That time of year is upon us
when our national pastime
comes into the forefront of the
sports world. As the pros swing
and slide into the playoffs, Bucks
baseball kicks off their fall season
with dreams of successfully
defending their league title.
Last year, Bucks brought home
the district championship.
Coach Mark Bohling was the
man behind making it all happen.
His humorous nature and
easy-going style of coaching paid
off in the end. Allowing the team
to see his goofy side, Bohling
connected with his players. This
helped forge a great chemistry
within the team.
This year, Bohling has eight
returning players. Some of these
players include star pitcher
Graig Keiffer and star third baseman
Ryan Hermann.
And 16 new players are trying
out for the team. Bohling feels
that this new crop of players
brings an element the team has
been short on-speed. With
more speed in their arsenal,
Bohling believes that as long as
they play with the same fire they
had last year their success will
carry over into this season.
The season will begin with preseason
games in October. These
games will be against local
schools, with the first game
against Montgomery County
Community College. Bohling
will be looking for talented players
who mesh well with the
team’s existing chemistry.
Bohling stated, “I feel confident
with the chemistry of the players.”
That is assuming every player
stays with the team for the duration
of the season. Bohling has
had trouble in the past, losing
players who had poor GPAs or
lacked enough credits to stay on
the team. Each year about six-toeight
players are lost for these
reasons.
Last year the team impressively
brought home the championship
with only 11 players,
after starting the season with 24.
For the upcoming season,
Bohling is giving his players a little
extra incentive. If they repeat
as champions, he hopes to
reward them with a week in
Disney World. While in Orlando,
the team would play six games
against teams from Florida as
part of their spring training. The
team would be staying at the All-
Star Sports Resort located right
near the parks.
Bohling is brain-storming
ideas on how he will raise the
money. He feels that successfully
defending their championship
and being rewarded with a trip
to Disney would be an amazing
experience for everyone.
“As long as you do the basics
of the game, you win,” said
Bohling. Their ability to execute
fundamental baseball played a
major role in their championship
win.
The returning players know
this, and plan to instill this philosophy
into the new players.
Bohling’s returning stars are not
content with losing and will give
their all to win.
They’ve tasted victory and are
hungry for more.
If the new players catch this
desire and play with the tenacity
Bohling got out of last year’s
team, Bucks can expect another
amazing season of baseball.