Winter is moving out, and that means baseball season is moving in. Keep a look out for the Panthers as they make their debut to continue a stretch of greatness. The head coach, coach Laub, is ready to get the ball rolling this year. With the loss of six seniors last season, they have lots of new players taking over different positions.
Last year, their record was 24-4 and everyone is wondering if they will be able to continue such an impressive record. “Yes, but I don’t think it will come as easy due to new players and position changes,” said junior Zack Male. This makes a lot of sense with all of the younger kids needing to step up and fill in roles that were solidified for years.
An important factor of success is the Jungle, Saucon’s spirited student section. Lots of students come to games and give their support which helps to cheer on and support the baseball team.
One issue with the Jungle is that they don’t always show up to support the baseball team. “No, the jungle just doesn’t come to the baseball games really,” said senior Ray Matey on whether or not he expected the Jungle to show up this season. It seems that if the Jungle won’t be showing up, it will be up to the players on the bench to handle the cheering themselves.
Since the Jungle wasn’t there a lot last year, the boys are used to relying on their own guys for support. Everyone on the team will play a role, especially against rival teams like Southern Lehigh and Bangor.
They both lost to and beat these teams last year so a good game is expected this season. It is questioned whether or not the Panthers will be able to compete with these teams this season. “I think that even though we struggled with these teams last year, they too have lost some personnel and if we play to our abilities we can beat these rival teams,” said junior Carter Bidwell. He makes a good point because they lost to Bangor in the playoffs but beat them in the regular season, and then lost to Southern Lehigh during the regular season but won in the playoffs.
All in all, the absence of the seniors from last season, the absence of the Jungle, and the addition of competitive teams down the road, the Panthers are in for a promising season.
