This season like no other in high school sports, players are sure to cherish every moment. They will be seeking the same trophies and titles they have in the past, but more important they’ll be back on the field competing with their classmates for the first time in two years.

Parkland’s baseball team was just as ready for the season a year ago as it is today, but this year is different in obvious ways.

“Last year the players did all of the hard work: preseason workouts, lifting, conditioning, intramurals, tryouts, but did not get the payoff of representing their school and showcasing their hard work,” said Trojan head coach Kurt Weber. “Right now I am cautiously optimistic that we will have a season, but we have also seen what happened to some teams with the virus still impacting them. So in the back of our minds we know it can be taken from us at any point.”

The Trojans have some talent returning to this year’s roster, but like most teams they don’t have a lot of experience.

Junior Blake Barthol (P/SS) will be the team’s most experiences player after earning league all-star honors as a freshman third baseman in 2019. Senior Jack Giovenco (C) also saw some playing time both behind the plate and in the outfield as a sophomore two years ago.

A large group of Trojans will make their first varsity starts this season, which will likely be the norm for a lot of teams.

The pitching staff features Barthol, senior Joe Algard, sophomores Bo Barthol, Owen DeLong and Dylan Duborg. Had there been a season last spring, Algard would have seen significant time on the mound, and Bo Barthol and Duborg might have too, Weber said.

Big hitting first baseman Luke Meehan, now a junior, would have been the team’s DH last year. He’ll bat in the middle of the order this season. Other players who would be returning starters if last season was played include junior Jesse Ruisch and senior Bryce Ratliff, who would have competed for time in left field, and junior Sean Superka, who was a candidate to get time at third base last spring.

Junior second baseman Andrew Keller will join the starting line up this year and is another player expected to make an impact this season.

The rest of this year’s Parkland baseball roster includes seniors James Miskanic (2B/P), Owen Lehr (OF/P), and Anthony Carpenter (1B), juniors Taiki Horiguchi (SS/P), Sean Rivera (OF/P) and sophomore Matthew Razzis (C/1B).

Like every team, the Trojans will need to gain some experience quickly this season.

“We will have pitching depth but it will be inexperienced,” said Weber. “We will have team speed and should play good defense. I am sure there will be growing pains early but we just need to keep grinding and learning as we go. The last 3-4 years we have tried to emphasize aggressive base running and putting the pressure on. We are going to have to scrap for runs to be competitive.”

While being competitive is always the primary goal, and the Trojans often far exceed it, this season is more about just getting back out there and playing.

“It will feel really good to compete,” said Weber. “It will feel really good to represent the school. If approached right athletics has so many teachings to offer the kids. That’s really why I have been doing this for this long. I can’t wait to get back at it.”