Trojans bring 13 letterwinners back for 2023 baseball season

BY DENNY SROKA Sports correspondent

The Mount Union baseball team comes into spring practice and everyone is excited to get the 2023 season underway. The Trojans have 13 letterwinners returning from the 2022 season and they have expectations of improving every day and will work hard to be prepared for the upcoming season.

The Trojans are coming off a positive season with a 21-3 overall record and 13-1 in the Inter County Conference North Division. The Trojans claimed the District 6 2A Championship in 2022. They beat United 9-3 in the first round of districts and then won a 7-1 decision over Marion Center to earn a shot at the crown, beating Portage, 12-3, to claim the District 6 title.

The Trojans then drew Riverside in a trip to Elwood City to fall, 5-3, in the first round of the state tournament. The Trojans two regular season losses were to Huntingdon in a non-league game 8-7 and Williamsburg in an ICC North game on the road, 9-8, before the loss to Riverside.

Tim Hicks will be starting his sixth year out of seven due to COVID and has a record of 92-25 as head coach. A state championship and two district six championships along with four ICC North titles.

“We may have 13 guys back that lettered last spring, but we must put in the work and improve over last season. We know what our capabilities are, but we still have things that need to be cleaned up. The little things will hurt you in close games if you are not careful,” Hicks said. “We must continue to work as a team and when we do make mistakes we must learn to put it behind us and recover quickly. The challenge is to stay positive no matter what all the time. The team needs to understand that we have the ability to get back in a game when we are down at any time.”

Hicks will be assisted by George Goodling, Ron Blair, Nick Imperioli, Ryan McGonigle and Kyle Atherton. Jeff Brown is the team statistician.

The Trojans’ starting lineup are all letterwinners with flexibility to play different positions as the pitching changes. On the mound, the Trojans will see Ryan Scott and Bryce Danish carry the bulk of the load with Cainen Atherton and Cody McClain seeing action through the season. Scott, a senior letterwinner, went 8-1 last season in 11 appearances pitching with an ERA of 1.24. Scott hit .273 on the season with a home run and 13 RBIs.

Danish, a junior letterwinner, had a record of 6-1 on the season in 12 appearances with an ERA of 1.49, At the plate Danish hit

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Not pictured is Je’Saun Robinson.