Legion Pitcher of the Year to be Honored by Post 206

HYANNIS, MA – It was as if he was on a mission.

Barnstable Post 206 righty ace Dan Holzman was named the 2014 District 10 Pitcher of the Year by a consensus vote of opposing coaches. Photo courtesy of Jennifer Pasic

Unceremoniously cut on the first day of baseball tryouts at UMass-Amherst in the fall of 2013, former Barnstable High School star and 4-year Barnstable Post 206 American Legion pitcher Dan Holzman felt he not only had something left in the tank, but had something to prove.

Having just completed his freshman year at UMass, Holzman returned home last summer to captain the two-time defending state champion Barnstable Post 206 squad to, hopefully, an unheard of “threepeat.” While Post 206 fell in the District 10 playoffs after Holzman paced the Legion club to a regular season East Division championship title, it did nothing to lessen the magnitude of the hard-throwing righty’s success.

Holzman went 9-1 last summer for Post 206, pitched a perfect game on opening day against Orleans Post 308, tossed a complete-game no-hitter a month later on July 7 against Plymouth Post 40, tallied a stingy 1.70 earned run average and struck out 73 batters in 74.1 innings of work. In four American Legion seasons for Post 206, Holzman went 18-5 with 167 strikeouts and 53 walks in 174 innings pitched.

And for that success, he will be honored Saturday, November 29, at 5:00 pm at the 586 Main Street Restaurant in Hyannis when he is presented with the coveted 2014 District 10 Pitcher of the Year Award. While Post 206 did not reach State Champion status a third straight time, Holzman’s honor marked the third consecutive year a Barnstable Post 206 pitcher has received the prestigious award (George Bent, 2013; Keegan Dellacona, 2012).

“I’m never going to forget playing for Post 206,“ Holzman said. “I can honestly say it’s the most fun I’ve ever had playing baseball against the hardest competition every night. My teammates are like brothers to me and I owe this award to them.”

Post 206 players who were voted to the District 10 All-District Team will also be honored. First Team All-District selections included Mass. Maritime outfielder Drew Tardif (Dennis-Yarmouth Class of 2014), Clark University pitcher Conor Walsh (Barnstable High Class of 2014), Salisbury School’s Cody Pasic, Barnstable High’s J.R. DiSarcina and UMass-Amherst’s Dan Walsh (Barnstable High Class of 2013). Second Team All-District players included Mt. Aloysius College’s TJ Wardwell (Barnstable High Class of 2014), UMass-Dartmouth outfielder Micah Gregory (Barnstable High Class of 2014), Community College of Rhode Island shortstop Derek Estes (Barnstable High Class of 2014) and Barnstable High School three-sport star Eric Holzman.

Special guest speaker at the event will be Post 206 Commander John Hardy, US Army combat veteran of the Gulf War.

By: Sean Walsh/CCB Sports Editor