It is a new year and a new season for the Puma baseball team and a new phenomenon seems to be sweeping their roster.
With only a handful of seniors, the team is seeing a youth movement; and with some of last year’s key players graduating, such as Collin Braithwaite and Jaren Drummond, there are definitely slots to be filled.
Coach Shane Hilstrom explains that “at anytime during the year, we could have four-or-five sophomores on the field and then a couple of juniors.”
With a young team like this, it raises the question: how much collective experience they will bring to the field?
“We want to win right now, but obviously the experience they gain just helps us as they move through the program,” Hilstrom said. “As long as they’re here they’re playing the best of the best, so if they continue to do that the better they should get.” This early experience with other varsity teams will undoubtedly give the team an advantage as they move forward.
Last year’s surprise freshman Austin Bull (now a sophomore) already has experience playing with the big dogs. Starting out at the 9th spot in the lineup, Bull managed to work his way up to the second slot by the end of the season, providing testimony to a younger player’s capacity for improvement.
Agreeing with Hilstrom, Bull stated that “Having experience as you’re younger just makes it easier as you get older and helps you progress faster.” With one year of varsity ball under his belt already, Austin will be a player to lookout for this season. He also expressed one of his personal goals as “to be a positive influence on my team through how I play, and to work hard at improving.”
Senior Kade Bishop is the only player still on the roster who attended the state championship game in 2011, reassures that “Even though we are a young team, we’re all mature baseball players.” He also says explains that the teams seniors will lead by example this season.
Admittance to the state tournament is of course the ultimate goal for this years Puma baseball team. It will take steadfast hardwork and dedication, but the boys are more than willing to put it in. Hilstrom simply said “it’s business as usual.”
