Salem, N.H. – Back in the spring of 2023, Sean Roeger was an elite hitter for the Salem High Blue Devils, batting .339 while being named to the Eagle-Tribune All-Star team.
From there, he switched over to play for the Salem Legion Post 63 team and his numbers went in the complete opposite direction, finishing around the Mendoza Line at .200.
Roeger couldn’t put a finger on why he struggled so much. He chalked it up as a tough stretch of summer ball.
About six months later, he put on his third different uniform in less than a year. He not only made the Colby-Sawyer college team, but instantly became the starting third baseman. He put together one of the strongest freshman campaigns in program history, batting .372 with 21 RBI.
A month removed from finishing ninth in the conference in batting average and being named to the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Second Team All-Conference and All-Rookie Team, Roeger is now causing that same kind of havoc in his second year on the Salem Legion team with an average above .300.
He is hoping to keep the good fortunes going when Salem takes on Laconia in the first round of the playoffs on Friday morning (10:00 a.m.) at Holman Stadium.
“Sean did not perform anywhere near like this last year for us,” said Legion coach John Ryan. “He’s gone up to Colby-Sawyer and Coach Tommy White has done a remarkable job with Sean. Sean struggled with Legion pitching last year and now he’s hitting against the best teams in the league and he’s been 100 percent better defensively too. I think he’s made two errors all summer playing shortstop.”
Looking back at last summer’s season, Roeger said he’s been able to pinpoint why he has since turned things around.
“Being in college this year, I feel like my swing is the best it’s been in a while. I need to give a lot of props to my college coaches and they all have really got me going good,” he said. “I’m just in a groove right now. Last summer, I think I let things get into my head and it was just a weird season for me.”
Roeger had a big April for Colby-Sawyer, which included going 3-for-5 with 4 RBI against New England College. Less than two weeks later, he was 4-for-4 with a pair of doubles and two RBI against Rivier. He finished the season with a .459 on base percentage, and a .434 slugging percentage which included seven doubles and eight stolen bases.
“Being in college every day, you’re taking over 100 more swings a day (than you do in high school) between off the tee, or soft toss,” said Roeger. “I just put my headphones on and go hit by myself. I swing so often and coach helped me with my swing getting it right. It feels really good right now.”
Salem Legion will enter Friday’s game with a 6-10 record, finishing in fourth place in District B. Laconia finished in first place in District A with a 12-5 record.
“We have a good group of guys and we have all started to come together,” said Roeger. “It was kind of awkward at first with kids coming from different high schools and not knowing each other, but now we’re a pretty close group of guys.
“Every team has its ups-and-downs and playoffs are always a new season. It’ll be exciting on Friday. As long as we all show up and play our game, I like our chances so we’ll see what happens.”
Twitter: @JamiePote