Unlike many other spring sports, baseball is especially sensitive to the outdoor elements. As anyone who plays baseball can tell you, hitting a baseball in the cold weather is no fun. Many compare hitting a ball in the cold to getting an electric shock. However, whether or not the weather is cold, teams need to practice and get into shape for the season . While everyone shook their heads in amazement at the weather, Coach Bohringer needed an alternate plan to get his team in baseball shape. With a trip to Fort Lauderdale or Tampa/St Petersburg not in the budget, the gymnasium became the team's second home. Throwing, running, fielding and hitting from live pitching all needed to be moved indoors. With gym time and space at a premium due to competing needs, practices were held later in the afternoon, ending at 8:30 p.m. on some nights. Making do with cramped facilities, the Mustangs cleared out the cobwebs, stretched out their ligaments and muscles, and ready or not, opened their preseason on the road. With a final pre-season record of 2 wins, 3 losses and 1 tie, the Mustangs sought to catch up on their abbreviated spring training and get ready for the regular season. Here's how they did it:

The Mustangs opened their 2003 preseason against Division HS, and despite the cold and a bone chilling wind, ran into a pitcher who was pitching as if in midseason form. Other than managing to push across a run in the fourth inning, Mineola batters went down on strikes 14 times and committed four errors in a 6-1 loss. Clearly frustrated by the effective pitching in the game versus Division HS, Mineola looked to put that game behind them and get their offense on track. However, their next opponent, New Hyde Park, had other ideas. While the Mineola pitching tandem of Weiss, Sanderleaf and Webber yielded only 6 base hits, New Hyde Park took advantage of 6 errors and 9 base on balls to score 12 runs (4 earned) in a 12-3 pasting of the Mustangs.

With their preseason record now standing at 0-2, the Mustangs clearly needed a win to stop the hemorrhaging. Coming home to MHS, the Mustangs put their best pitching and hitting effort of the preseason together to beat North Shore HS 8-3. With Derek Weber and Dan Medlock leading the way with two RBIs each, Mineola scored seven runs in the first inning and Greg Weiss pitched a complete game to gain a much needed win. Looking to build on their win versus North Shore, the Mustangs next faced Great Neck North. With Mineola's starting pitcher knocked out of the box early after yielding 5 runs in one and two third innings, Coach B called on Chris Egner to come in to close the door on GNN. Egner actually slammed it shut , allowing only two hits over the next four and one third innings. This allowed Mineola back into the game. Led by juniors Ben Molina and Pete Averaimo, who each scored two runs and drove in a run each, Mineola came back to tie GNN 5-5 as the game was called by the umpiring crew due to darkness.

Feeling good about their win against North Shore, and coming back against Great Neck North, Mineola moved on to Freeport. Led by Joe Wissler and Ben Molina who each scored two runs, and Matt Jetter who pitched a complete game five hitter and knocked in three runs with a double, Mineola scored 5 runs in the second inning and never looked back, as they crushed Freeport 7-2. With their preseason record now at 2 wins 2 losses and a tie, Mineola looked forward to ending their preseason with a winning record. However, their next opponent, Seaford, would be anything less than cooperative. Seaford feasted on a foursome of Mineola pitchers by scoring 6 runs in the first three innings and never looking back in a 10-5 win. Four of the five runs scored by Mineola came in a seventh inning rally, led by hitting from Rich Medlock, Dan Medlock and Pete Averaimo.

With the preseason at its conclusion, the Mustangs head into their first league series versus Roslyn HS. Looking at the team's overall strengths and weaknesses it is quite evident that this team has the experience to run with the pack. Led by seniors Matt Jetter, Gregg Weiss, Matt Sanderleaf, George Harrison, Eddie Kaiser, Chris Egner and Rich Medlock, this team can be counted on to play smart baseball, keeping their mental errors to a minimum. However, like every team that plays baseball, the pitching staff will set the tone. The staff's ability to minimize the number of walks, combined with error free fielding, will keep opponents' base runners to a minimum. As base runners usually translate into runs, the team's success in these areas will set the tone for how competitive the team will be this year. Constantly playing from behind, game after game, is always a tall order.

This year's Mineola Varsity Baseball team, led by coaches Helms Bohringer and Barry Silverstein, consists of: Ben Molina, Derek Webber, Greg Weiss, Rich Medlock, Mike DeStefano, Matt Sanderleaf, Matt Shanahan, Matt Jetter, Tom Owens, Ed Kaiser, Pete Averaimo, Mike Kondraicuk, George Harrison, Chris Egner, Dan Medlock, and Joe Wissler.