“My speech to them from Day 1 was, ‘At Monroe, we don’t rebuild, we reload,’ ” Hunt said. “I wanted that to be in their head from the very beginning. We’re not trying to go backwards in the program. We’re still getting ready to win a championship.”
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The Hornets were 13-7 last season and placed third in the Southwestern Buckeye League Southwestern Division. They’ve finished in the top three the last five years, sharing the title with Oakwood and Eaton in 2016.
Monroe opened the season with two games against strong Pennsylvania opponents at the ESPN Wide World of Sports complex in Orlando, Fla., over the weekend.
The Hornets got strong starting pitching from senior Sam Moon and junior Seaver Rothwell, but gave up leads after both were pulled and took two losses.
Some critical errors led to those defeats, though Hunt thinks defense will be a strength for this team over the long haul.
“We’re pretty solid defensively,” he said. “If we can force teams to put the ball in play, I think we can make a lot of plays and give ourselves a lot of chances. I think we pitch well enough that we can win games. I’m not sure we’ll hit well enough. We’re looking at a lot of small ball, trying to move runners around and take advantage of opportunities.”
Monroe brings back just one everyday player from last year. That’s senior first baseman Nick Osterman, who hit .317.
Returnees with at least some measurable varsity statistics last season are junior shortstop Blake Sheppard (.350) and junior outfielder Mason Newton (.333). Sophomore Brady Youtsler was the backup catcher.
Hunt said Osterman and Sheppard are expected to lead the Hornets this spring.
“Those are our two big dogs,” Hunt said. “They’re probably our two best offensive and defensive guys.”
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They’ll be joined in the infield by senior Rich Puckett at second base and Rothwell at third. Youtsler and senior Charlie Vest should provide some quality play behind the plate, and the regular outfielders figure to be senior Braden Gilbert in left, Newton in center and junior Bryce Giesting in right.
Junior Bobby Borneman will play first base when Rothwell is pitching and Osterman has to move to third.
The mound corps will include Moon, Rothwell, senior Tanner Seitz, Giesting, sophomores Blake Keeton and Chandler Holler, junior Ryan Prebles and Borneman. Moon and Giesting are left-handers.
“We don’t have that one guy who will get on the mound and throw it by everybody,” Hunt said. “Last year we had three really nice pitchers. This year we’ve probably got eight guys that can throw it, but they’re all very similar. We’re having to pitch backwards, throw breaking balls early in the count and try to keep teams off balance.”
Seniors Cayden Hillebrand and Nate Holler round out the roster.
Hunt said this group is lacking when it comes to baseball knowledge, but he likes his players’ willingness to learn.
“I’m doing a lot of teaching on the fly this year, a lot of hands-on stuff. I find myself teaching more than coaching,” Hunt said. “It’ll be interesting. It’s a really good group of kids, and they really seem to like each other. It’s a work in progress for us every day.”
Monroe will return to action at home against Landmark on Wednesday at 5 p.m.
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