With the brutal winter finally subsiding and the snow having melted at last, it’s finally time for America’s Pastime. Edina High School’s Varsity Baseball team has gotten off to a great start this season. Although they didn’t make it to State last year, they’ve come back ready to go all the way this season.

Last season, the boys started off strong but hit turbulence halfway through. “We had a really good start to the year, and then when we hit the halfway point it was kind of up and down because the Lake [Conference] is so competitive, but overall just being able to compete against a ton of really talented kids is always nice,” senior Matt Nunn said.

This season, the team is already set up for success. “We have a good, solid team. There are no weak spots this year,” Nunn said. The group also has good chemistry and gets along well–two important aspects of any team sport. “We’ve all gelled pretty well,”  Nunn said. His teammates agree that the team is tight-knit. “It’s been really fun so far. I think the whole team is coming together and we all really like each other. I hope it’s going to be a good season,” junior Andrew Enck said.

The team is primed to do well this year and to carry that success into the future with a strong group of underclassmen. “We have two sophomores on the team this year, Jonathan Bunce and Noah Meffert. They’re both very good and I think they have a bright future,” Enck said. Having two sophomores on the roster isn’t a common occurrence. “Usually if we have a sophomore it’s just one,” Nunn said. Despite their age, the two are both highly respected by their teammates. “Obviously they earned their spot and they have a right to be there,” Enck said.

Unfortunately, poor weather disrupted the early season’s game schedule. Now, the league is scrambling to make up missed games. “This week (week of April 23) we’ve had five games, which we normally wouldn’t have, and they’re all on the road so it’s affected the coaching staff,”  Nunn said. However, the team is unwilling to let this compromise their season. “We’ve just had to make adjustments. Nothing too major,” Nunn said. The team has made the best of the situation. “We’ve got a lot of good practices in,” Enck said. Moving forward, “it’s gonna be kinda chaotic but you just gotta have a good mindset and be ready to go every day,” Enck said.

Given their strong roster and start this year, the team has high hopes. “Our goal this year is to hopefully make it to State and I think we have a good group to do it with,” Nunn said. They’ve got a simple plan for getting there. “Playing good defense, having good at-bats and pitching well” is going to be the recipe for success this year, Nunn said. If the team wants to move on, they’ll have to “keep playing the way we have and win our section,” Enck said. While it’ll be no easy feat, he remains optimistic. “That’s not going to be easy because our section is going to be tough, with Eden Prairie and Minnetonka both going to be very good this year. We’re going to have to get by them but I think we can do it… I know everybody’s excited for the year,” Enck said.