With holding two of the school’s three state championships and having a former player, George Kontos, currently pitching for the New York Yankees, the Niles West baseball team is one of the school’s most storied programs.  The NWN had the opportunity to sit down with head baseball coach Gary Gustafson to talk about the upcoming season and the team’s expectations.

NWN:  So far, how does the team look?

Gustafson: At this point, they’re looking good.  I like how the team is gelling right now.

NWN: What are the team’s goals for this year?

Gustafson: As with every season, we want to contend in the CSL south, all while playing good, hard, competitive baseball. Going into the postseason, we want to win the CSL south conference crown.

NWN: How have you guys improved since last year?

Gustafson: Our strong points are definitely our infield and defensive play.  We have a number of returning starters in the infield, such as junior Kyle Colletta at second base, senior Kevin Ross at shortstop, and senior Max Markoff at first.

NWN: What do you anticipate will be the toughest/most important games this season?

Gustafson: Well, I usually break the season into three smaller sections- the Preseason, Conference play, and the Postseason.  With that being said, any game in conference play is extremely important.  The CSL is as tough a conference as you’ll get in the state.  It’s always dogfight.

NWN:  Who will the key contributors be this season?

Gustafson:  Our key contributors are also our senior captains, seniors Jason Meager and Ross.

NWN:  With this year, the National Federation of State High School Associations, which governs all high school sports across the country, recently changed the standard of bats they allow.  Apparently, they’re supposed to behave more like wooden bats.  How do you think they’ll affect the game?

Gustafson:  I think that it will play a tremendous roll in how the game is played in high school.  Teams will begin to play a lot more “small ball.”  So, there will be a lot more bumping and less home runs.  The inflated batting averages and power numbers of the previous years will go down.

NWN: How do you anticipate the team will perform in the long run?

Gustafson: We anticipate having a good season and to improve every week we practice.  If we’re able to accomplish this, we should perform very well this season.