After a long, brutal winter it is finally time.

It is finally time for the players to run out onto the diamond. It is finally time for the defensive gems. It is finally time for the long ball. It is finally time for outstanding performances on the hill. It is finally time for the clutch performances. It is finally time for the ups and downs, stunners and heartbreakers. It is finally time for baseball season.

Tryouts are well underway and Coach Del Fava and San Hamel are constructing their most talented roster for the upcoming season. After a middle of the road (17-17) season record-wise last year, the Scouts are preparing to fight to the top of their conference against perennial stalwarts such as Mundelein, Stevenson and Libertyville. Although they did lose some talented seniors last year, there are over a dozen returning players who seek revenge against the rest of the conference. It is time to begin counting down the days for what we expect to be a thrilling season.

In high school athletics, it doesn’t always make the most sense to revisit years prior. Most teams are full of seniors with a few juniors here and there, making every season quite different. There is an exception, however, with Scouts baseball this season. Potentially, more than 15 players are expected to come back and play their second year at the varsity level. Experience is huge in a game that takes so much strategy and poise, and position players such as Caleb Durbin, Andrew Gough and Drew Golde will have a big presence on defense. Peter Turelli, the lone junior that made varsity last year as an underclassman, has improved on the bump. Head Coach Ray Del Fava said, “Anytime you can put players out there that have already been through a season, it will only benefit you. Experience also comes with talent. There will be seniors that didn’t get much of an opportunity last year that will provide a big boost for us.”

Griffin Strang will likely get more playing time. He is a human wall behind the plate, allowing very few pitches to get by him, but if he wants to solidify his role as a starter, he needs to raise his batting average. Similar to Strang, Matthew Hill got limited reps last season, but performed at an elite level as a catcher. He also, though, has room for improvement at the plate.  Lastly, Ryan Lee, an insanely athletic outfielder, is another player to keep an eye on this year. Since the outfield last year was mainly patrolled by seniors, he may not have received the amount of playing time he desired, but should definitely play over 30 games this season.

As for the incoming athletes, there are plenty of juniors trying out that possess various skill sets, but it is tough to speculate who will make the cut and potentially find their way into the starting lineup with over three weeks until the beginning of the season. Speaking to the volume of talent he has seen the first few days of tryouts, Del Fava added, “There is a healthy amount of competition. It will come down to talent. Everyone has worked so hard that nobody will get cut because of their lack of effort. Everyone is striving for the same goal.”

Pitching is important at any level, but in a conference that requires you to have four days of rest after throwing 76 pitches, having depth not just in the bullpen, but in the rotation is vital. Despite losing five pitchers, the Lake Forest Scouts still have a lot of weapons. Coach Del Fava mentioned, “Some of our pitchers have really improved. Any returning senior will need to play a big role. Will Woidat, Peter Jonnata, Jackson Thomas, and especially Andrew Gough–after coming back from an injury–will certainly help us. One of the best things we have is depth. With the new IHSA pitching rules implemented last year, it is important to have depth in the bullpen.”

Gough, who was projected to be one of the Scouts best pitchers last season, was limited to 8.1 innings due to a shoulder injury. If he manages to stay healthy this year, he could possibly play the role of the Scouts ace. Peter Turelli, the only sophomore on the team last year, threw a no hitter and only got better during the duration of the season. The bullpen is going to be critical this year as well. The Scouts had so many close games last year that were decided in the late innings, which just speaks volumes of the type of role some of these athletes will have in their final season of high school baseball. That said, the pitchers should be comfortable with the notion that they have a very solid defense behind them.

Last year, about one-third of the Scouts defense was played by juniors and a sophomore. Drew Golde, Andrew Gough, and Caleb Durbin nearly started every game while players like Ryan Lee and Peter Turelli also got some action. The one thing that haunted Lake Forest so much last season were errors. I am certain that if they would have reduced the amount of errors they committed last year by half, they would have ended up being well over .500. It is baseball. Errors will occur. But when they come, the team needs to pick each other up and try and avoid the infamous ‘big inning.’ With the other two-thirds of last year’s defense being seniors, they leave a lot of open spots. Almost all of the players on this year’s roster will play more than one position. You will see the shortstop and second base position switch off occasionally, along with occasional shifts in the outfield. Once the team works out their kinks at the beginning of the year, the Scouts could become very dangerous on defense.

Last year, a couple of Scouts reached some remarkable stat feats. The most stunning may have been Caleb Durbin hitting .500. Putting that into perspective, in Major League Baseball, you could be considered a Hall of Famer when you hit over .300. Needless to say, reaching that epoch is remarkable. When I asked the Scouts leadoff hitter his goals for the season, he simply said, “The goal is to win ball games. Helping the team to the best of my ability is what I strive for.” Durbin is not the only offensive threat. Drew Golde batted .316 with a .429 on base percentage and is only expected to improve on that this year. Not many of the current seniors on the team got a whole lot of at-bats last season, so it is still early and tough to speculate what to expect from the rest of the roster. Still, it seems like this is a team that does not hit for power, which is not necessarily a bad thing. There is a popular adage known within the sport that you have probably heard of: Get em’ on, get em’ over, get em’ in. A lot of these players know how to get on base, what pitches to swing at, and how to get runners over into scoring position. Especially in a conference that is stacked with pitching, it is important to get on base any way possible. Just like defense, it may take some time for the players who weren’t used to starting last year to get the rust off, but once they get a couple weeks into the season, opposing pitchers should fear what they have in store.

The Lake Forest Scouts will compete in an improved North Suburban Conference this season. Coach Del Fava added, “For the most part there won’t be any easy games in the conference. Teams like Libertyville, Stevenson, and Mundelein are still powerhouses, but it is baseball; there are no guarantees. We get to play quality teams this season, which should help.” Lake Forest will head to Myrtle Beach over Spring break, then will open conference play at home on April 3 against Stevenson. Baseball season has finally returned and we are in for a special season. Stay tuned to The Forest Scout this season to check out a full recap after every single game.