As winter sports season comes to an end, the Niles West varsity baseball team will start gearing up for their 2020 season. Anticipation is high as they plan on having a more successful year than the previous season after going 17-13.

For returning sophomore, Alex Cherian, coming back to play with the upper classmen has created a lot of excitement for him as he returns for his second season on the varsity squad.

“This baseball season is going to be a fun one with all the returning players. We’ve all created a bond that is strong together and I feel that we will have a great season as a team this year. We’ve all been going to workouts to improve our abilities and it will show in our games throughout the season when we come out on top. The seniors are a huge part of our team because they are role models for the younger players and they have more experience which they can share with the younger guys to help out. The seniors are the heart of our team, they work hard but make the season fun as well,” Cherian said.

Returning senior Themi Kastrinakis believes that knowing their opponents style is only going to help them throughout the season.

“Challenges we will face this year will be of course our conference games as we are in one of the better ones always facing very good pitching, but I do think we can handle that as all of our starters have seen the pitching and know they can compete with any pitch thrown their way,” Kastrinakis said.

Thinking back to last years season and looking ahead to this one a personal goal Kastrinakis has set for himself is “to have a great year on the mound in my last year playing baseball, and to work together throughout the entire season to win a regional,” Kastrinakis said.

As for junior, Kyle Gibson, setting both personal and team goals are important to him.

“Our team goal is definitely a sectional. We’ve got a good core group of guys and they’re all mostly returning. We’ve worked hard all off season so I think things are looking good. A personal as a captain is to definitely not only improve my play, but others around me. I could be having a bad game but I can still pick up my teammates and do my part. I’m really looking forward to just play ball. It’s something I’ve always loved to do and never get tired of. We might lose a couple games we aren’t supposed to but if we just stay up and keep doing our thing we should be able to start winning games people thought we wouldn’t too,” Gibson said.

Catch the boys team in action Mar. 18 at 4:45 as they host CCA (Crossroads Christian Academy) in their first home opener kicking off the 2020 season.