Renner was a co-coach alongside Brown for 11 years before taking over as manager for the 2013 season.
“We’ve been coaching together for a long time, so a lot of the responsibilities aren’t new,” Renner said. “I learned a lot from Bruce about player interactions and making sure a lot of players get involved in the game.”
Making sure a lot of players get into the game is something Renner thinks he will have to do with this year’s Black Horses (0-1 Wasaren, 2-1 overall).
With just four seniors on the team and a rotation that will have to be puzzle pieced throughout the season, Renner is looking for people to step up.
“There are five or six guys who are all in the mix (of the rotation),” Renner said. “The one thing I don’t see right now is a guy I can put on the mound to throw seven innings. What I have is a lot of guys who I’m going to piece together and figure out what combinations work.”
Heading into the top of the sixth inning of Tuesday’s home league opener Greenwich (1-0, 4-0), Schuylerville held a 6-2 lead and looked in prime shape to start the season 3-0.
However, a bases clearing, two-out single to right by John Stewart capped a five-run rally, as the Witches took a 7-6 lead.
The clutch hit by Stewart, a four-year varsity player, wasn’t fielded cleanly in right field and all base runners, motoring with two outs, scored easily.
Schuylerville couldn’t complete another comeback like their previous four-run sixth inning rally in a win over Cohoes, but they did show promise against a team that many consider to be the favorite to win the league.
“It’s a good group of kids and a focused group of kids and they’re competitive,” said Renner of his team. “They didn’t expect to lose this game today. Even in a loss, I think we gained confidence there. We were hoping for another [comeback.]”
To start the game, the Black Horses top four hitters were all sophomores, including the speedy Codie Brown at the leadoff spot.
“When [Brown] hits the ball on the ground, they better field it clean. Otherwise, he’s there. He’s going to be a dangerous guy for other teams to deal with all year and he can swipe a base easily.”
Another positive is that they have been putting up runs early in the season. Scoring six, nine and six in the first three games, with 13 more games to come up with at least seven wins to make sectionals, is something Renner has his eye on.
“I don’t ever start a season without thinking about sectionals,” Renner said. “If we can achieve sectionals this year, that will be a building block for the team.”
