By Taylor Nigrelli
NIAGARA FALLS, NY — In 2012 the Niagara Power advanced all the way to the New York Collegiate Baseball League Championship Series before falling to the Syracuse Jr. Chiefs in two games.
In 2013 they failed to replicate that success, winning only 13 games and finishing in last place. The team suffered through an eight-game losing streak and dropped 15 of the first 17 games it played in July.
According to many around the team, the lack of success this summer was the result of multiple factors, none of which involved a lack of talent.
One such factor was injuries. Five Power regulars sustained long-term injuries this summer including 2012 NYCBL Pitcher of the Year, Steven Beckham (Olivet Nazarene) who was limited to one and two-thirds innings pitched in 2013. Power Head Coach Josh Rebandt believes injuries were the biggest detriment to team success this year.
“I think we had the right guys but losing three starting pitchers hurt,” Rebandt said. “Steven Beckham, we were hoping he would be our horse and we lost him for almost the entire year. Micah Mabe (Covenant) went home a few weeks early because of an injury. So I’d say that played a part in it.”
The team also lost leadoff hitter Cody Pentecost (College of the Ozarks) and all-star Bobby Twitty (St. Leo’s) for extended periods of time. This rash of injuries forced Rebandt to play some players out of position at times. Beckham believes how the players responded to their new assignments was more of an issue than the injuries themselves.
“When a guy gets injured, then another guy should step up and be like ‘ok, this is my time to shine,’” Beckham said. “But I don’t think that really happened as much as it should have where guys stepped up when injuries happen. They just kind of took it as a chance to have fun.”
Rainouts plagued the team just as much, if not more than injuries, forcing the Power to play 25 of their first 31 games on the road. The constant travel took its toll on the team according to Beckham, causing soreness, discomfort and even some animosity among the players.
“Spending four hours a day on a bus isn’t exactly ideal for a baseball team,” Beckham said. “A lot of guys had some back issues and I think that may have had something to do with the bus. I know I even had some troubles with my lower back.
“I think also some things that went on in the bus led to a lack of chemistry. There was a lot of goofing off and some guys didn’t really like that and then some words were shared. So I think so much time spent on the bus was not only physically draining, but mentally as well and you could see that with how guys interacted with each other on the bus.”
According to Beckham, this team-chemistry issue stemmed from players valuing individual progress over team performance.
“What I saw was that guys were oftentimes more concerned with their performance on the field individually than how they represented the team,” Beckham said. “That led to frustration off the field and on the field. And it also led to guys getting on to each other in the dugout which led to a lack of chemistry.”
Rebandt declined to comment the issue citing it as a “team issue.” However, he believes the Power missed the leadership that brought success in 2012.
And, after the dust has settled and the season has ended, he still believes the Power were just as talented as any team in the league this season.
“I think we match up with Oneonta (this year’s champion) talent-wise for sure. I think one thing we did lack this summer was player leadership, guys that were willing to lead and stand up.
“I think that was the biggest difference between our team and some of the other teams. Watching some of the other team’s play, you could see leadership just by the way some guys played on other teams. I think one of the things we struggled with the most was player leadership.”
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