Alexander Specht may be the 24-year-old coach of Bath, but he also runs one of the best teams in NORCO this season.

Coming off a 16-7 season last summer, which saw Bath finish third in NORCO, the team is one of the favorites to come away with the league title this year, thanks to one of the best pitching staffs available in legion play.

With Liberty's Matt Leon and Mike Horvath at his disposal, as well as Bethlehem Catholic's Jimmy Downey, Specht has plenty to celebrate this summer, along with his birthday this past Monday.

"I'm obviously blessed to have the type of team we have this year," he said. "We have a lot of great players and they make my life a lot easier."

Joining the talented trio of pitchers on Bath are some quality players in the field with Becahi's Colin McGeary (1B/OF) and Pat Mergel (3B). Liberty shortstop Tom Epsaro is also one of the key players in the field.

After coaching at Liberty this past season as an assistant, Specht took over for former manager Gene Sostarecz in a passing of the guard situation.

"Since I coached at Liberty, Gene felt this would be a perfect situation to stay with the kids through the summer," Specht said. "I have a good relationship with the players and I'm really excited about what we can do this year."

Specht knows his team can compete for the NORCO title, as well as make some noise in regionals and states if it gets to that point. Having the pitching group that Bath has makes that easier. He just needs their bats to do the same thing along the way.

"We can hit," he said. "We're just not getting the timely hits that we need. Hopefully, that fixes itself as the season moves along."