By Reuben Warshawsky
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In the early stages of the season, the baseball team has a 4-6 record. Referencing the team’s not so stellar start, Head Coach Eric Lentz said, “It’s a learning process right now because we are a young team. We often start up to four sophomore and many of our upperclassmen are first-year varsity players.”
Lentz said the team relies on seniors Michael Conner, Andrew “Drew” Albers and Alex Greene along with junior Cameron Cruz to provide leadership due to their previous varsity experience.
In past years the team has swept through the regular season often being highly ranked in the state. However, this year the team has struggled to adapt to its new identity that relies more heavily on pitching and defense than in past years. The graduation of Conrad Gregor (Class of ‘11) last year left a big hole in the lineup.
As the season progresses, Lentz said, “Pitching is the name of the game. A dominant pitcher results in more strikeouts and easy outs, which keeps the team defense more focused.”
Due to the significance of the pitcher, the team concentrates on resting its pitchers when necessary and practicing hard on other days to improve.
Pitcher and junior Matthew “Matt” Lampe said, “We are continuing to improve in either practice or games. The coaches focus individually on the pitchers to make sure we are improving.”
Upcoming games on the schedule include tomorrow night against Terre Haute South at home, and on Monday the team will travel to Perry Meridian for another game.
Lentz stressed that as long as the team is playing the best it can in the post-season, its regular season woes will be forgotten. Lentz added, “In the tournament good pitching dominates good hitting anytime.”