After a long dreadful winter, spring will finally be arriving on the 20th of March, with forecasts of sunny days and warmer days. The perfect weather will be just in time for the first week of baseball.  The home opener will take place Wednesday, March 18, 2015, on Haggerty Field  at 4:30 p.m. against Lakeview High School.

Although Mount Carmel was the 4A State Champions of 2013 and made it to the super-sectionals in 2014 with a record of 31-8, many players agree that the new year brings new challenges.

The Caravan has many seniors returning to the team this year, but also will rely on younger players whose talents will greatly contribute to the success of the team.

Senior Ako Thomas explains, “It won’t be as easy this year because some of our key players (from last year) graduated, so our juniors will need to step up and fill those roles.”

Still, in terms of offensive and defensive strength, Thomas believes the Caravan is looking pretty good.  This year’s group features nine players who already have made commitments to Division I college programs.

Junior Jeremy Houston, who played varsity last year as a short stop, is very confident about this year’s season and is excited to be playing with the seniors once again.

“I know this year will be fun, we just have to play as a team.”

Head Coach, Brian Hurry is confident heading into this year’s season.  “This year we have a very experienced group back which are five seniors who know how to  win.”

Ako Thomas, Scott Kapers, Malik Carpenter, Joshua Stowers and Nelson Munoz are among that group who will be leading the team for the 2015 season.

It won’t be only the juniors and seniors who play major roles.  Hurry believes that a few sophomores will have the chance to contribute to the tea’s success, including Bob Seymore, Zion Pettigrew, and Cameron Hupe.

According to Hurry, playing as a team and being in tune are the keys to success.  “Staying focused is what it takes to be successful, the opponent is the game itself, not the opposing team.”

Rounding out the roster are seniors Jack Pappas, Kevin Krahn, Aaryn Chandler, Sam Johnson, Mike Lorenzi, Nick Wheeler, Daniel Sanchez, Bailey Egan and Jordan Mikolajewski.