By JOSH BURRIS
The Norwell Knights enjoyed the most success they have had on the baseball diamond in nearly a decade with a tournament run that ended at semi-state.
The Knights defeated Marion, Mississinewa, and Oak Hill to first win their sectional. The Knights then advanced to semi-state for the first time since 2013 by defeating both Wawasee and Leo at regional. The run finally ended with a 7-0 loss to Hanover Central.
Coach Dave Goodmiller said his team was very strong in the fundamentals.
“I feel like we played really well fundamentally,” Goodmiller said. “I thought we had good at-bats. I thought we had good pitching. We played good defense. We won some close games, and close games can go either way. And in tournament time, things just kind of fell in place. I always say if you win a sectional, really anything can happen.”
A lot of the Knights’ top talent from last year will return to the team this season, especially on the mound. Goodmiller said he has six to seven strong arms he can count on.
Juniors Brody Bolyn, Lleyton Bailey, and sophomore Cade Shelton all pitched key innings in the tournament run. Junior Graham Gaier and sophomore Lane Lewis will be two other capable starting pitchers being promoted from JV.
Seniors Bo Morgan and Nathanael Werling will also be used in relief for Norwell.
Goodmiller said the team as a whole has great depth with many talented juniors and sophomores.
Around the field, Bailey will also play short and Bolyn third base. Junior Luke McBride will return to second base, and junior Luke Graft will return to center field. Shelton will spend time in the infield as well at first base and sometimes play out in right field.
Behind the plate, sophomore Trey Bodenheimer will step up into the catching role, and junior Stuart McCabe will back him up. McCabe will also be used as needed at second base, left field, and as a courtesy runner.
Morgan will spend time at mostly right field, but also when needed in the middle of the infield. Junior Kline Neuenschwander, who saw a bigger role with the team at the end of last season, will step up in the outfield this season.
Besides the depth, Goodmiller is also excited about the speed his team has.
“I think this is the best depth we’ve had at least since I’ve been here. And we have good team speed,” Goodmiller said. “That’s the thing I’m really excited about is the team speed we have, the baserunners that we have. Hopefully we can flip the lineup around and put some pressure on teams.”
The Knights will look to use that depth and speed to their advantage as they go through a challenging schedule both in and out of conference.
Goodmiller said Huntington North, East Noble, DeKalb, and Leo should all have great teams. He added that Columbia City is improving, Bellmont is a rivalry game and also a sectional opponent, and New Haven is always a well-coached team.
The Knights also play five area schools from the ACAC in Jay County, Heritage, Bluffton, Adams Central, and South Adams.
Goodmiller said it’s a challenging but familiar group of teams to play against.
“We play a good schedule. I think our conference is really strong,” Goodmiller said. “I feel like our schedule is strong, but I feel like we play schools that our kids know and they enjoy competing against them too.”
Norwell also added several new opponents outside the area to its schedule. The Knights will open the season with some round robin matchups against Lafayette Harrison and Jennings County on Saturday. They also added a doubleheader with Guerin Catholic, which could be a potential opponent later in the regional tournament.
The Knights will also get a chance to face Delta this year after having to cancel that matchup last season to complete their conference schedule. They will also head to Crawfordsville again to play Griffith, but a new team they could face down there is Franklin.
Winning a sectional and winning conference are on the top of Norwell’s list of goals for this season. Goodmiller said after their run to semi-state last year the expectations will be higher and more teams will be looking to beat them.
He said it will be important to take the season one game at a time, just like they did in their run last year.
“That was a big key with the guys last year. I don’t think they looked too far ahead. Once we got playing in the sectional, they just kind of focused on the next game,” Goodmiller. “I know this year we are probably going to have more of a target on our back.
“We will have our challenge, but you just keep trying to work to make yourself better and compete. I like working with these kids. They are good kids from good families, and they like to compete.”
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