By Chris Parker
Skyline baseball has seven starters and 10 lettermen returning from last season’s 13-win team.
“My expectations are very high this season,” Skyline head coach Drew Wheeler said. “We may not have had a winning season last year, but we almost doubled our wins from the previous year, and we are returning almost our whole team, so I am looking to have a lot of success. I also hold my players to a higher standard than anyone else.”
A trio of players in Landen Hodges (junior), Noah Long (junior) and Paxton Foster (senior) will headline the pitching staff.
“Landen Hodges will be returning as my number one guy this year. I describe him as having a rubber arm. He is a guy that will always be ready when I call his name to be on the bump,” Wheeler said. “Noah Long was my No. 2 guy last year. He throws the hardest and has a lot of movement on everything he throws. We are also returning Paxton Foster. He threw a lot of innings last year and works the zone really well.”
Wheeler also expects Tanner Hammers (junior), Royce Nelson (sophomore), Logan Moppin (junior), and Dylan Benedict (freshman) to see quality innings this year.
Sophomore Hoyt Miller returns at catcher.
“Hoyt Miller will be behind the plate again this year,” Wheeler said. “He started last year as a freshman and has a lot of varsity experience. He was also one of our leading hitters last year.”
Nelson (3B), Noah Long (junior SS), Moppin (2B), Foster (1B) and Hodges (utility) are all options on the infield.
Brigham Willis (senior), Kenton Owen (sophomore) and Mason Bibeau (sophomore) along some talented freshmen could be in the outfield.
Wheeler expects his seniors to set the tone.
“Brigham Willis, Paxton Foster, and Kruz Ullum will be my team leaders this year,” Wheeler said. “They are my three seniors. Paxton and Brigham bring a lot of experience on the field that make them qualified. Kruz may have not been on the field a lot, but he is one of the most coachable kids I have, and his attitude bleeds into the other players on the field.”
This experience group is one that embraces their role.
“I think the strengths of our team this year will be playing your role, no matter what that is,” Wheeler said. “If you are on the bench, your job of staying in the game and cheering on your teammates is just as important as the guy’s job on the field. If we are able to have a brotherhood like that, we will be very successful.”
Skyline hit .217 as a team last season, which is something Wheeler wants to see change this season.
“We need to bring our team batting average up this year,” Wheeler said. “We struggled all year at the plate, so I am looking to pour a lot of our time into hitting and approaches this year. We also need to fill up the strike zone better. We do that and we will find success.”
Skyline opens the season on Mar. 19 at Warsaw.
“I would like our identity to be the team that plays hard and shows class for 21 outs every single game. I want to be the team that no matter what day we are playing, you know you are getting our best,” Wheeler said. “We had a lot of high-highs and low-lows last year. Our thing this year will be fighting the urge to get complacent when we are experiencing success. We need to not be satisfied until that last dogpile at the end of the season.”
