Despite the fact they have yet to practice on their field, the Warrior baseball team is ready to hit the diamond this season.

Head coach Mike DiPasquale said that although the team has been forced to practice inside due to weather conditions, he feels the Warriors have the ability to repeat the success of last season.

ﾓRealistically, I donﾒt see any reason why we canﾒt defend our regionalsﾒ win if we continue what we were building last year,ﾔ he said. ﾓWeﾒre opening the season with eight games on the road, so weﾒll see how we do with that.ﾔ

Practicing in the gym has left the team with obstacles, but it has given them time to hone their skills in the batting net.

ﾓHitting is our strength right now because weﾒve been getting a lot of hitting in,ﾔ DiPasquale said. ﾓAnytime youﾒre inside the gym, defense is going to be weak to start the season off with. We started off like that last year with a couple double digit error games early in the season. Hopefully, we wonﾒt have many of those this year.ﾔ

Along with a regionals title, the 2009 team set a school record of 14 wins. Following this team may seem like a daunting task, but DiPasquale said leadership was the key to last yearﾒs success.

ﾓLeadership quality is what we lost with last yearﾒs senior class,ﾔ he said. ﾓAll of those guys were good leaders. For us to be successful, weﾒre going to need that kind of leadership out of this yearﾒs seniors, too.ﾔ

Coming off last seasonﾒs high, the seniors are prepared to have a repeat and make the trek to the state playoffs.

ﾓI have some pretty high expectations for this year,ﾔ Gus Willis said. ﾓI want to do as well as we did last year or better. Weﾒve got a lot of young players, but I see a lot of talent. It should be a good year.ﾔ

ﾓHopefully we can win our region and go back to states and hopefully win that,ﾔ Harley Kinder added.

Winning isnﾒt what brings the boys back to the sport. The love of the game has been a part of life for most players since T-ball and Little League.

ﾓIﾒve been playing since I was five,ﾔ senior Reid Harper said. ﾓI like the team aspect of it. You donﾒt have to be astronomically huge to play, you can be a normal person.ﾔ

Willis, the source of the Warrior ﾓRebel Yellﾔ has played since T-ball in the fourth grade.

ﾓItﾒs the greatest American sport,ﾔ he said. ﾓJust putting the bat to ball and watching it go, itﾒs the greatest feeling in the world.ﾔ