BY MATT STOUT

For years, Matt Stone instilled the work ethic and skills to prepare Pelham’s baseball players for high school. This spring, he finally gets to work with some of the finished products.

After six seasons as the coach of the Pelham Memorial School baseball team, Stone takes the reins of the Pelham High team this spring, replacing 15-year coach Joe Connor. He inherits a young team featuring nine seniors and juniors among the 30 players in the program. And he inherits a team on the rebound, one looking to improve upon last year’s sub-.500 record.

But the thing that struck Stone the hardest is the kind of gritty players he’s taking over – the same kind of athletes he helped mold years earlier.

“They really do work hard,” said Stone, who added Pelham lost three seniors from last season. “And I’m not saying that because I’m the coach, and I’m supposed to say that. We don’t have one guy who’s going to hit 13 home runs this year and knock in the RBIs. We’re going to need 15 or 16 guys to contribute to be successful, and I think we’re going to get that.”

Those contributions start with the team’s pitching staff. Back are senior Matt Levine, the team’s projected No. 1 starter, and sophomore Grant Hebert, who saw valuable time as a freshman last season. Both throw strikes consistently – a rare and valuable high school skill – and can challenge hitters, an example Stone hopes they can set for the team’s other hurlers, namely James Mastone, Mark Catalano and Danny Lamont.

Those three are also expected to help fill a lineup that returns a number of last year’s contributors. Ricky Costa, an infielder/catcher; Jamie Vaiknoras, a middle infielder; Ryan Robidoux, a senior outfielder; and Mastone, a third baseman, reprise their roles and possibly take up a few new positions.

Emphasizing position flexibility is just one of several subtle changes Stone said he’s introducing. He’ll also utilize the team’s speed with more hit-and-runs and install new signs and plays.

“We haven’t really pinned any reliability on anybody,” Stone said. “As my first year as a coach, we’re looking at guys who are working hard and guys who seem to want to do the job, and they all want to do the job, which is awesome.”

Pelham’s season opener against Portsmouth was postponed, but the Pythons were scheduled to face rival John Stark on Wednesday, April 11.