Even in the off-season, the baseball team is already out hitting balls and shagging pop ups to make sure they are ready for this coming baseball season.
The team is lead by a lot of familiar faces from last season but also has a bunch of new young talent.
About a quarter of the team are newcomers.
Freshman David Tyner looks forward to the upcoming season.
“The team has a very dedicated program and a talented one,” Tyner said
Despite the hardships, Tyner sees the rewards.
“The reward is much better, too,” Tyner said.
Veteran Jason Beers has a lot of positive energy going into the season.
“This year’s team has a lot of potential, but the best thing I like about our team this year is guys are working hard and not taking a day off,” Beers said. “We have roughly 12-14 returners and only one of them being a returning pitcher. We have our work cut out for us.”
Beers believes the transfer students and freshmen will make a big difference.
“Our coach did a wonderful job getting a good mix of kids this year and did not take a day off recruiting,” Beers said. “This year we have the tools to do something great. We are not a team that’s going
to hit a lot of home runs; we will rely on pitching and defense.”
Beers thinks this year’s group is solid enough to make a run for the conference championship.
“We have coaches who are going to make sure we are getting better because last year was not something we want to repeat,” Beers said. “When you go 12-38, it doesn’t matter how many days go by I still feel sick to my stomach. I don’t want to see the seniors go out without a shot at something special this year. We will play as a team and win as a team.”
Bryon Cecil, a junior and secondary education major, reflected on his last year on the team.
“It’s been really nice to play…everyone wants to play forever.”
Cecil said he feels positive about this season.
“Coach Reed brought in a lot of good players, a lot of good pitching, which is what we lacked last year.”
Cecil feels that the blend of returning and new players will allow the team to do well this year.
The Braves baseball team is headed in the right direction. Last year the Braves didn’t reach all of their goals but with a new year comes a new opportunity and they seem to have the right pieces of the puzzle this year and will start working hard to achieve success.
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