- November 12, 2024
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The Mainland Buccaneers baseball team lost 17-2 to the Matanzas Pirates in their season opener on Tuesday, Feb. 22.
Mainland’s pitcher Anthony Chirco and short stop Jonathan Campbell had one run each scoring the only points for the Buccaneers. Due to the lack of pre-season games, coach A. J. Mallory put three pitchers to the test during the opener—Chirco, second baseman Ty Moak and Joey Scudiero.
“Rough start, yes,” he said. “We did not have any pre-season games so I’m not upset. We are learning. Like I told them, this is new Mainland baseball. They have to get used to playing hard which will turn into us winning. I expect us to get better day-by-day.”
“Every game is the game. We have to play like it’s the game. Forget all the others. We take care of that one. We can’t change this one today.”
A. J. Mallory, Mainland head baseball coach
Mallory graduated from Bethune-Cookman University in 2007 with a degree in public relations. Before becoming Mainland’s head coach last season, he worked for the News-Journal Center, the Daytona Beach HOG and the indoor arena football team, the Daytona Beach Thunder.
At the end of the game, Mallory advised his players to take it one game at a time.
“Every game is the game,” he said. “We have to play like it’s the game. Forget all the others. We take care of that one. We can’t change this one today.”