ORIGINALLY WRITTEN BY BRIAN HUXMAN
Coach Phil Oelke isn?t sure how good his Trojan baseball team will be this season.
The second-year coach of Hillsboro?s second-year program enters the season without a set line-up, but certainly this year?s team is loaded with talent. The trouble is, much of it is untested.
Hillsboro was 12-8 in its first year, but graduated a heavy crop of seniors.
?We?re going to be terribly young again,? Oelke said. ?We didn?t return as many players as I thought we might, but we have some very talented players out there and I think we can put together a solid season.?
Leading the way for the Trojans will be shortstop Grant Brubacher. As a sophomore, he led the Hillsboro offense in batting average (.417), hits (30), runs scored (20), doubles (11), stolen bases (13) and at-bats (72) last year and was a mainstay in the middle-infield defense.
But his play at shortstop may not be as critical to the Trojans? chances if senior Tyson Ratzlaff, who did not play a year ago, can step in and contribute immediately.
?He?s really quick,? Oelke said of Ratzlaff. ?He?s got a great arm and he?s been hitting the ball very well early on from what I?ve heard.?
Because of an illness, Oelke missed the first practices when the basketball players joined the baseball team, and bad weather last week has limited their time outdoors.
?(Assistant coach Dustin) McEwen said there are some kids really hitting the ball well,? he said. ?If we can continue to improve our offense, we will be looking for a solid season all around.?
Pitching will be the Trojans? biggest question mark. Oelke said starters Layne Frick and Nathan Fish return from a season ago, and several freshmen could vie for a spot in the rotation, including Jerod Metcalf, Shawn Hughbanks and Dustin Jost.
?We?ve got some young kids who are really going to help us out this year,? Oelke said. ?Pitching is going to be a weakness for us, at least to start out. We could see some kids come along and do well right off the bat. You just don?t know.?
Fish is a junior who logged 221/3 innings last season, posting a 2-4 record with a 7.85 earned-run average.
Just a sophomore this season, Frick was 2-0 last year with a 2.92 ERA in 12 innings pitched. Frick had batters put the ball in play last year, giving up 13 hits in his 12 innings, but allowed only five earned runs.
Two others who could contribute to the success of the pitching staff are Brubacher and Ratzlaff.
?Grant throws the ball with such accuracy,? Oelke said. ?And I know that Tyson has a great arm, but I?ve never seen him pitch. If we can get him to be either a starter or a closer, it is going to solidify our chances to become a good team.?
In 111/3 innings, Brubacher gave up seven hits and only one earned run. He led the Trojans with an ERA of 0.83.
Another key contributor for the Trojans will be Kane Adams, a senior first baseman. He hit .338 last season and committed just four errors.
?Kane has really become a vocal leader for us,? Oelke said. ?Other than Kane at first base, our infield is really undecided.?
Third base is up for grabs, but freshman Hughbanks has impressed coaches and Ratzlaff may put in some time there, too. Because of the impressive play of catcher James Bina, Jeremy Loewen has moved from behind the plate to the outfield. That would be an unusual transition for a player of lesser athletic ability.
?I think Jeremy is going to do just fine this year in the outfield,? Oelke said. ?He is a tremendous athlete and will cover a lot of ground out there. He was excited to make the change from the catcher spot.?
Oelke will look for his upperclassmen to set the pace and let everyone else fall in line.
?We have a chance to be very good this season,? he said. ?But for us to be competitive, those guys who have been there before need to be the ones who step up.?
Hillsboro opens the season against what Oelke referred to as ?three very tough teams.? On Friday the Trojans play at Haven, then play Nickerson and Lyons.
?I could see us starting the year 0-6 easily if we go into the games with too much confidence,? Oelke said. ?We will have to be focused and play well to win those games.?
BASEBALL: New faces should add to team?s depth, talent in second year
