Such is the case for first-year Katahdin baseball coach Tim Thoreson as the Cougars of Stacyville have four seniors and three juniors on the roster this season. And with a bundle of sophomores and freshmen sprinkled in, coach Thoreson should have a solid core to build his team on for years to come.
“I feel like we have a strong team going into this year,” the coach said. “This is my first year coaching varsity. Previously, I have coached one year of junior baseball at SACS and four years of local Little League. This will be coach Jamey McNally’s second year assisting with the varsity squad.”
The Cougars are looking to improve on last year’s season which saw the squad finish 5-9 in the regular season, which was good enough to earn the No. 11 seed and a spot in the playoffs. Katahdin beat No. 6 Shead of Eastport, 7-4, but then fell to No. 3 Ashland, 16-6, in the quarterfinals.
Katahdin lost four players to graduation from that squad, but the coach is optimistic that a return to the postseason is within the realm of possibilities.
“We have a very solid defense, an excellent base running team, and we have a very tight knit group of young men who challenge each other,” coach Thoreson said.
Members of the Katahdin squad include: seniors Dakota Reinhardt (outfield), Derek Atkinson (outfield), Josh Lane (outfield) and Tyson Porter (pitcher/shortstop); juniors Devin McGraw (first base/pitcher), Dalton Hartt (infield/pitcher) and Dylan Kyllonen (outfield); sophomores Cooper Drew (pitcher/shortstop), Nick Drew (catcher/outfield), Chase Tapley (outfield), Brody Guiggey (second base/pitcher/catcher) and Rig Otero (catcher/second base) and freshmen Ben Perry (outfield), John McNally (outfield/pitcher) and Evan Tapley (outfield).
The managers are Erin Buhler and Emily Knowles.
Katahdin’s first home game of the year is scheduled for Wednesday, May 4, 2016 at 3:30 p.m. versus Hodgdon.
