Beavers Season Preview Served by Lovie’s Frosty Twist
The Beavers enter their fifth season in the league this year. In the previous four they found their way to the championship three times, but lost in the title game in 2015, ‘17 and ‘18. Each year they take a stride forward and look to make the biggest jump this year. In ‘15 they were in the wildcard play-in game, winning on a Zach Faigley walk-off home run, then made their way to the finals, where they got 10 run ruled by the Morning Woodsman. In ‘17 they improved and got to the title for the second time in three years, this time winning game one but falling in the next two to lose the series to Booze on First. Then, last season they only lost 1 time in the regular season to secure the number 1 seed in the playoffs. In three games however, they fell to Booze on First again.
The longest standing team in the WILL begins their 2019 quest on Sunday (June 2). The Beavers are the first game on the slate for the Opening Day Tournament, as they take on the Splunkers at 4:30 pm.
Roster: Adam Carosone captains the men in blue once again. He made a couple of moves in the off season but still kept the core members intact. Rob Licht, the back to back league MVP, is back. Zach Faigley and Greyden Piechnick, two of the original Beavers, are both returning for 2019. The final member of this years squad is Brett Carosone. Brett won Rookie of the Year last year and led the Golden Goats to a semifinal appearance.
Fielding: Rob Licht has been a staple for the Beavers in the left field position for the past 2 years, expect that to remain the same. Right field has not been so established. Piechnick and Faigley have been both in and out of the position. They will likely split time again in 2019.
Pitching: The Beavers have had some of the best pitching in the league over the past couple years. Last season, they led the league in strikeouts (20) and ERA (1.11) from the rubber as a team. However, they did lose their ace Steven Keelon. Adam Carosone will look to fill that role. Last season, Carosone dominated when he had the ball in the regular season. He led the league in ERA with a 0.75 mark, the lone qualified pitcher with a sub-1 ERA. Carosone won’t be alone on the staff however, his brother Brett was the ace on the Golden Goats last season. Brett threw 78 innings, struck out 13 and had an ERA of 3.14. Licht has toed the rubber at times, but his services will be used the large majority of the time in the outfield.
Hitting: Like pitching, the Beavers were a top offensive team in 2018. Rob Licht is the pacer of the offense, coming off back to back MVP years and a .694 average, he will be the guy the Beavers want up as much as possible again in ‘19. You can’t go around Licht though, because the whole lineup as potential to do damage at any point. As a team, the Beavers led the WILL with a .572 average and were second in the league with 65 home runs. Piechnick is the next biggest threat behind Licht, he hit .571 with 7 homers in 2018. Zach Faigley was consistently in the lineup last year, he hit .443 and legged out 13 doubles. Adam and Brett Carosone will likely battle for the fourth spot in the lineup. Adam belted 7 home runs, while hitting for a .607 average in 38 at bats in ‘18. Brett knocked 14 balls out of the park and hit .363 in just over one hundred at bats. Carosone utilizes the DH and doesn’t like to hit everyone, from past experiences, so look for the lineup to be small and powerful in’19.
Other: The Beavers are very active on Twitter and can be followed at @CbgBeavers42197.
This preview was served by Lovie’s Frosty Twist. Stop down to Lovie’s on South Main Street in Houston for some of the best ice cream you’ll have this summer.
