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Ridgewood's seniors seek to leave their mark

By FRANK PASTOR
Published February 19, 2006

NEW PORT RICHEY - Every class builds its own legacy.

One worked on the batting cages at Ridgewood's homefield. The past eight helped rebuild the centerfield wall. Next year's will dress up the dugouts.

"They all have their little niche in it that we want them to be thinking about," Ridgewood coach Larry Beets said.

This year's class built the circle around home plate, but it can't help but notice the contribution made by the 2002 senior class: the white sign on the scoreboard that reads, "2002 State 4A Finalists."

Though every player is asked to make a list of realistic goals, seal it, put it away and review it after the season, one aim is universal.

In fact, Beets purposely puts it at the bottom of his team's schedule.

"Your goal every year is to go to the state championship, realistically or not," Beets said. "That's why you play."

An appearance in the state final in Sarasota might be a longshot, particularly after moving up to Class 5A, but Ridgewood's seniors are determined to advance the legacy of a program that has made the playoffs five straight seasons and reached at least the region semifinals the past four.

"That's always been our goal, just to keep the thing going, keeping in the playoffs," said shortstop/pitcher Jeff Roxby, who watched Ridgewood play at Legends Field as an eighth-grader.

Just as they learned from former teammates such as Aaron McLamar, John Servidio, Jon Koenigsfeld and Shannon Eva, Ridgewood's five seniors hope to lead the way for the Rams' underclassmen.

Roxby, pitcher/first baseman Mike Lemming, catcher James Noto, first baseman Matt Beck and centerfielder Eric Slotter sprint on and off the field, make sure stretches get done and see that equipment is put away at the end of the day.

"All the small things that Coach shouldn't have to worry about, it's dependent on the five of us to pretty much run it and make sure they're doing it right and not just taking that time to kind of slack off," Slotter said.

Each brings something different to the role.

Roxby, a three-year starter, is the most experienced of the seniors. An all-conference player when he hit .400 as a sophomore, his average dipped to .295 after he took on a bigger pitching role (two wins, four saves) last season.

Noto, the most serious, has been a varsity player off and on for four years. After biding his time for the first few, he played almost every game, including both playoff games, behind the plate last season.

The hard-nosed Beck is "Pete Rose without the gambling," Beets says. He might drop a ball at first or start 0-for-3, but he'll get a key hit to drive home a run as he did last week against Nature Coast Tech.

Slotter, hard-working and intelligent, "is like the Energizer bunny," Beets says. A member of the county's 2004-05 all-academic team, he recently was accepted to Florida.

Lemming is the cutup, always smiling or making mischief. He has been limited to 25-30 pitches per outing as he works his way back from offseason shoulder surgery.

Together, they've experienced the highs of a come-from-behind victory over Tarpon Springs in last season's district final and the lows of consecutive playoff losses to Winter Haven.

As they begin their final high school season, it's time to create their own legacy.

After beating River Ridge and Gulf to win the preseason City Classic, Ridgewood toppled Hernando and Nature Coast Tech to earn a spot opposite Springstead in the Tom Varn Invitational final on Friday night.

"They've never really had a breakout year. And I think that's good to a certain point because of the fact they've had to deal with mediocrity, I guess you could say, and other people carrying us," Beets said.

"Now, they're thrust into that role where it's time to perform."

[Last modified February 19, 2006, 01:09:21]