Getting ready for the season to the start, Tiger Baseball is swinging into action to build a state-bound team that they almost had last year after a close loss in Super-Sectionals.

“The main goal is to prepare the team,” said Varsity head coach John Darlington. “The only way we will succeed is if we come into the season ready to play against teams and with each other.”

With high expectations, and twelve returning seniors; Josh Garner, Zach Jarosz, Tyler Garrity, Anthony Agne, Sam Anderson, Justin Yeager, Jacob Miller, Jake Dunham, and Josh Heckman, David Ferguson, Brandon Knox, and Cody Cardillo, the Tigers are prepared for the season and are not taking excuses for poor performances.

“All of us [seniors] have been playing together for the past four years, so we have that chemistry built up,” said Anderson. “Even some of us have played together when we were younger, so it gives the seniors that much more of an advantage over other schools.”

Without all-star pitching from Strepek or Vanek, the Tigers thought the team would lack the talent they once had but came to relief when gaining Junior Brady Corrigan (who verbally committed to Arizona State University) as a pitcher.

“We have potential to be an even better team than last year, although we lost some pitching, we did gain players like Brady Corrigan and have a lot of returning seniors with a lot of experience,” said Senior Captain Jake Dunham. “With their skills, the whole team could put us amongst the top teams in the state this year.”

The team is competing for a winning season as they were conference champions (17-4) last year and had an overall record of 30-8. The team went all the way to be Regional and later on Sectional Champions. And finally played their last game in the Super-Sectionals against Mt. Carmel High School in a tough match-up that the Tigers couldn’t jump on and take the victory.

“I feel confident in the team and I know they have some experience on the type of level of skill that state-bound teams have,” said Dunham. “The competition that is required to make it that far is nothing the team can’t accomplish.”

Despite the team have losing former players Kyle Strepek, Matt Vanek, and Bryan Van Duser, the Tigers still have a lot of senior talent along with young talent to complete the team.

“Hopefully with the amount of seniors we have, I’m pushing hard for strong team chemistry,” said Darlington. “The team should have a good season considering there are many returning seniors.”

Although the Tigers lost a lot of talent, the team gained a lot of young talent that will help the team evolve and make the possibility of having a state title; and turning it into a reality.