By Michael Moreci
After five consecutive seasons of winning 20 games or more and capturing last season’s 2A championship, it would be hard not to rank South Spencer No. 1 preseason (as the Indiana High School Baseball Coaches Association did). While it’s hard to discount a team with such a pedigree, the Rebels may be entering their most challenging season in years.
“We were a senior loaded team last year,” coach Brian Kuester said. “We’ll be inexperienced in a lot of places, but that’s part of the game, part of the fun of it.”
The Rebels graduated nine seniors last season, eight of whom were starters. And if that weren’t enough, two of their top seniors—LHP-1B Blake Monar (.516 BA, 10 2B, 3 3B, 2 HR, 37 RBI) and SS Keith Haaff (.455 BA, 10 2B, 3 3B, 32 RBI)—were suspended for the first four games of the season for playing on their Legion team too deep into the summer.
When they return, Monar and Haaff will be relied upon to spearhead South Spencer’s offensive attack. Last season, Monar batted .512 with 9 doubles and 37 RBI; Haaff hit .449 with 10 doubles and 30 RBI.
The offense will also see contributions from senior C Zevon Adkisson who saw only limited action last season. Junior OF Jarod Daming (.294 BA, 11 RBI), who started a third of the season on varsity, also returns.
In addition to being the Rebels’ big bat, Monar will also anchor the pitching staff. Last season, Monar went 9-0 with a 0.69 ERA. He struck out 81 over 60 innings. He’ll be followed by junior RHP Xyan Adkisson.
What has Kuester concerned is getting off to sluggish start as all the pieces of his team come together. Being state champs means the Rebels will have a target on their back, which may cause some problems early on.
“Most teams know we were senior loaded last season,” Kuester said. “This year, we’re pretty young, but we don’t use that as an excuse. As the season goes on, I think we are going to improve by leaps and bounds.”