The Mavs return 14 seniors who each may have a role to play in determining the success experienced in 2009. Nick Wittgren will be expected to lead a core of pitchers who have very little mound experience. He will also play shortstop when not pitching and was our leading hitter (.382) last season. Levi Evans (.316) started at first base last season but will be moved to catcher this year to replace four year starting catcher Eric Tippy who now plays at Dayton. Levi will provide the Mavs with a solid bat in the middle of our order as well as possibly get some pitching time as a closer. Cory Rush (.257) returns at center field for his fourth season on the varsity and will be used as a starting pitcher as well. Cory may also be given a look to replace 2008 MVP and Southern Illinois pitching prospect Neil Hudson at third base. Chas Price returns to help the Mavs on the mound (2-2) as he gained some valuable experience last season. Chas may also be Nick's backup at shortstop as he will most likely start at second base this season. Paul Gonzalez can be used at any infield position but should return as our right fielder and bat in the top of our order (.300). Ethan Peabody (.292- 3 HR) came through with some big hits last season and ended the year as our DH. Along with competing for a starting spot on the hill Ethan will play first base. Eight other seniors earned varsity letters last year in various roles with the team. Outfield help could come from Montana Timmons who gained some valuable experience last summer with the USA Athletics. As long as Eric Noble swings a good bat he may be able to help us at second base of left field. Michael McKenna swings a good bat from the left side as does Brennan Perez from the right and they will also compete for an outfield spot. Quincy Sutton provided the Mavs with some offensive power last season and could assume the role of DH or first base. Zach Anthrop will be our backup catcher but if he continues to swing the bat well could play an outfield corner. Alex Mack has some great leadership skills and will provide us with yet another possibility in the outfield. Sam Scanlon is another candidate for first base or DH as he hit .261 with 23 at bats last season and provided the Mavs with some valuable innings. Along with these seniors will be junior Trey Fankhauser who started a majority of the season last year in left field. He was also 2-2 as a pitcher and will be counted on as a starter from the left side. Other juniors are Chad Compton (pitcher), Zach Worley (pitcher), Tyler Hartman (first base), and Michael Catron (shortstop). Sophomores who will receive a look are Gavin Schreckengast (third base), Bryan Chenoweth (pitcher/ss), Ian Love (pitcher/of) and Zach Smeltz (outfield). Of course team chemistry will be extremely important if the Mavs are to compete for championships this season. With 14 seniors competing for starting positions some will absolutely have to accept being role players. In 1999 the Mavs won a State Championship with 12 seniors, so the importance of players accepting their role is evident. We anticipate our seniors will accept their roles and provide the Mavs with some great baseball this spring. The Joe Heath classic finds Chesterton, Terre Haute North and Logansport being hosted by the Mavericks. The Mavs open the conference with Brownsburg and each week finds two and sometimes four games against what is considered the elite baseball conference in the state. Our top two pitchers will get the HCC starts but the rest of the staff must perform well against the usual strong local opponents of Central Catholic, West Lafayette, Crawfordsville and Benton Central. All season the Mavs are preparing for the always strong Lafayette Sectional tournament which begins play on May 28th!