AUGUSTA — Much went right for the Cony baseball team last year — but when the season reached its most crucial stage, the team’s bats fell silent.

The Rams were one of Class B’s top teams for much of 2022, scoring nearly nine runs per game and keeping opposing offenses in check en route to an 11-1 start. Yet over its final six games, Cony scored two or fewer runs four times as what looked to be a special season ended prematurely.

“We talked (after the season) as a coaching staff and tried to figure out, ‘Hey, what happened?’” said Cony head coach Don Plourde. “We just kind of stopped doing the things early in the season that helped us have the success we did, and that did us in.”

The mission for 2023, then, has been to recapture the offensive rhythm that had Cony in contention for most of last season. It’s early, but the preliminary results have been promising for a Rams team that’s looking to establish itself as one of the teams to beat.

Cony’s struggles a year ago emerged in late May as the team followed a 2-1 13-inning win over Oceanside with two shutout losses to Lawrence and Waterville. Then, three games later, the Rams’ season ended in the Round of 16 as the Mariners defeated them 8-2.

One of the primary culprits, Plourde and his players would attest, was impatience at the plate. After showing discipline in the batter’s box for much of the season, the Rams got a bit antsy as the regular season gave way to playoff time.

“I think we got impatient,” said sophomore Jordan Benedict. “It just happened at the worst possible time for us. This year, I think we’ve been a lot more focused and more relaxed at the plate. We’ve gotten that back as an advantage, being patient.”

Cony avenged last year’s postseason loss to Oceanside on April 20, when it topped the Mariners 5-2. The Rams then topped Belfast 15-2 on Friday before improving to 3-0 Wednesday with an 11-0 victory over Winslow.

Cony’s Davis Kibler swings at a pitch in the top of the first inning of a game Wednesday in Winslow. Michael G. Seamans/Morning Sentinel

Establishing patience at the plate has helped Cony in those early games, particularly in the late innings. Against Oceanside, the Rams broke the game open late with three runs in the sixth inning. They then scored six runs in the sixth against Winslow in a mercy-rule win.

“We did a good job of adapting throughout the game,” junior Landon Foster said of the victory over Winslow. “A couple of the at-bats in the first inning were not strong; it was just guys not being patient. We settled down, found that patience and made that quick adjustment.”

Although nothing went right for Cony in the postseason loss to Oceanside last year, the team’s pitching and defensive struggles were largely a one-off. The issues at the plate, on the other hand, were a continuation of the troubles that plagued the Rams late in the regular season.

Hitting, then, became Cony’s main focus as the team turned the page to 2023. The Rams, Plourde lamented, didn’t put in enough swings at practice last season, and one of his biggest points of emphasis as the new season commenced has been to nearly triple last year’s output.

“One of the things I told the kids this year was that I want 120 swings in practice,” Plourde said. “Last year, we got probably about 40 or 50 swings in practice, and I said, ‘Before we even step onto the field, I want 80 swings, and I want quality swings.’ The kids really bought into that.”

Winslow’s Matt Quirion, front, tags Cony baserunner Trent Hayward at third base during a game Wednesday in Winslow. Michael G. Seamans/Morning Sentinel

The addition of Trent Hayward offensively has been big for Cony this season. The junior transfer from Hall-Dale had two hits, including an RBI double, in the Rams’ big sixth inning against Oceanside in the opener. He had three hits and five RBIs in the team’s 15-run outburst against Belfast.

Benedict, Kam Douin, Davis Kibler and Tyler Pelletier have also made impacts for Cony offensively thus far with three-plus hits apiece. It’s made for a potent lineup that’s capable of producing the key innings that the Rams have gotten in their first three games at any time.

“With the guys we have back and the guys who have stepped up defensively, we have a really solid group of hitters,” Benedict said. “We lost a few seniors from last year, but the guys who didn’t get as much playing time last year or are new to the team are doing great.”

Cony already boasts a top pitching duo in Douin, the reigning Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference Player of the Year, and Benedict, who has yet to allow a run in two starts and one-hit Winslow on Wednesday. Add in the team’s sound defense, and a Rams team that can hit the ball in June would be a tough out.

“Our goal is to grind out at-bats through the game,” Douin said. “We want to have a better at-bat every time we step up to the plate. When we do that and can wear the other team down a little bit, we’re a pretty good team.”

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