Entering another season as the baseball coach at Troy Christian High School, Tony Ferraro knows that he has some good leaders back this season. Even early in the pre-season, Ferraro, a longtime baseball coach in the Miami Valley, saw the potential for a solid season, which begins around Ohio this weekend.

“We are excited to get started,” Ferraro said. “We have a couple of scrimmages (which are now behind the Eagles), and the schedule becomes hot and heavy right away.”

“The young men are playing extremely hard, and working on fundamentals,” he added. “On offense, we are working on getting the ball in play, and limiting our opponents to three outs per inning, instead of making mistakes, The team is headed in the right direction.”

Three seniors will lead the way for the Eagles, including pitcher/third baseman Scott Douglass, who opened eyes last year with a shutout in the tournament against Mechanicsburg.

“He does a nice job putting the ball in play on offense,” Ferraro said. “He moves the runners along, and on the mound he does a good job. He also has a good glove at third.”

Jacob Williams returns to play centerfield and as a pitcher.

“He is a hard throwing right hander, and a student of the game,” Ferraro said. “He has good speed and can run things down well in the outfield.”

The final senior is catcher Chase Hayden, who according to Ferraro, is another coach on the field.

“He has a good arm and good mechanics behind the plate,” the Eagles coach said. “He is also a great bunter and always looks to move runners up when he is at the plate.”

“Those three seniors are not only leaders, but they are the first to come to the park, and the last to leave,” Ferraro said. “They always lead by example. They are also the types of players who are great leaders for the freshman and sophomores, both verbally and they make them understand how Troy Christian Eagles baseball is supposed to be run.”

Five more upperclassmen expect to be major contributors for the Eagles, including junior shortstop/centerfielder Jacob Brown.

“He is one of the leading hitters in the league,” Ferraro said. “He has a chance to be one of the best overall players in the MBC, and we are counting on him in the middle of the order.”

Also junior Peyton Forrer returns as a strong right handed pitcher and first baseman, who is being counted on for big things as a power hitter.

John Slone will mad the middle infield, who hopes to follow in the footsteps of his all-conference brother, a former Eagle. Ferraro stated he has good speed and gets on base with a very good glove.

Cameron Davee is also back who will pitch and play first base.

“He is a tall rangy leftie, who has a strong bat and a good glove at first base,” Ferraro said. He also stated Sam Kirkpatrick will contribute to the team as the junior is very versatile.

“He can play all outfield spots, and will also pitch and catch for us,” he said. “He has a very strong arm and is a student of the game. He is improving his game everyday.”

Several underclassmen also are on the Eagles roster this year, including Louden Sauldeamer (outfield) and Andrew Strait, both sophomores. Also watch for freshman Caleb Twiss, Caron Kindred and Jackson Kremer.

“The conference will be strong again this year,” Ferraro said. “Last year we were runner up as Dayton Christian beat us in the last game. We want to reverse the fortunes this year. The conference has some really good athletes.”