Berthoud
Keeping teams from scoring is a big part of the baseball equation, but teams also have to be able to put up runs of their own. Spartans coach Buddy Kouns feels pretty good about the first part, and he’s hoping the scoring woes of a year ago are in the past.
“We pitch,” he said. “We don’t overpower anybody, but we have a lot of kids who throw strikes, and they all have another season under their belt.”
Josh Archer remains the team’s ace, and while Kouns said Archer worried about not throwing “hard enough” last year, he did record outs, as all of the pitches he throws have movement. Josh Schumacher provides depth, and the team is hopeful Chris DeSousa can return after breaking his orbital bone in a scrimmage; Brogan Sontag will serve as the closer.
Offensively, the Spartans boast a big bat in Isaac Bracken, who hit .574 a season ago with 25 RBI. The issue was he did most of the team’s damage, and he’ll need more help in 2016. Connor Balliet, Sontag, Patrick Barron and Hunter Pearce need to do their part, and Kouns expects them to produce. But the bottom part of the order has to chip in, and Kouns feels that will be a developing storyline for his squad.
“Isaac can’t do it all,” Kouns said. “We’re going to play defense. We’re going to pitch. We have to hit in order to be competitive in the Tri-Valley Conference.”
Loveland
In the second season under coach Jerod Cronquist, the Indians are more accustomed to his style and what his expectations are, putting them ahead of last year immediately, the coach said, adding he’s ready to roll.
He hopes the team is too, considering the neighborhood they reside, a tough Front Range League. There is a core to work with, as Ayden Eberhardt, Ben Newton, Jordan Cabrera, Preston Cocke, Stephen Larson and Kellen Bakovich all have some successes from 2015 to build upon. The team will carry 14 players, and with that, Cronquist said they have plenty of pitchers.
“We have a deep pitching staff,” he said, saying nine of those players can all log innings from the mound. “We scrimmaged on Saturday, and the bats were not awake yet, but we played really good defense. That’s what we preached since I took over last year, that we have to win with pitching, defense and small ball.”
Most of the players are seniors, though the freshmen class has produced two intriguing pieces for the future in Jackson Bakovich and Jaxon Cabrera, both of whom Cronquist will play and not just provide depth on the bench. The Indians may not be able to slug away at will, but that doesn’t mean they can’t win.
“We don’t have a whole lot of power up and down the lineup, but we have a lot of guys that put the ball in play,” Cronquist said. “We have a smart baseball team, they understand situational hitting, understand they have to give themselves up to move a runner over. I feel good about us going out and being able to compete.”
Mountain View
The Mountain Lions’ postseason ended just as it was getting started, a run they’d like to extend this season after coming off a successful summer coach Brian Smela feels has given his team some confidence heading into the spring.
“I feel pretty good, considering it’s early March and we haven’t really played anyone,” Smela said. “You never are sure with high school kids, but I like the makeup of our team, and when you look at how they played last spring and summer, we have the tools. If guys can stay healthy and we play the way we can, we can have a good season.”
Locke and Holden Bernhardt lead the way on the mound, Smela calling the twins 1A and 1B of the pitching staff, a group he says are strike throwers who are smart with their selections. It may very well be where the team is strongest, and the Bernhardt’s are not only competitive when on the mound, but against each other.
They’ll also play major roles for the offense, as will Dylan Norsen, TJ and Mike Felton and Taven Whitehurst. Norsen hit better than .400 a year ago, with TJ Felton and Locke Bernhardt in the .350s. The Lions will continue to push the issue on the bases, placing a premium on putting the ball and play and applying pressure on the defense in the Northern Conference.
“I think we’re a good contact team. It’s a good group 1-9 in putting the ball in play,” Smela said. “We have decent team speed, and they’re smart baserunners with experience. These are guys that have been through it for a couple of years, and they see things where they can get an extra base and beat the throw. Offensively, we have to stay inside the team concept of getting ’em on, getting ’em over and getting ’em in.”
Resurrection Christian
The Cougars bring back some key components of a team that fell to Rye in the 2A state championship game in 2015, giving coach Grant MacAlmon a solid base from which to approach this spring. An inspired group, too.
“All the seniors won when they were sophomores, and they lost in the championship game their junior year,” MacAlmon said. “They want to finish better than they did last year. They’re motivated by that fact alone.”
In Jake Tomchek and Luke Fick, the Cougars have a pair of big arms to top the rotation, a fact MacAlmon says makes the team competitive out of the gate. There is depth, too, with Andrew Hernandez, Nathan Wiggins and Brin Hayden able to take on innings, which will be important early on as the senior return from an eight-day mission to Belize not long before the team’s first game.
That same group also comprises what MacAlmon feels is a solid defense across the board, as well as the offense necessary to score runs. Brendan Herrfeldt, Anthony Mascio and Jesse Cross should help set the table for Wiggins and Luke Cross, as well as Matt Schmitt.
“We lost a huge bat in Luke Mondt, but we’ve got guys ready to pick up the slack,” MacAlmon said. “The rest of the guys put the ball in play and give us a chance to score runs. Our defense is solid, and I feel really good about our pitching staff. You don’t have to motivate athletes who have a chance to do better than they did last year.”
