With spring sports kicking off, athletes are getting prepared for a new baseball season. For these students, this season is highly anticipated.

Head coach John Eierman, senior Bailey Jelinek, junior Eric Caldwell, sophomore Cade Chiles, and freshman Ryan Sprouse are all trying to improve on last year’s record.

“We only lost one starter from last year’s team, so a year’s worth of experience, as well as getting bigger and stronger will help a ton, especially for the four freshman starters from last year. Then, add a very good incoming freshman class, and we should be very competitive,” Eierman said.

Players are also striving to improve the team.

“We need to stay focused throughout the game,” said Jelinek.

“We need more team chemistry. We need to become closer,” said Chiles.

“Put in more pitching depth, and get better at hitting,” said Caldwell.

The boys and their coach have set high expectations for this year’s baseball season.

“We have our sights set on a conference championship, district championship, and a state championship,” said Eierman. “But we will approach the season one game at a time.”

“I expect a winning season,” said Jelinek.

“I expect to go farther in districts, and have a more experienced team,” said Caldwell.

“I expect a lot of wins,” said Chiles. “We’re future state champions.”

“We’re going to go to state. We have a good team lined up on the chart,” said Sprouse. “It’s going to be a good year.”

With a new baseball season starting, new players are coming through. This year, seven freshmen joined the team.

“We want more to go out,” said Sprouse.

With the loss of graduates Michael Maybee and Dillon Sanders, the boys are putting in more work into practices.

“Practices are going great,” said Eierman. “There has been improvement on every level.”

“It’s intense. We put in a lot of hard work,” Sprouse said. “Coach has high expectations because he wants us to go all the way.”

“They’re (practices are) going pretty good,” Chiles said. “We’re getting better everyday.”

“They’re (practices are) long and exhausting,” Caldwell said.

The boys’ first game was on March 21 in Truman against Van Horn and Holden, and their first home game was on March 24 against Knob Noster.