By Mark Carpenter
People’s Defender
After a disappointing 2022, campaign, Coach Rob Meade and his North Adams Green Devils baseball squad are looking to rebound and flip the script this spring. The Devils finished at just 7-13 last spring, losing in the Division III sectional finals to the Piketon RedStreaks.
The North Adams squad lost a pair of key players to graduation in Brady Lung and Lukas Roush, but will rely on the return of seven starters,including a strong junior class, to bolster this year’s troops., giving Coach Meade the experience that a lot of clubs long for. On the other hand, even with a large roster, Meade sees his 2023 team’s biggest weakness is a lack of depth at certain positions and his team defense, something that let them down numerous times last spring.
“I expect that our team will be competitive this season,” says Coach Meade. “We have those seven starters returning and I expect them to be the major contributors to the team. We had a core group of guys that were regular participants in our offseason workouts and I believe that will pay off during the season.”
“For us to be successful as I think we can be, we have to eliminate frequent mistakes that we’ve made on defense. Giving away outs has been our Achilles Heel for the last few seasons.”
The Devils opened their season on Monday night at one of their favorite spots to play, the VA in Chillicothe, when they battled the Southeastern Panthers. Southern Hills Athletic Conference action began on Tuesday with a trip to Whiteoak. North Adams has one of the most well-kept and maintained baseball facilities in southern Ohio and they will be on that home diamond on Friday, March 31, hosting the Lynchburg-Clay Mustangs.
The 2023 North Adams baseball roster includes:
Seniors- Connor Rhoden, Tyler Reed, Landon Swayne, Nathan Parks, Mason Groves
Juniors- Kelby Moore, Logan Shupert, Ethan Taylor, Easton Daulton, Caleb Rothwell, Asher Young
Sophomores- Connor Young, Ryan Reed
Freshman- Kaleb Eldridge, Colin Tolle, Cooper Roush
Assistant Coaches- Dillon Davis, Matt Young, Trey Meade