For us to have a chance this season, we need to throw strikes and make the routine defensive plays. When you do that, you have a chance to win.

It's been as smooth as you can expect for freshmen. It's hard to step in right away from going from eighth grade to varsity. That is a big jump. Good thing is they've all made huge strides in these first couple of weeks and I look for them to have bright futures.

We only have two seniors and four juniors. We've got some young guys who really have a chance to play and help us at times.

They know what to expect from us as coaches every day. The first year is always tough, especially for your older kids. When things change, it can be a tough transition for them.

He's hitting the ball well for us and that's helping the lineup. He's been consistent and he's able to do so many different things. He puts the ball in play and moves the baseball and that is what we need out of our lead off hitter.

We just haven't put it all together in the same game. If we pitch well, we don't hit. If we hit well, we don't play good defense. One of the three phases of the game has let us down for one reason or another. If we can get it all in the same game, we'll be as good as anyone else out there, we just have to make it happen.

He'll be the heart of our lineup offensively, but I'm moving him around and will have him play some infield and do a little pitching. Jake is banged up from playing three sports for four years. We want to keep him fresh through the year. Last year, he caught every single game. We want to mix it up for him.

Casey has shown a lot of improvement in the first couple of games. Alex was hurt for a while and Casey was able to get a lot of reps in.

We've got guys that are young. They're getting a lot of experience at the varsity level, but with a young team you see young mistakes. Still, I see we are continuing to improve.