As the weather turns warmer and the grass begins to turn green, high school baseball teams begin to take the field.

April and May are prime time when it comes to high school baseball, and area teams are prepared to take the field and start the season.

As the season begins, underclassmen must step into new positions left open by graduating seniors and coaches must settle on new starting lineups before the first game of the season.

Warsaw must replace the entire middle of the Tiger defense after losing their starting shortstop and second baseman.

WARSAW

Warsaw's biggest strength may be offense. The Tigers will be returning some good hitters, but since they lack speed, Warsaw will focus on intelligent base running.

The Tigers will be returning two pitchers in Adam Grimm (senior) and Craig Lankford (junior), and head coach Will Shepherd has high hopes for sophomore Adam Augustine this season.

NORTHWOOD

NorthWood is coming off a 10-18 season last year and looks to use experience gained last year to improve upon that mark.

The Panthers return 10 letterwinners and will look to fill the spaces left by outfielder Brian Moron, firstbaseman Kurt Young and pitcher Scott Ganshorn.

NorthWood looks to limit mistakes on the field and control big innings to have a successful season.

WHITKO

The Whitko Wildcats will look to improve on their 5-18 record of last season with several young players returning to the lineup. The two returning Wildcat seniors, Jeff Martin and Brock Waterson, will look to be the leaders of a young Whitko team.

Whitko will depend on discipline and focus to have a successful season in coach John Strayer's inaugural season as head coach.

MANCHESTER

Manchester will also rely on returners to lead the Squires to success this year. The Squire squad loses four players; however, eight players will return with experience from last year.

The Squires will try to turn up the intensity to improve on their 16-14 mark and repeat their success as TRC champions.

TIPPECANOE VALLEY

#After losing 11 players from last season, Tippecanoe Valley will face the challenge of rebuilding a team with six returning players. The Vikings will look to improve upon last year's 6-11 record and compete in the Three Rivers Conference.

WAWASEE

With a strong core of returning players from last year, Wawasee will attempt to improve upon a 7-22 record last season. The Warriors will look to replace losses in the outfield and pitching while they rely on a strong fundamentals this season. Coach Juhn Blunk feels that a young pitching staff will be key to a successful Warrior season.

TRITON

Triton will look to replace four players lost to graduation last year. Two of those players were the Trojan's leading pitchers, and Triton will look to rebuild its pitching squad. Coach Jim Shively is optimistic about the season and feels that the young pitchers are coming along well and hitting is good.

Shively has high hopes for the regular season and Class A tournament as well.

While Wawasee got an early start on the season Tuesday, several area baseball teams will begin the spring season in Saturday doubleheaders today. Manchester will kick off the season by hosting Wawasee while NorthWood will host Jimtown. Warsaw travels to Lafayette Jefferson.

Tippecanoe Valley and Triton start their seasons Wednesday as the Vikings travel to Caston and the Trojans face Oregon-Davis. Whitko is the last area team to begin the season when the Wildcats take the field at Central Noble April 10.

BASEBALL CAPSULES

WARSAW

Last Season Record - 20-8

Conference Record -Ê8-4 (2ND IN NLC)

Key Returners - Adam Grimm SR. All-NLC Pitcher, Joe Stanley Sr. Honorable Mention All-NLC Infield, Jason Barrettt Sr. Honorbable Mention Outfield, Pat Riley Sr. Outfield, Steve Siebenmorgen Jr. Infielder, and Craig Lankford Jr. Pitcher.

Coach -ÊWill Shepherd

Coach's Comments -Ê"We have improved our schedule and to be successful the intangibles will be important. Meeting the expectations of leadership from our experienced players will go a long way in determining just how successful this group will be. We're excited and working hard to improve."

WHITKO

Last Season Record - 5-18

Key Returners - Jeff Martin Sr., James Miller Jr., Brock Waterson Sr., Anthony Clausen So., Trent Burelison So.

Key Losses -ÊDustin Patrick, Billy Reffitt, A.J. Frantz, and Ivan Hathaway.

Coach -ÊJohn Strayer

Coach's Comments -Ê"For our team to succeed, we must keep working hard. Our young people need to step up and play big. Discipline, hard work and focus will be our keys for success this year."

TIPPECANOE VALLEY

Last Season Record - 6-11

Conference Record -Ê3-4 TRC

Key Returners - R.J. Hutchison Sr. Pitcher/Infield, Seth Mikel Sr. Pitcher/Outfield, Greg Groninger Sr. Infield/Catcher

Coach -ÊPat O'Connell

Coach's Comments -ÊO'Connell was unavailable for comment.

WAWASEE

Last Season Record - 7-22

Conference Record -Ê2-10 NLC

Key Returners - Brent Berkeypile Sr. All-NLC Outfield, Luke Baker Sr. All-NLC Infield, Tony May Sr. Infield, Matt Cory Sr. Infield, Drew Gradle Jr. Pitcher/Outfield, Brian Adkins So. Pitcher/Outfield, John Szynal Sr. Catcher.

Key Losses - Brade Swope, Farhan Haq, Jesse Leonard, Jeff Beer, Brad Brown

Coach -ÊJohn Blunk

Coach's Comments -Ê"We will concentrate on our young pitching staff. Pitching will be key. We will also rely on defense and playing good fundamentally sound baseball. We are also looking for good senior leadership to guide the team this season."

NORTHWOOD

Last Season Record - 10-18

Conference Record -Ê3-9 NLC

Key Returners - John Hartzell Sr. Infield/Outfield, Ryan Mattern Sr. Catcher/Infield, Todd McDonald Sr. Pitcher/Outfield, Mark Pires Sr. Outfield, Dustin Potts Sr. Catcher, Andy Sheets Sr. Outfield, Andy Yoder Sr. Pitcher/Outfield, Nate Brown Jr. Pitcher.Outfield, Brock Doty Jr. Infield, Matt Sitek Jr. Pitcher/Infield.

Key Losses -ÊKurt Young, Brian Moron, Scott Ganshorn

Coach -ÊDoug Gerber

Coach's Comments - "Pitching is our strength, we have our top three starters on the mound returning from last year. Defensive play will be important, and we will try to improve on last year's defensive effort."Ê

MANCHESTER

Last Season Record - 16-14

Conference Record -Ê6-1

Key Returners - Mitch Eads Sr. Infield, Shawn Filip Sr. Outfield, Josh Bradley Jr. Pitcher/Infield, Dusty Butterbaugh Jr. P/Outfield, Tom Hardy Jr. Pitcher/Outfield, Kory Rupley Jr. Pitcher/Infield, Lee Shafer Jr. Infield, Marcus Olson Jr. Infield.

Key Losses -ÊDerek Ring (1998 Wabash City Player of the Year), Chris Good, Nate Hippensteel, Heath Simcoe.

Coach -ÊJack Rupley

Coach's Comments -Ê"Every player needs to play at the highest level all the time, every game. We will look to turn the intensity level up and improve our level of focus. We want to play up to our potential every single game."

TRITON

Last Season Record - 17-11

Conference Record -Ê8-6 (3rd in NSC)

Key Returners - Matt Savill Sr. Pitcher/Infield, Schuyler Stutzman Sr. Pitcher/Infield, Matt Wanemacher Jr. Outfield, Brandon Chapman Jr. Infield, Nate Setser Jr. Infield, Eric Miller Jr. Designated Hitter, Ryan Klotz Jr. Catcher, Jake Burnett So. Outfield.

Key Losses -ÊKyle Gould, Jeff Salisbury, Justin Grubbs, Derek Ganshorn.

Coach -ÊJim Shively

Coach's Comments - "We lost four very good baseball players who are all playing college ball right now. I feel good about our returners and the potential of the kids who haven't played very much varsity ball yet. We should be strong defensively. I am very optimistic about what I have seen out of our pitching so far this spring." [[In-content Ad]]