Grace Christian enjoyed a successful 2018 baseball season, winning its final nine games to finish 16-3. But graduation and a key injury left some holes, with the return of only four starters.
“When you start off with five new people, you don't know what you will get,” said coach Ralph Goss.
He knows what he will get with two of his veterans, seniors Alex Taylor and Grant Bontrager. Taylor was the staff ace a year ago, with a 2.66 earned run average and 50 strikeouts in 29 innings. He also batted .467.
Bontrager was also a standout pitching and hitting. He had a 3.55 ERA with 28 strikeouts in 21.2 innings and led the team offensively with a .519 average.
When not on the mound, Taylor will be at third and Bontrager at short.
The other two returning starters are senior Kyle Borntrager, who will be in the outfield, and junior Isaac Miller, who moves from first base to catcher. Wes Agnew did the catching as a sophomore last year and batted .453, but will miss the season with an eye injury.
“He's still part of the team,” Goss said.
The Eagles are counting on younger players moving up from the junior varsity to fill out the lineup. “You can't talk about them until they actually do something,” Goss said. “We have to work on our all around game, offense and defense.”
The Eagles begin the season with a home game Feb. 28 against New Summit of Jackson.
