Pioneers boast three aces in Capuano, Barrett and Foster

Against Unity Reed, senior righthander Jordan Capuano proved how special Patriot’s pitching can be, striking out four and allowing one hit in two scoreless innings before being pulled with the Pioneers comfortably ahead.

“I thought he did a really good job. I thought he commanded the ball, moved it around. His velocity looked good. His breaking ball is really sharp. He’s one of our top arms,” Grove said.

Capuano, a UNC Wilmington commit, makes up one-third of Patriot’s future NCAA Division I pitching rotation and is the designated hitter when he’s not pitching.

Other aces in the rotation are seniors in Nathan Bassett, who’ll pitch at the University of Virginia, and Jakob Foster, who’ll pitch at Mount St. Mary’s.

“We think we have three really good arms. Well, we think we have a lot of good arms,” Grove said. “I think pitching is maybe our strong point. We’re going to have to pitch well to win.”

After losing 15 seniors, the Pioneers’ lineup is revamped. Grove will tweak it from game-to-game, but Tuesday’s was very effective, as all nine starters picked up at least one hit in the first two innings.

At the top of the order, sophomore outfielders Grady Lenahan and Luke Sullivan are dangerous once they reach base with their speed. In three at bats against Unity Reed, Lenahan reached base three times, stole two bases and scored two runs.

“I think that Grady is a catalyst, I think he does a really good job. You get him on base and get it going, baby, because we’re off to the races,” Grove said of the East Carolina commit.

Seniors Caleb Ramey and Kam Mahoney bat third and fourth. Playing second base, Ramey drove in two runs while Mahoney, the first baseman, hit a ground ball in the second so hard that it rolled all the way to the center field wall for an RBI triple.

The shortstop is sophomore Dominic Tilden, a powerful hitter who had a very productive game on Tuesday. Batting fifth, he crushed the first pitch he saw over the center fielder’s head for a two-run triple. In the second inning he drove in another on a line drive double to left.

At the bottom of the lineup, Grove bats four juniors. Left fielder Luke Pierce, who crushed the home run to center, bats sixth with third baseman Remington Lee batting seventh. Batting eighth is the designated hitter Luke Peacher, and catcher Jack Dennis hits last.

While the Pioneers were launching balls all over the yard with six total extra base hits, Grove prefers his team to make solid contact, rather swinging for the fences.

“I just want to hit line drives and get base hits. I’m old school, so I don’t do all the launch angle stuff. I don’t want guys hitting fly balls, they’re easy to catch,” Grove said. “We’re trying to get up there, have good at bats, get base runners on and keep the line moving.”

Playing in a very competitive Cedar Run District that saw Freedom (South Riding) win the Class 6 state championship last year, Grove is focused on getting his new-look lineup into their first Class 6 state tournament since 2017.

“Our goal is to be competitive, do whatever it takes to qualify for the regional playoff. And with our pitching, if they pitch well, we feel like we have a chance to be in ball games. And if we execute, we think we can win ball games,” Grove said.

With Patriot’s elite pitching, the stage is set for a huge year.

“We can’t throw a shutout every time, and we’re not going to score ten runs every time. So, we’ve got to play complementary baseball, good pitching and defense and timely offense. If we can do that, we got a shot,” the coach said.

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