The Clear Fork Colts are ramped up for this year’s baseball season.
It’s been a long year for the Colts, who exited the sectionals last year in a heartbreaking defeat in the final inning. But they’re ready to shake it off and dig into the new season.
The Colts will kick off their season March 26 with a road doubleheader against Marion Harding, with the first pitch set to go at 11:00 a.m. Coach Rusty Staab has been working these young men since Feb. 22 getting them prepared for a schedule filled with tough competition.
“We have some good players returning to our lineup this year,” said Staab, “we’re going to be very competitive in this conference.”
The Colts will be looking towards their No. 1 pitcher Lane Belcher and No. 2 starter Shane Klenk to command the mound. Along with contributions from their other seniors, outfielder Caleb Merendino and second basemen Ricky Bartrum, the team expects to be strong defensively.
“Our strength is in our defense.” said Staab, “If we can play the game we know how, we’ll be tough to score against.”
The Colts are also looking to get some offensive punch from their cleanup hitter, Luke Clark, a returning junior who was named 1st team all district last year.
“Luke is great on offense and defense. He brings a lot to the team.” said Staab.
The Colts are looking to improve on last season’s 14-9 record with the core of the team returning. The returning young men are a little bigger, a little faster and certainly more experienced.
“We’re not that deep, so we really worked on conditioning in the off season.” said Staab, “We are hoping to avoid injury problems…and that comes from conditioning and preparation.”
