The time has come for the baseball team to start dusting off the bats and getting out the gloves again. The boys have started practicing already, with their first game scheduled for this upcoming Monday, April 6th, against reigning conference champion Lakeville North.

Expectations for this year are positive, despite a disappointing finish to the team’s season last spring. “We started off strong, going 4-0,” explained senior Thomas Peterson, “but then we lost it and ended up losing in the first round of Sections.” Obviously, the boys will be striving to not fall apart in a similar fashion this year (they ended with a subpar 9-11 record), but they’re confident that they can make that happen.

“Expectations right now are pretty high,” said fellow senior Jake Ossell. “We’re returning the majority of our starters, and the seniors we lost last year are getting replaced by some guys moving up from JV.”

Besides several position changes, and the obvious shifting from graduated seniors to younger players, this team is more or less the same as last year’s, but now the guys have learned from last year’s disappointing finish and also had an off-season to develop further.

More positively, both Ossell and Peterson felt confident that the team would have some standout players this year. Not surprisingly, both mentioned each other, and names such as Jack Conway and Nathan Kuhn were brought up as well. Furthermore, the players’ relationship with their coaches has seemingly improved from last year, too.

“This year, that relationship is really good,” stated Ossell. “Last year, that was one of the things we struggled with. We didn’t talk to coaches about what we wanted enough.” With a healthy relationship between coaches and players, and an abundance of talent, the boys are primed to – at least – make a run at the Section title.

Starting with the very first game, the squad will be in store for some exciting matchups. “I’m looking forward to playing against Lakeville North, who finished 3^rd in State last year, and Prior Lake too,” explained Ossell, and Peterson added that, “Of course, playing against Eastview will be great, because it’s – you know – Eastview.”

Regardless of which team they’re faced up against, these boys should be able to provide some stiff competition each time out, and that could make for an exciting postseason finish as well. The season certainly looks bright, so make sure you get out this spring and support this talented bunch.