1.0The Sourcehttps://the-source.netrich600338<blockquote class="wp-embedded-content" data-secret="kOF34HfUdn"><a href="https://the-source.net/upcoming-baseball-and-softball/">Upcoming baseball and softball</a></blockquote><iframe sandbox="allow-scripts" security="restricted" src="https://the-source.net/upcoming-baseball-and-softball/embed/#?secret=kOF34HfUdn" width="600" height="338" title="“Upcoming baseball and softball” — The Source" data-secret="kOF34HfUdn" frameborder="0" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="no" class="wp-embedded-content"></iframe><script type="text/javascript"> /*! This file is auto-generated */ !function(c,l){"use strict";var e=!1,o=!1;if(l.querySelector)if(c.addEventListener)e=!0;if(c.wp=c.wp||{},c.wp.receiveEmbedMessage);else if(c.wp.receiveEmbedMessage=function(e){var t=e.data;if(!t);else if(!(t.secret||t.message||t.value));else if(/[^a-zA-Z0-9]/.test(t.secret));else{for(var r,s,a,i=l.querySelectorAll('iframe[data-secret="'+t.secret+'"]'),n=l.querySelectorAll('blockquote[data-secret="'+t.secret+'"]'),o=0;o<n.length;o++)n[o].style.display="none";for(o=0;o<i.length;o++)if(r=i[o],e.source!==r.contentWindow);else{if(r.removeAttribute("style"),"height"===t.message){if(1e3<(s=parseInt(t.value,10)))s=1e3;else if(~~s<200)s=200;r.height=s}if("link"===t.message)if(s=l.createElement("a"),a=l.createElement("a"),s.href=r.getAttribute("src"),a.href=t.value,a.host===s.host)if(l.activeElement===r)c.top.location.href=t.value}}},e)c.addEventListener("message",c.wp.receiveEmbedMessage,!1),l.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded",t,!1),c.addEventListener("load",t,!1);function t(){if(o);else{o=!0;for(var e,t,r,s=-1!==navigator.appVersion.indexOf("MSIE 10"),a=!!navigator.userAgent.match(/Trident.*rv:11\./),i=l.querySelectorAll("iframe.wp-embedded-content"),n=0;n<i.length;n++){if(!(r=(t=i[n]).getAttribute("data-secret")))r=Math.random().toString(36).substr(2,10),t.src+="#?secret="+r,t.setAttribute("data-secret",r);if(s||a)(e=t.cloneNode(!0)).removeAttribute("security"),t.parentNode.replaceChild(e,t);t.contentWindow.postMessage({message:"ready",secret:r},"*")}}}}(window,document); </script> By Blake Schnitker Crimsons Reload For 2015 Baseball Season Entering his second year at the helm of Jacksonville High School’s baseball program, head coach Cory Bunner finds himself with a handful of new challenges, new scenarios, and new faces. Having lost 7 senior starters to graduation in 2014 – six of which went on to play college baseball while the other earned a football scholarship – Bunner will run out a newly-renovated Crimsons squad onto the diamond this spring, one that hopes to prove that their youth is a strength rather than a hindrance. “Aside from a few guys that we have returning, we lost pretty much everybody with the graduation of a great group of seniors that played three or four years of varsity baseball,” said Coach Bunner, “so there’s some big shoes to fill, but we’ve got some guys who will step in and fill some spots that haven’t been open in four or five years.” For some perspective on what the Crimsons lost to graduation, let’s take a look at last year’s offensive and defensive statistics. Altogether, last year’s seniors combined for 79 percent of all varsity hits, 84 percent of the RBIs, and 75 percent of the runs scored during the 2014 season. Defensively – specifically pitching – the seniors accounted for 199.1 of the 250.1 total innings pitched (see why baseball nerds love numbers so much?). This year, with only two seniors – Connor Stremlau and Alex Tabeek – listed on the roster, the Crimsons will rely on a solid group of juniors and sophomores to make up for their lack of experience. Already in the young season however, Stremlau has shown his capacity to lead, going 2-3 with 3 RBIs in Jacksonville’s season opening win over Macomb. “Connor [Stremlau] and Adam [Hillis] are the two guys we return with the most experience,” said Bunner, “so we’ll look for both of them, especially Stremlau since he’s a senior, to fill some of the leadership roles.” But youth doesn’t always equal inexperience. Such is the case for sophomores Adam Hillis and Klay Wood, both of whom saw significant varsity playing time last year as freshmen. Hillis, the Crimsons’ number one pitching option this Spring, is not unfamiliar with the mound, having thrown 42 innings for last year’s varsity staff while registering 32 strikeouts to just 8 walks. But Hillis’ aptitude is not limited to the hill. He also hit .262 with 4 home runs and 19 RBIs in 103 varsity at-bats as a freshman. Wood, whose older brother Kody roamed the JHS outfield last year, will look to fill in as the Crimsons’ shortstop. While Wood spent most of last spring at the JV level, he also notched 9 hits, 11 runs, and 5 RBI’s in 38 varsity plate appearances as a freshman. Looking to improve on their impressive freshman campaigns, Hillis and Wood – traveling teammates since age 9 – hope to provide confidence and experience to an otherwise untested group. “Both of those guys [Hillis and Wood] – although only sophomores – you wouldn’t think of them as sophomores by watching them play,” Bunner said of the two underclassmen, “Klay and Adam will be two guys in the middle of our lineup that we’ll look to as far as driving in runs. They’ve played a lot of baseball…a lot of good baseball, and they’ve handled it well, so we’re going to lean on them quite a bit this year.” Aside from sophomores Hillis and Wood, Coach Bunner and the Crimsons will look for contributions from eight returning juniors. While Noah Pickens and CJ Wright will man the outfield positions alongside the senior Stremlau, other juniors Braxton Criss and Drew Haggerty will fill significant roles at the corner infield positions. “We’ve got a big junior class coming up that saw some quality time at the JV level last year, but it’s going to be a different ball game this year,” said Bunner of the juniors, “it’s going to take some time to adjust to the speed of varsity baseball and I’ll think they’ll be able to do that, we just hope that comes sooner rather than later.” Rockets Look to Uphold Routt Baseball’s Tradition of Winning 2014: Last year’s Rockets squad finished with an overall record of 17-12 and a WIVC North record of 6-2. One of Routt’s biggest strengths in the 2014 season was their ability to win at home, finishing with an 11-3 mark in games played at Alumni Field. Road games, however, were a different story, as 8 of Routt’s 12 losses came when they were the visiting team. The Rockets finished the regular season strong, winning 5 of their last 7 before entering regionals. In their opening postseason game versus Edinburg, the Rockets came out on top after 9 innings of play to win by a score of 6-2. Routt’s post-season hopes came to an end in the regional championship, losing a nail-biting game to Pawnee High School by a final of 4-3. LOST TO GRADUATION: While last year’s team saw significant contributions from a number of underclassmen, the bulk of Routt’s offense and defense – especially in terms of pitching – came from their four senior starters: Ben Whalen, Justin Ketchum, Dylan Jones, and Ryan Bickhaus. As for the pitching, Jones led the team with a 2.19 ERA over 89.1 innings pitched last year, winning 7 games and striking out 131 batters. Bickhaus and Whalen led the team in hits with 39 and 37, respectively, while their respective batting averages of .394 and .381 were also good for top spots in 2014. And while Ketchum’s .347 average finished just shy of Bickhaus and Whalen, his 28 RBIs made him the Rockets leading run producer. “We had a small nucleus of only four seniors last year, most of whom had played on varsity since sophomore year,” said Routt’s head coach Bobby Lonergan of last year’s seniors, “they were a solid group with a good pitching staff … all great leaders...