Swingin’ start
April 28, 2022
As the baseball season approaches for the Saints, this year will have the same goals on new ground. Just like every team, the end goal for the Xavier Boys Baseball Team is to win it all. With winning comes hard work to achieve that goal. The Saints have been putting in the work every day leading up to season. Coach Dan Halter, Xavier Varsity Baseball Head Coach, is excited for the 2022 season. Halter mentions how he is not worried about playing on the new Xavier baseball field, which was recently renovated thanks to private donations. “The new field itself won’t make us more successful but if we come to work every day with good habits it will help us. We’ll be able to get our infielders their daily work every day regardless of previous rain and get true hops,” Halter said. “As our seniors know, we’re big on getting tons of reps in on practice days and game day mornings so it will help.” Returning to a new field will not change the game plan for the boys. With the same boys who over came playing on a different field last year, they will be successful despite the field they play on. Andy Kram, a senior who was a part of the Saints baseball team that placed third at state, is ready for the season to start. “We have been practicing all off-season to prepare for a strong year,” Kram said. “I think we will play better with our new field because it is our senior season and we want to end with a state championship at home.” Being a senior and having it be the last time in a Saints uniform has given this group of boys motivation to finish on top. Drew Proskovec, a senior who plans to further his baseball career at the University of Iowa, is ready to meet his end goal. “My goals are to have fun with all the guys, to go out and compete for the win,” Proskovec said. The Saints have been practicing for about two months and have started up spring games. This gives the younger boys experience with the older boys. “I’m extremely excited about this season. We have a great group of seniors who are hungry and know how we want to do things,” Halter said. “They’ve been putting in work all winter and spring. Our junior and sophomore classes have big numbers with a lot of guys who love baseball.” Carlos Baez, a junior for the Saints this year who has been putting in the work to help the Saints be successful, says his thoughts on the season. “I want to help the team as much as possible and do my part so I can be ready for my senior year to hopefully win a state championship,” Baez said. “We lost a lot of talent this year because of the previous seniors but we have plenty of talent this year with the seniors and juniors.” The Saints will take on Waterloo West for their first home game on May 16. Mark the calendar now. This will not be something to miss out on!