CPL BASEBALL: Second year better for Lancaster

By Aviel Smolka
Published in Sports on June 21, 2018 5:51 AM

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By AVIEL SMOLKA

asmolka@newsargus.com

MOREHEAD CITY -- Morehead City Marlins head coach Jesse Lancaster is hoping his time as a manager in the Coastal Plain League goes better than his time as a player.

Lancaster spent two summers in the CPL -- 2008 with the Wilson Tobs and 2009 with the Fayetteville Swampdogs.

"The difference between being a player and manager is night and day," Lancaster said. "I hope I have more success as a manager than as a player."

Last season Lancaster's first as a manager was tough as the Marlins finished with a 25-30 record.

"Last summer was pretty difficult, we got off to a rough start. We started on 0-4, and spent the whole season trying to get in gear, playing catch-up," he said.

This season has gotten off to a much better start.

The Marlins are 12-3 and are currently in first place in the Eastern division.

"The difference between this season and last season is we're having fun, but there's a fine line between having fun and making sure that we're getting better as ball players," Lancaster said.

One of Lancaster's biggest challenges as a manager has been balancing his roster because the CPL uses players from Division I, II and junior college schools. Making sure everyone has a chance to play can be troublesome.

"It takes so many players to get through a summer," Lancaster said. "Another challenge has been the communication aspect of getting everyone here and giving everyone the opportunity, they deserve."

"My assistants keep me very informed and we use projections regardless if a player is D1, D2 or JUCO to figure out a player's place, and I always encourage them to be the players we have recruited."

Lancaster is hoping the Marlins can have a breakout season and continue their hot start.

"The potential is there, we have to maintain our steady play. This league is so long with the amount of games we play," he said. "These kids are coming right off of their college season and many of them are away from home so there comes a time when they have decided how committed they are to winning a championship.

"As long as we don't self-destruct we have a very good chance to keep moving forward."

Lancaster knows a good start to a season does not entail a good finish, and credits his team's defense and pitching as the key to the Marlins' hot start.

The Marlins' inconsistency on offense needs to be fixed.

"It's great that we're 12-3, but there's a lot of baseball to be played," Lancaster said. "Our defense, pitching, and catching staff have been very good. Offensively we've gotten better from day one, but we're still not firing on all cylinders."

He credits the whole team for the Marlins' great start.

"I don't want to slight anybody," Lancaster said. "When you start 12-3 there are a lot of contributors."