The 2005 Lake Orion Baptist School Lions baseball team are facing the loss of five seniors from last spring’s 10-6-1 squad, but are returning a solid core.
While the Lions will definitely miss much of the offensive production of the 2004 team, the return of the entire pitching staff, the catcher and the center fielder should dramatically cut down the total runs given up.
Third-year coach Bill Welby said ‘Last year, over 60 percent of the runs given up were unearned, so we’ve worked extra hard on our defense this spring.
‘With the weather, it’s difficult to prepare for a season on the offensive and defensive fronts with such a short preseason. My hope is that we can manufacture a few runs and have our pitching and defense slam the door on our opponents this year,? he said.
The lone senior is pitcher/shortstop Chet Vincent, last year’s ace and an All-Fundamental-Baptist-Athletic-Conference choice. Vincent had a 4-3 record with an impressive 1.33 ERA, as well as hitting .313.
Junior centerfielder Jon Moreno (.278) will move from the number nine spot to the lead-off slot, and Cole Welby moves from first base to behind the plate.
Welby was named the FBAC’s Most Valuable Player as a sophomore last year, hitting .521 with a 2-1 record on the mound.
Sophomore David King will be starting shortstop and the number two starting pitcher.
Ben Vincent, who hit .556 in limited action last season, plays first base and will see time in the outfield this year.
The Lions began an eight-week, 31-game road trip on April 5, as the team has no home field available.