When Russell Beckwith moved up from JV coach to take over the Gardiner High School baseball program prior to last season, he had faith the Tigers could improve upon their 3-13 record. But he wanted more.

With his background in the program, Beckwith knew he had the talent for the Tigers to improve dramatically in the short term. He wanted to start building a foundation for long-term, sustainable success at Gardiner.

The Thomas College alum surmised that it wasn’t just a constant flow of talent that established and kept a program in contention. He wanted a program that looked, acted, practiced and played like it was committed to winning, and players who were willing to buy into that commitment and dedicate themselves to it.

Whether it was having the team raise its own money for equipment such as new practice balls or installing a new pregame throwing routine, decking the team out in new game shirts or tinkering with the hitting philosophy, Beckwith left no stone unturned while working to create a new identity for Gardiner baseball.

For leading Gardiner’s turnaround season, Beckwith is the 2015 Kennebec Journal Baseball Coach of the Year.

In some ways, Beckwith couldn’t have asked for a better rebuilding project as his first varsity job. He already knew the players, and vice-versa. With just three seniors on the roster, the Tigers were still young, but also had lots of varsity experience and players hungry to prove they were better than the 3-13 year of a year ago.

“I knew we had a solid core to work from,” Beckwith said. “The core just needed a push, someone to let them know that their abilities were there already.”

The 30-year-old didn’t have a hard time getting the players to buy into his vision.

“He fit in with the players, and he knew quite a bit,” shortstop/pitcher Nic Berube said. “He ran practice very well. He had us do a lot of work with our fielding and hitting. We expected to do a lot better than we did the year before, but we had a lot more fun this year.”

The Tigers didn’t make things much fun for the opposition, especially the ones standing on the mound. One of the keys to the team’s on-field success, Beckwith said, was the hitters’ willingness to be more selective at the plate.

“There was a lot of grinding out at bats this year,” he said. “We told the players to look for that one key pitch to hit, and do everything you could to make sure you got it in that at bat.”

The Tigers had an idea this would be a fun season when they played competitively against some Class A and top Class B competition in preseason. Even tough one-run early-season losses to Maranacook and Winslow, two of the KVAC’s top teams, gave the team confidence that it wasn’t that far behind.

A victory over Waterville and a revenge win over Maranacook in a wild 12-11 game let the rest of Eastern B know that Gardiner was back. The Tigers won seven of their last nine and finished the regular season 11-5 to clinch a playoff spot. They met Waterville again in the preliminary round and lost a tight, tense game, 3-2.

The ending to the season was a disappointment, but Beckwith reminded his returning players they had only just begun.

“To be able to get this far in one year, the players really had to buy in,” he said. “Because of that, it makes it easy for a coach to make that suggestion that summer ball is important. It’s really important for these guys if they want to compete with the best schools in the state of Maine, they have to commit to playing year-round.”

The number of Gardiner players playing Babe Ruth and American Legion baseball increased dramatically this year, Beckwith said. There’s still plenty to do off the field, as well, as the team will continue fundraising on its own.

“I think this year was a great year for laying the groundwork,” Beckwith said. “I’m just grateful to that core of players. Without them, we don’t really have much to build with.”

That core is old enough to remember when Gardiner was one of the top programs in Class B. The Tigers won back-to-back Eastern Maine championships in 2008-09 and the state crown in 2008. Beckwith believes they can reclaim that title.

It’s a lot of hard work. But this group is willing to do the work,” he said.

Berube, who will be a senior next year, has equal faith in Beckwith.

“I think if anyone can do it, it would probably be him because he’s committed to doing it,” he said.

Randy Whitehouse — 621-5638

rwhitehouse@mainetoday.com

Twitter: @RAWmaterial33

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