By Chris Parker
Norwood baseball is chasing a third straight district title with a young team taking the field.
A pair of seniors in Dillon Bennett (outfield/pitcher) and Toby Cottengim (infield/pitcher) will be the team’s leaders according to coach Drew Miller.
“The experience they have will make them important to our team,” Miller said. “These two have played in state quarterfinals the last two years.”
Bennett and Cottengim along with Cooper Vaughn will be Norwood’s starting pitchers this year.
“All three are similar in the way they attack,” Miller said. “We have to work backwards in order to be efficient.”
The trio will be throwing to Gunner Bradshaw (sophomore) and Tommy Mooney (freshman) behind the plate.
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Freshmen Caden Black and Andrew Bradshaw will man third base. Vaughn, a sophomore, will play shortstop. Carder Kelly (freshman) will play second base. First base will be manned by Cottengim and freshman Pierce Lawson.
The outfield will feature Holten Lopez (freshman), Noah Drake (sophomore) and Bennett.
“We are a very young team, so everyone is improving daily,” Miller said. “We do not have a lot of baseball experience, so each day of practice is big. These kids all have the willingness to learn, so I’m excited to see improvements during the spring.”
This group will rely on athleticism while the youth gains experience.
“We are a very young and athletic team. Our strength is our athleticism. Our team will take some hits this spring, but each game we will learn and improve,” Miller said. “Right now, we need to improve in a lot of areas. Once again, we are very young and inexperienced. Every day at practice is a day to get better so we will need to take each one seriously.”
Norwood opens the season on Mar. 17 at Hurley.
“I want our identity to be a team that never gives up,” Miller said. “We are going to be overmatched and smaller than a lot of teams we play. We are going to have to fight and play hard to stay in games. I want that to be what this team is known for.”
