A season can’t slip away after a bad season opener can it? It can, but after a 9-1 loss at Lawrence on opening day, Mt. Blue High School baseball coach Dan Stefanilo wouldn’t let his team dwell on the negatives. In his post game talk with the team, Stefanilo pointed towards the Lawrence dugout.

“I remember saying ‘That needs to be us. If we’re going to win ballgames, that needs to be the team we’re going to be.’ ” Stefanilo said.

That lopsided loss became the exception to Mt. Blue’s season, and in Stefanilo’s second season as coach the Cougars enjoyed one of the top turnarounds in the state. The Cougars won just four games in 2010, then won 11 in 2011, earning the No. 4 seed in the Eastern Class A tournament.

“(Stefanilo) expects a lot from the players. He expects us to get better every day and do our best, and we try to do that for him,” senior Jimmy Neal said. “He makes sure all the kids stay focused on the game.”

For overseeing Mt. Blue’s resurgence, Stefanilo is the Morning Sentinel Baseball Coach of the Year. Don Sawyer, who led Waterville to a second consecutive Class B state title, was also considered.

The Cougars played an aggressive style of baseball, and that helped them win a number of close games throughout the season.

“The game on the line, we’ll try to squeeze. We’ll take chances. We have to. We have to be sure we’re together,” Stefanilo said.

“Do the little things right. Move guys over, stuff like that. Give up yourself so the other guy scores. We won a lot of games by one run,” senior Dylan Vining said.

Stefanilo’s most popular bit of advice to his players is simple: Just play hard.

“The one quote I say, and it always seems to hit home with these guys is, if today was the last day, for whatever reason, injury or something happens in your life, this was the last day you could pick up a baseball, make sure that you’re satisfied with the effort you gave that day when you leave the field,” Stefanilo said.

Neal said Stefanilo helped improve his concentration on the field, and that helped the senior pitcher/shortstop turn in his best season. Neal was named the Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference North Division Player of the Year.

“He’s helped me focus a lot more, and make sure I stay focused on the game so I can actually go out there and execute like I should,” Neal said.

A Sanford native and graduate of the University of Maine at Farmington, Stefanilo has a handful of coaching influences. There’s his father, Mike Stefanilo, and his high school coaches, Mark Boissonneault and Shane O’Connell. Stefanilo said his biggest influences are former UMF baseball coach Dick Meader, and former UMF assistant coach Edwin Thompson, who is now an assistant coach at Duke.

“Just the way they approach the game of baseball every single day. They love the game,” Stefanilo said. “It’s been my mindset, and hopefully, it’s something I can pass on to my players.”

Despite the tough opening day loss at Lawrence, Stefanilo was convinced that this could be a strong year for the Cougars.

“I knew what we could do, and obviously you want to be careful about what you say as a coach. It was just finally putting together one game after another,” Stefanilo said.

Travis Lazarczyk — 861-9242

tlazarczyk@centralmaine.com