By Nate Gonnelly is not shying away from expectations in his first year at the helm of the Aberdeen American Legion baseball team.
The Smittys advanced to the Class A state tournament last year for the first time since 2017. And Gonnelly said a return trip is the standard for this season.
“The bar is set very high, especially since we made the state tournament last year. This year, our expectation is that we make it there again, absolutely,” he said. “We want to make it, win a couple games and now get in that discussion on us being one of the best teams in the state.”
Zane Backous works on fielding during an Aberdeen Smittys spring practice. The Smittys open the season at home on Sunday, May 12. Aberdeen Insider photo by Robb Garofallo.
It’s been a process for Gonnelly to get to know his team. Having previously been an assistant coach in Watertown, he said, “I’ve seen these guys periodically and know some of the players coming back.”
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That has made the transition a little easier. It also helps Gonnelly with potential position changes.
“Everyone has their positions, but (familiarity) also helps when you know you can move them to different positions as well,” he said. “It just really gives us a different feel when you have depth and guys who can play in different spots for us. I think the process has been really good so far and will only get better as the season progresses.”
Smittys benefitting from indoor baseball facility
One advantage he has that no other Smittys coach has before is an indoor facility. The Smittys began winter workouts in what is known as The Shops. The space has hitting cages and portable mounds. Considering how unpredictable spring weather is in South Dakota, indoor reps are huge for the players.
Gonnelly
“If we didn’t have that facility, we would have started practice for the first time probably two weeks ago. With our indoor facility we’ve gotten our swings in, we’ve gotten ground balls. We’ve just been able to see some things early that we may not have had a chance to see before this year,” Gonnelly said.
With the winter workouts combined with the practices the team has been able to have outdoors, Gonnelly likes where the Smittys’ offense is as the season is set to begin.
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“I think our hitting is in a good spot and hitting is the most difficult thing in sports,” Gonnelly said. “I can’t put a pin it and say that’s going to be our greatest strength, but it’s definitely one aspect that I look at and say, ‘We have the tools here, now we just have to understand what to do in each at bat — sacrifice bunt, ground ball to move a runner, be aggressive in favorable counts,’ and I feel with the group we have, hitting will be a strength for us this year.”
He is also relying on some of his returners to keep the team focused.
“Philip Zens has been really good for us. He’s not the most vocal guy, but he definitely leads by example. Zane Backous is one of the younger guys, and he’s going to be a leader coming through this season. He’s already seen some leadership techniques on what works and what doesn’t, and he’ll be a good one for us, too,” Gonnelly said.
Aberdeen opens its home campaign Sunday, May 12 with a doubleheader against Lisbon, N.D. First pitch is scheduled for noon at Fossum Field.