Parkway North Not Sitting On Laurels After Postseason Baseball Run In 2012
The Vikings open the 2013 season ready to use last year's campaign as fuel for motivation.
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Note: The doubleheader was postponed Wednesday, and could be played sometime next week. North has a doubleheader scheduled for Thursday at Parkway South.
That was then. This is now.
That seems to be the mindset for the 2013 edition of the Parkway North baseball team heading into Wednesday's season opener against the Parkway Central Colts.
The Vikings have lost centerfielder Michael Bozarth and shortstop Connor Faron, two key cogs in the 2012 squad that got the school to within an inning of a state championship, but have plenty of returning pieces, including a trio of pitchers in Joe Hope, Joey Reeves and Connor Ladig to anchor the rotation.
Head Coach Fred Friedman said the expectations which will likely come his team's way based on 2012 should serve as motivation, and not a burden. Already, he's impressed with his team's cohesion.
"I just know going into this season that our chemistry and camaraderie are already almost at 100 percent because they hang out with eachother in the offseason they play with eachother in the summer, it's like I get to step in to and be a part of their team," said Friedman, entering his sixth season in charge.
Jon Shenker, taking over in center field for Bozarth, said he's not trying to live up to anyone else and takes a game by game approach. Reeves, the sophomore starting pitcher, said for him it is a pitch-by-pitch approach, one strikeout at a time.
"We know that last year no one really expected us to be much or to have that good of a season then we just kind of came together as a team and we got there and we felt like no one could really stop us," said first baseman Andy Huss, who tore ankle tendons after quarterbacking the North football squad but is back healthy now.
He's using last season's success as motivation for what's to come this year.
He's looking forward to a regular season rematch with Rockwood Summit, even if Eric Beisel, the player with the game winning hit in the 2012 title game, won't be suiting up. Beisel, a football standout, is focusing on getting ready to join the University of Missouri football team this fall.
But that rematch won't come until mid-April. In the meantime, there are two games at hand to think about, the next pitch, the next strikeout, all starting Wednesday against Parkway Central.
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