By Chris Parker
Sparta baseball posted an eight-win campaign last spring, which was the most wins for the program since winning 14 games in 2013. The Trojans will look to keep that momentum up this year with a strong core of leaders returning.
Sparta will look to Steven Brown (junior pitcher/catcher), Dexter Loveland (junior first baseman), Caden Roller (junior shortstop), Kaiden Kelly (pitcher/catcher/shortstop) and Walker Loveland (sophomore centerfielder) for leadership.
Brown hits second in the lineup and posted a .360 batting average this past fall. On the mound, Brown was the team’s No. 2 pitcher in the fall with 55 strikeouts in 32 innings. Dexter Loveland hit .412 with 14 RBI in 16 games in the fall. He also threw 12 innings and struck out 21 in the fall. Roller hits cleanup and posted a .318 average in the fall. He also pitched nine innings with 13 strikeouts. Kelly is a true utility infielder, but makes his biggest impact on the mound where he is the team’s ace. In the fall, Kelly pitched nine games and posted a 1.81 ERA. Walker Loveland is the fastest player on the team and will hit leadoff after hitting .294 with 12 stolen bases in 16 games in the fall.
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Brown will be the team’s primary catcher with Kelly catching when Brown is on the mound. Braylen Luttull (freshman second baseman) and Brayden Davis (sophomore third baseman) will join Dexter Loveland and Roller on the infield.
Alex Hansen (junior left fielder) and Maverick Schneider (sophomore right fielder) will flank Walker Loveland in the outfield.
“Our strengths will be the fact that we are a junior dominated team and these juniors had to start at the varsity level since they were freshman,” Sparta head coach Michael Willis said. “We need to be more aggressive at the plate and cut down on our strikeouts looking.”
Sparta opens the regular season Mar. 21-25 at the Exeter Tournament.
“I expect us to have a winning season and be playing our best baseball by May,” Willis said.
