Last year, the Chiefs varsity baseball team finished their season with a 14-17 record. The 2026 baseball season comes with a new field that the players have to adjust to.

Returning Varsity players are: Noah Ashley (senior), Jackson Heeb (junior), Know Lofstad (junior), Daniel Slusher (junior), Nico Maldonado (senior), Mason Morningstar (senior), Kyle Marhefka (senior), Will Downing (junior), JD Raney (junior), Jon Lewis (senior), Drew Rachels (junior).

The rookies include: Cannon Fralick (freshman), Don Wellman (senior), Sky Sakuma (freshman), Rishith Nalagarla (junior), Elijah Caldwell (freshman), Gavin Dykees (freshman), Caleb Pearson (freshman), Miles Hanley (freshman), Jaiden Patel (sophomore), Jacob Ashley (sophomore).

On Feb. 5, the Chiefs were able to feel out the new field during their scrimmage against East Coweta. Scrimmages shed light on issues in gameplay as well as highlighting strong players.

“It’s hard to see signs. So when a pitcher throws the wrong pitch, it’s difficult. We’ve got to get some stickers for our fingers to make it better to see to get on the same page. But, we have a lot of

potential. We’ll get better as a team. It’s our first time playing together, so I think we’ll improve a lot,” junior Drew Rachels said.

“Cannon Fralick came on strong with a double in the gap. Gavin Dykees threw the ball very well on the mound. Noah Ashley did really well. Jackson Heeb swung the bat well today and played first. Caleb Pearson ran the base as well. We had a lot of guys that showed that they could play at this level,” Coach Avery Roth said.

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Amaya Diaz

Noah Ashley

Another modification to the Varsity team is the influx of freshmen brought onto the team.

“I feel honored [to wear this jersey]. I’m just here to prove myself that I’m able to play on this team,” freshman Gavin Dykees said.

“I like that we have more young guys on the team. They’re all pretty good,” Lewis said.

With the Chiefs losing 2-9, the game served to identify where the team needs to tighten up before the regular season begins.

“Honestly, I feel like we have hit the ground running exactly where we left off last year, which is a positive, and it’s huge. Obviously, we have a lot of improvements. We got to get better on the mound. We got to get better at the plate. Defensively, we had a few errors and mishaps. That’s where we want to improve,” Roth said.

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