The Baker University baseball team will open its season Saturday and Sunday against No. 5 Rogers State University in Claremore, Okla.
This is the sixth year in a row that Baker will open against Rogers State, a team head coach Phil Hannon thinks is “a good host and good competition.”
“Each time we go down there, we learn something,” Hannon said. “Last year, we had the chance to come away with three wins. It’s always a judgement of where we are game wise when we go down there and play a really good team, but yet we don’t back away from competition.”
While these will be the first games for Baker, the Hillcats are already eight games into their season with a record of 6-2. Hannon believes it will be a change of pace for the Wildcats, but also a good assessment of the team as it starts the season.
“Our biggest thing coming in this first week is to make sure that we can evaluate and see where we are,” Hannon said. “We’ve been practicing and having the chance with this good weather to get outside and get some intersquads in, some scrimmages in, some simulated games in, but there’s nothing like competing against another team.”
After graduating six seniors, including the No. 1 and No. 2 pitchers, Baker is stacked with a young squad this year. Hannon is relying on the upperclassmen to help the younger players get in the swing of things this season.
“We have some returning players that will have to really show some leadership in keeping the youngsters calm because it is a huge difference going from high school to collegiate baseball,” Hannon said. “If you can keep your young players from riding the roller coaster, not getting too high when they do well and not getting too low when they think they’re not doing as well, that’s the whole key.”
One of those returning players, senior Andy Leiker, thinks the younger players are talented enough to contribute, but after losing two good pitchers, the team as a whole will have to step up this season.
“Our pitchers are pretty thin,” Leiker said. “We are going to have to play really good defense as well as executing bunts, hits and runs. We need to focus on moving guys over, getting in scoring position, to scratch some runs across”
Leiker likes the way the newcomers and returners are meshing together, though, and thinks the team chemistry will benefit the Wildcats this season.
“We’re all really fitting together pretty well,” Leiker said. “The older guys are kind of taking the younger guys under their wings, teaching them the ropes if you will. I think it’s going really well so far.”
Another returner, junior Josh Zach, thinks “it will be good for the freshmen to play against the No. 5 team in the nation” to get a feel for the competiton Baker will face this year.
By the end of the season, the Wildcats are hoping to make it into the Heart of America Conference tournament. In order to do so, the team will need to be ranked at least sixth in the conference or third in their division, which is the Western Division of the HAAC.
“Our goal has always been to make it to conference and we’ve been really close the past couple of years, which I know this club has really taken to heart,” Hannon said. “Last year, we were the No. 2 team overall going into division play, then we split with somebody and then we commenced to losing 12 in a row to knock us clean out of the competition. It’s water under the bridge now. We’ve got to keep moving forward.”
The Wildcats will look to get to take their first step of the season in a positive direction against Rogers State. Game one of Saturday’s season-opening doubleheader is scheduled for 1 p.m.
