>>SOUTHERN INDIANA — While many of the local programs are shuffling to fill major holes left in their overall lineup, Floyd Central baseball coach Casey LaDuke has something that makes his team different from the remaining local baseball teams.

Experience.

With his top presence on the mound returning in senior Jeffrey Thompson and the majority of his lineup, led by first baseman Eric Schmitt, back in the fold the Highlanders have been pegged by many local coaches as one of the top teams in both the Hoosier Hills Conference and Class 4A sectional races.

“Based on what’s returning and who people have back, Floyd Central has to be a favorite going into the year,” said Jeffersonville head coach Al Rabe. “I can’t name too many teams that bring back what they do in both pitching and offensively.”

Thompson’s return gives Floyd an anchor on the mound. The hard-throwing right-hander posted a 5-2 mark on the mound last season as Floyd finished the year 16-15 overall.

Schmitt had a standout season at the plate a year ago for Floyd, leading the squad in batting average.

“We have a lot of returning starters. Our strength will be our experience and as the new starters gain experience, hopefully we will be able to make a serious run at the conference and sectional championship,” Highlander head coach Casey LaDuke said. “We must improve offensively from last season. We believe our defense will be solid and our pitching staff will be strong.”



Also in Floyd County

NEW ALBANY

• HEAD COACH: Chris McIntrye (16th season)

• LAST SEASON’S RECORD: 26-5

• KEY RETURNEES: Sean Godfrey (Sr./OF); Simon Weber (Sr./C); Jeremy Juliot (Sr./P); Eric Burnett (So./1B); Jordan Striegel (So./SS)

• KEY NEWCOMERS: Josh Cart (Sr.; 1B/2B); Jacob Madden (Jr.; SS/3B); Clayton Poff (So./OF); Parker Robbins (Jr/P); Eric Gibson (Jr.; DH/C)

• OUTLOOK: The Dogs lost staff ace Phil Forbis from a year ago and will need Juliot to anchor what could be a young rotation. Offensively, Godfrey and Weber have been key contributors to New Albany for the past two seasons and should be the offensive leaders after batting .410 and .318 last season, respectively.

• MCINTYRE SAYS: “Right now, we are just looking for guys who will throw strikes. Obviously, we know what we will get with Juliot. But after that, there are a lot of questions marks. But we will give a lot of guys some opportunities and we will see who does the best job. We are very young, so this team has a lot of room to grow and continue to get better and better as the year goes along.”



CHRISTIAN ACADEMY OF INDIANA

• HEAD COACH: Rusty McCubbins (first year)

• LAST SEASON’S RECORD: N/A

• KEY RETURNEES: Evan Strong (Sr.; P/2B); J.B. Butner (Sr.; C/P); Brandon Stumler (Sr./1B); Paul DeVore (Sr.; P/CF); Tyler Stumler (So./LF)

• KEY NEWCOMERS: Nate Burns (So.; P/C/SS); Greg Laughlin (Fr.); Aaron Hayes (Fr.); Jason Schuur (Fr.)

• OUTLOOK: McCubbins joins CAI after serving as an assistant at St. Xavier, Waggener and Lanesville. But the Warriors have four senior starters back from last year’s sectional-winning squad. Burns, the son of first-year CAI athletic director Chris Burns, will fill one of the top two spots in the Warriors’ starting pitching rotation.

• MCCUBBINS SAYS: “Our four seniors are sort of the backbone of things. For the first few weeks, we’ll have freshmen getting varsity experience for the first time. But if they adjust to playing at this level, we have the ingredients for a good season overall.”



PROVIDENCE

• HEAD COACH: Scott Hornung (15th season)

• LAST SEASON’S RECORD: 18-10

• KEY RETURNEES: Anthony Denis (Jr.; P/OF); Ryan Dixon (Jr.; P); Spencer Corrao (Jr.; C)

• KEY NEWCOMERS: N/A

• OUTLOOK: Denis set a new Providence school record for batting average as a sophomore, batting .500 on the season as the Pioneers claimed the Class 2A sectional title. Dixon and Denis are expected to co-anchor the pitching staff as well for the Pioneers.

• HORNUNG SAYS: “A lot of our offense got experience a year ago as sophomores. But our guys must continue to develop at the plate. We had too many swings and misses last year and strikeouts were a problem throughout the lineup. As we grow more offensively, I think we can have another solid year overall.”