KENTVILLE, N.S. — With his first season as head coach in the books, John Ansara is already looking forward to returning to the Kentville Wildcats’ dugout next season.
“The future is bright, and we’ll continue to grow and improve as a team,” he said.
“The games will be entertaining. I can pretty much guarantee that.”
The Wildcats were eliminated from playoffs at the hands of Dartmouth in a Sept. 23 game at Memorial Park.
“Last night we only lost 2-0 to a very strong Dartmouth team. This team came in second-place overall nationally for senior men’s baseball,” Ansara said.
“To put in the effort that we did and play such a tight game against them last night, it showed a lot of promise for our team moving forward. It shows what we’re capable of.”
The best-of-three series included an exciting comeback win for Kentville’s ‘cats. They were down by two runs in the bottom of the ninth inning, but rallied back to secure a 6-5 victory.
“That was a very memorable win for us. It was pretty awesome. The guys felt really good after that,” Ansara said.
It wasn’t just opposing pitchers tossing a few curveballs the Wildcats’ way this season.
Rainy weather wreaked havoc with their schedule on multiple occasions, and they lost some key players who relocated in order to capitalize on various opportunities.
“It was a challenge getting into a groove after that because we basically had the middle of our lineup gone, but we were able to make it work,” said Ansara, who stressed that the group of players he coached made it fun to come to the field each day.
“It was nice to see the guys step up.”
Ansara, a former player, see loads of potential in the group of returning players and juniors becoming full-time senior Wildcats next summer.
“I think the fans can look forward to this team continuing to improve. The guys, we have a really good chemistry on the team, and there’s a lot of commitment from the guys,” he said.
He said a good foundation is in place now that he has some experience working with the team and within the league. He’s excited to see where tomorrow leads the Kentville Wildcats.
“I felt that I connected with the guys really well and we won some really memorable games and we played hard,” Ansara said.
“We got our first playoff victory for the Wildcats in six years, so that was an accomplishment in itself. It’s tough to lose, but we fought hard and we should hold our heads high for the effort that we put forth.”
