Dover baseball team is excited to be back in DIAA state tournament
DOVER — In Dover High’s indoor baseball practice room, the years of the Senators’ state tournament teams are listed on the wall.
The players on this year’s squad were …
You must be a member to read this story.
Join our family of readers for as little as $5 per month and support local, unbiased journalism.
Already a member? Log in to continue. Otherwise, follow the link below to join.
Please log in to continue |
Dover baseball team is excited to be back in DIAA state tournament
By Andy WalterDOVER — In Dover High’s indoor baseball practice room, the years of the Senators’ state tournament teams are listed on the wall.
The players on this year’s squad were well aware that 2021 was the last season listed.
“They definitely took pride this year in saying, we’re not going to put another blank up there,” said Dover coach Nick Spadafino. “There’s going to be ‘2024’ up there.”
It ended up being more than just talk as the Senators (13-5) returned to the DIAA state tournament as the No. 11 seed in this year’s bracket.
On Thursday, Dover hosts No. 22 Archmere (9-9) at 4 p.m. in the first round of the tourney. The Senators will be one of seven Henlopen Conference teams in action on Thursday as the 24-team tourney gets started with eight contests.
The Dover-Archmere winner plays at No. 6 Caesar Rodney on Saturday.
Despite the seeding difference with the Auks, though, Spadafino said the Senators should know better than to be overconfident. Dover has only two players who have played in a baseball state tourney game — seniors Connor Ridgway and Brandon Yoder.
“Listen, just from our situation of where we’ve been these last couple years, I don’t think anyone’s taking this playoff appearance for granted,” said Spadafino. “I think that’s a good spot for our guys to be in. I think our guys have the right mindset going into it.”
On the other hand, the Senators have won 10 straight games since losing to No. 1 seed Sussex Central on April 18. They also have several players who have been in state tournament games in other sports.
Spadafino said Dover has gotten a lot better at playing more complete games this season after its 3-5 start against some good programs.
“The games slowed down a little bit,” he said. “I even remember saying, ‘All right fellas, we’ve gotten through this 3-5 start, let’s start to pile some wins together.’
“It’s the same with guys (individually). ‘Hey, you had good at-bats this game, let’s build off it. You pitched great this game, let’s build off it the next time. Let’s not start back at square one.’”
Like all the teams in the Henlopen North, the Senators go into the tournament battle-tested. Six of the North’s eight squads made the tourney, including four that are among the top six seeds.
Furthermore, 10 of Dover’s 18 regular-season opponents are tournament teams.
“We play in the best division in the state and I think that prepares us for anyone we may play,” said Spadafino. “Our guys have done it and they’re not going to be shell-shocked going into it.”
Between 2013 — when Spadafino was a junior for Dover — and ‘19, the Senators reached at least the state quarterfinals six times.
Right now, though, Dover had only four seniors compared to 13 sophomores on its roster. Spadafino hopes that’s a good thing for Dover’s future.
But if that makes Dover an underdog in the meantime, Spadafino said he’ll take that role.
It also means the Senators have nothing to lose.
“All the chips are in on this game,” said Spadafino. “And if we get the win, it’s the same thing next game moving forward.”
Extra innings
•With the Polytech-Laurel winner facing No. 1 Sussex Central in the second round, there’s guaranteed to be at least one Henlopen school in the quarterfinals.
•Eleven of the Henlopen’s 15 teams are in the state tourney
•No. 16 Polytech (11-7) hosts Henlopen South champion Laurel (10-9) on Thursday looking for the program’s first state tournament win since 2021.
•Saint Mark’s, in 2012-13, was the last team to win back-to-back baseball state titles. Fourth-seeded Delaware Military is this year’s defending champion.
•Twenty-two teams in the state finished with winning record while another four were at .500. No. 24 Lake Forest (8-10) was the one squad that made the state tourney with a losing record.
Last season, the baseball committee got rid of the rule that teams had to have at least a .500 record to make the tournament. That rule, though, still applies to conference champions.
•Red Lion Christian (13-5) was the highest-scoring team in the state at 10.8 runs per game. Sanford (16-2) allowed the fewest runs at 1.7.
