It wasn’t so long ago that Monticello found its name thrown around as top contenders for a Jefferson District title. Actually, it was only four years ago. But the last two years have been anything but kind to the Mustangs. In the first two weeks of the 2010 campaign, on the other hand, the Mustangs have shown a good deal of promise.
On Friday Monticello will open up their district schedule by hosting Fluvanna County − a popular preseason pick to win the JD – but will do so with some confidence that few expected. While it may only be two games, a pair of convincing wins over Albemarle has Monticello pointed in the right direction, and it’s probably not a coincidence that the program picked up those signature wins after last year’s interim coach was given a full year to work with his team.
“I came in last year four or five games into the season,” said coach Neil Schaffner. “The vocabulary and the vision – how we take ground balls, the hitting approach and our pitching philosophy − what we started with from scratch has been in place for a while now and the kids have really embraced it. We’re just trying to keep it simple and keep it consistent.”
Schaffner put his team to work in the offseason, practicing and conditioning in the winter, and while the indoor workouts looked good at the time, the Mustangs were still curious about how it would translate onto the field. Now four games into the season, they know what they’re capable of.
“Hitting a ball indoors against a wall, you don’t always see the results,” Schaffner said. “Our hitters, they really want to see where the ball is going. They want to know how hard it’s coming off the bat and those kind of things. Now (after winning a few games) I think the confidence level is there and guarantee that everyone is feeling good right now.”
Scoring has not been a problem for the Mustangs. In three of the four games they’ve played in, they’ve put up at least six runs, with Tuesday’s 16-spot highlighting the offensive performances. And that has a lot to do with Brandon Ladd who’s had a pair of big hits in both Monticello wins — a grand slam and a two-run homer among his other hits. The power hitting lefty has been a project of Schaffner’s, who is left handed himself. The coach worked with his protégé on balance and making sure that his hands were back and it’s made a huge difference.
“Last year my swing was off,” Ladd said. “I was 1 for 19 and then he changed everything up and I finished the year batting .348.”
One thing is following another. Now Ladd has watched the personal results breed positive team results, and he and his teammates have been pleased with the way they’ve begun to shed a not-so-complimentary reputation.
“It’s been real rewarding,” Ladd said. “People think we suck and we’re actually a lot better than anyone knows.”
With each win the Mustangs pick up, they will undoubtedly have those involved in the sport asking whether or not this team is for real, but going punch for punch with a talented Flucos squad would help silence any critics or doubters.
In the three meetings between these two teams last year the Flucos were 2-1 with both wins coming in extra innings. Yet depsite coming up short and facing a team that can hit and a team whose pitching is regarded as the some of the district’s best, the one advantage Monticello does have coming is that they’ve played four games while Friday’s game will be Fluvanna’s first of the season. Still, Schaffner knows it’s going to be a good fight.
“They’re a team that brought everyone back and knows who to count on to make plays,” Schaffner said. “We’re working on getting there so it’s going to be a tough test, but a good benchmark game.”
The Jefferson District is awfully deep this year and the addition of Goochland only made it deeper on the diamond. It will be interesting to see just how chaotic things get if the Mustangs continue to improve. After the last two weeks, Albemarle would be the first to tell anyone in the JD, don’t take Monticello lightly.
