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A Quest For Success

Chris Hoffman/Highlands Today

Lake Placid's Perry Mason has the tools to be a force on the mound for the Green Dragons this season.

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By Christopher  Hoffman | Highlands Today

Published: February 25, 2008

LAKE PLACID –– For the first time in many a moon, Lake Placid head coach Dan Coomes has a smile on his face when talking about his baseball squad.

"I'm really excited to see how this team is going to perform," said the LP head coach. "We've got a good mixture of youth and experience and for the first time we have depth at every position. We haven't had this kind of depth in a long while."

You would think that by the Green Dragons showing in last week's Bill Jarrett Early Bird Tournament — losing 9-2 to Lake Region and 16-0 to cross-county rival Sebring — that they've regressed somehow, but Coomes has a definite method to his madness.

"You only get better by playing the high-caliber teams," Coomes said. "We have to learn to close out games and not let our mistakes cost us the game. You can't make mistakes against teams like that because that's all they need to beat you.

"That's why I scheduled playing against bigger schools. We need to find out what we have and what we need to work on."

The senior leadership is solid in all areas with catcher Curt Slade, pitcher Adam Delgado, outfielder Logan Campbell and shortstop Carlos Sosa working with the younger players to get them acclimated to the team.

"The young guys are coming around and they'll get better with more practice," Sosa said. "We're just learning to play as a team and we've got to find out a way to score some more runs. No question that we have to start hitting."

Coomes knows that if the Green Dragons are going to succeed this season, he's going to need his seniors to lead them.

"They're not the kind of vocal leaders that you would expect," Coomes said. "But they're setting a good example in practice and out on the field."

On the mound, Lake Placid has some solid arms, but lack the fireball that they've had in the past. Sosa, Delgado and Perry Mason are the top three in the rotation with Colby Delaney and Kyle Barber adding some youth to the position.

"The pitching staff is very serviceable," Coomes said. "They're very experienced and are solid in the early going, but we have to increase their stamina to be able to last into the later innings."

Delaney and Barber are underclassmen who have impressed Coomes enough in practice with their energy and skills to warrant time in the starting lineup.

"[Barber] is a solid kid and is very competitive who can drive the ball a long way if he gets a hold of it," Coomes said. "While Colby has great instincts and he can also drive the ball a ton. We just have to work on his swing a bit more."

Practice and game experience is all that is lacking with the Green Dragons, who have stumbled to start the season, but have shown bright spots along the way.

Lake Placid held a 2-1 lead over Class 4A Lake Region and played solid defense until a five-run fifth unhinged the squad to the chagrin of their coach.

"They've shown me glimpses of what they can be," Coomes said. "We didn't look good to end the [Bill Jarrett] tournament, but the good thing is that you don't rest on a win or loss too long before you're back on the field again."

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