the highest on-base percentage on the team (.520) despite his .280 batting average.

Other notable players at the plate are senior Chris Denney, the 2023 team’s leader in doubles, and sophomore Carmine Tukalo, who showed promise last season by batting .333 and driving in six runs.

In addition to Tukalo, Murray said he is excited about Poland’s talented sophomore class, which includes McKenzie, Zuccaro, Dylan Kelty and Stephen Kopkash.

Poland will open its season at Niles on Monday before hosting the Red Dragons on Tuesday.

Have an interesting story? Contact Preston Byers by email at pbyers@tribtoday.com. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter, @PresByers.