Baseball Preview

Coach: Jared Mounts, 8th year.

Last year: 13-7; Lost to Sherando in Northwestern District semifinals.

Key losses: Danny Cooper, OF; Hunter Leight, P/SS; Tim Spore, OF; Dustin Russell, P/3B; Zach Drumheller, 2B; Jared Broughear, 2B, Travis Viands, OF; Brandon Sinecoff, 1B; Brandon Shiley, OF/P.

Top returning players: Brock Lockhart, Sr. 3B; Matt Copley, Jr. P/SS; Cody Vorous, C; Cooper Franks, Sr. P/3B.

Top newcomers: Andrew Burnett, Sr. OF; Alan Gleske, Sr. OF; Tyler Murphy, Jr. CF/P; Tyler Dick, Jr. 1B; Niko Bobadilla, Soph. 2B/SS/P; Mike Craig, Jr. P/INF/OF/C; Daniel Garber, Jr. 1B/DH; A.J. Eubank, Soph. 2B/OF/C; Mitchell Prelip, Jr. OF.

Outlook: The Colonels have their most inexperienced team since the split with Millbrook seven years ago, but there is a core of leaders that will help carry them. Lockhart (.340 average last season) and Vorous (.324) bring powerful bats back to the lineup, and Copley was a second-team all-area starting pitcher (5 wins, 2.19 ERA).

Copley and Franks are the only pitchers with varsity experience, though, and Mounts said he’ll rely on Copley to toss complete games once the weather warms up.

In the field, the Colonels need to replace their entire starting outfield, and players who saw significant time at each infield position.

They also lose several of their most reliable run producers with the graduation of nine players and the loss of two others who aren’t playing this year.

“I really don’t see us overpowering teams this year, and we lost a lot of team speed,” Mounts said. “But it’s a scrappy bunch. I don’t think we’ll come out and dominate, but hopefully by tournament time we can be having some success.”