Spring is approaching faster than anticipated but we welcome it with open arms because along with the warm weather comes baseball season.  If you go to the Gators Baseball website, you will find a running countdown until the season opener.  With less than a week to go, the team is busy with practices in preparation for the season.  The roster is already up and it is looking like the Gators are going to knock it out of the park come spring.  

Challenging conditioning takes place prior to the season so the team can be in the best shape when it comes time to take it to the field.  Baseball is a sport that requires quick, powerful movements, which is what the year round training aids.  For those of you who don’t know, conditioning includes things that mimic the demands of the sport which includes things like running and different types of drills.  “We’ve been going since about September, about four days a week, the guys have been working really hard,” explained  Coach Jaggers.  While it may be difficult, players acknowledge that it is necessary in order to be successful.   “Conditioning has made us a lot better and is going to prepare us for the long, hard season,” sophomore Chandler Wilson states.   
While training is definitely important when comes to preparation, there are other essentials before March rolls around.  Last year Greenwood lost eight seniors, three of whom were captains (Tanner South, Tyler Cunningham, and Tanner Maple).  Because of the fact they were seniors three more captains were required to be named.  The 2017 season captains for baseball include: Jack Blair (senior), Addison Harris (senior), and Nate Cunningham (junior).  “I’m going to try to lead the other players as best as I can,” stated Cunningham.  He has big things coming this season, as well, with goals to do better than last year by keeping his ERA (earned run average) low and getting a lot of wins.  

Coach Jaggers seems to have it all figured when it comes to game play.  He gave us an idea of who we should keep an eye out for on the field.  “Pitching, we’ve got Nate Cunningham, we’ve got Jack Blair, Parker Farley, Tyler Cook, and several guys like that.  And then offensively we are looking at Jack Blair to kinda lead the way, Connor Cline, John Hicks, and we’ve got a whole slew of them, we’ve got a lot of guys,” Jaggers said.  Greenwood seems to be in good shape which is a good thing because some challenging opponents are coming our way.  It has been said Logan County will be the favorite.  We also should be expecting tough competition from Bowling Green and Warren East.  “Warren East has three recruits going to Louisville, Baylor, and Oklahoma State,” Matthew Rogers told us.

If you want to know more about the upcoming season you can follow the Gators on Twitter or visit their website.  We look forward to seeing what is in store this year for Gator baseball.