First-year North Montgomery baseball coach Ryan Nuppnau has just one senior on his roster and only two returning varsity players from a 7-20 2019 season.
Jacob Braun is the lone senior for the Chargers, while Jakob Kirsch appeared in 22 games as a freshman in 2019.
“We are young and inexperienced,” Nuppnau said. “We have good, young talent but very little time on the big stage. And since we are young, we have really been focusing on developing our pitchers at all levels. Even though we are young and inexperienced, as the season goes on, we expect to start looking like an experienced team and performing with confidence.”
Nuppnau expects junior Brayden Martin and freshmen Jarrod Kirsch and Corbin Meadows to help with the pitching staff, and leaves the door open for many underclassmen to compete for varsity playing time throughout the season.
“There are a lot of good sophomores and freshmen who are hungry to play and are good enough to compete for a varsity spot,” Nuppnau said. “Anything can happen in the days of Covid, and I know if we put some of the younger kids in, they will come to play and compete to take a starters spot.”
The Chargers open the season on Tuesday, April 6 at home against North Putnam. And even with a young team, Nuppnau expects to see rapid growth throughout the season.
“Even though we are young, these kids have a high baseball IQ,” he said. “They understand the game and situations. We might not be able to execute each time, but they know what needs to be done.”
