By Faith Mwalwa
<[email protected]>

As the varsity baseball team attempts to pick up its first Sectional championship since 2000, it will look to the ability and experience of the team’s leaders to garner a long-awaited playoff run.

Although the team lost some key players to graduation like Greg Vogt ‘08 and Brooks Weidman ‘08, the important returning players on the team, such as  Conrad Gregor, right fielder, first basemen and junior, and pitcher and senior Brooks Fiala, are hopeful that the team will build on its success from last season.

Gregor, who has played since the third grade and has been on the varsity team since the second half of his freshman season, said, “I think that we  have got a great group of guys who bond well, and we are confident that we can have success in the playoffs.”

About last year’s season, Eric Lentz, head baseball coach and social studies teacher, said, “(Last year) we were 25-5 in our regular season and 11-3 in the MIC (Metropolitan Interscholastic Conference) conference, making us co-champions with Lawrence North. This year we (hope) to (push ourselves) even further, and make progress even beyond the Sectional championship.”

The team fell just short of a Sectional championship last season, falling to Westfield 9-2 in the final.

Lentz said that last year the team had several key senior starters, but was mostly composed of junior players and, this season, those seniors must step up and lead the team to potential victories.

With 14 seniors on the varsity roster and only nine starting positions, the Hounds are loaded from an experience standpoint. Not only that, the Hounds also have an unusually high number of juniors, seven, opening the season on the junior varsity roster, so the Hounds have a veteran group from top to bottom.

Fiala, who is a Miami University of Ohio recruit, is an example of a senior player in a leadership position. Fiala pitches, but also contributes by playing various positions such as third basemen and shortstop. He has played since the first grade on Carmel Pups and other travel teams, and brings necessary experience that is pivotal to the team’s successes.

After finishing as MIC champions two of the last three seasons, the Hounds will look to capture the Sectional 8 title.