With a new season ahead, Clover Hill baseball is focused on building off of last season while adjusting to key roster changes. With several players graduated, younger guys will have to step up. The team plans to play faster and more aggressively to stay competitive.

“I’m excited to get the momentum from last year going again,” said head coach Brett Mooney. 

“We worked hard in the offseason, started early, and now we’re ready to get between the lines and see what we have.”

One big change this season is a bigger focus on baserunning. The coaches want to keep the game fast and put pressure on opponents.

“We want to double our steal numbers,” Mooney said. “keep the game moving fast on our side and put some pressure on it.”

Clayton Washington, a returning player, is ready for the challenge.

“I’m excited to win and get better,” he said. “We’re a lot slimmer on players, so we have a lot less depth.”

With a smaller roster, everyone has to contribute. Fewer subs mean endurance and conditioning will be important. Washington sees defense as the team’s biggest strength but knows they need to work on pitching.

Washington thinks that they are a team of highs and lows. 

“Our biggest strength is probably defense, our biggest weakness is our pitching,” said Washington. 

Owen Tingen, A varsity catcher, agrees that defense is solid, but the team lost key hitters and pitchers.

“We lost a lot of hitting and pitching,” Tingen said. “We need to stay focused and keep the pedal down.”

Despite the changes, Tingen trusts the team’s chemistry.

“We’ve been with these guys for mostly three years,” he said. “The team’s chemistry will probably be pretty strong.”

Mooney believes last year’s success set the team up to compete again.

“The best way to learn how to win is to win and they learned how to win last year” Mooney said. 

Baseball opens their regular season on March 17 against Matoaca at home.