The Mt. Pulaski Hilltoppers boy's baseball team finished fourth in the state last year in Class 1A and with a good number of players from that team returning, early practices are already showing the determination to return to Peoria in the spring of 2022.

Coach Joel Washko says obviously the bulwark of last year's team was Drew Martin who is now at Heartland Community College playing baseball but he's really excited about the young players that were contributors last year that return for 2022.

Coach Washko says replacing all the things Martin could do on the mound, in the field and with the bat is going to have to be a team effort but he he is confident in this group of players to do that.

According to Coach Washko, the little things are what makes his program stand out. He believes the emphasis on things like base running and fielding and pitchers throwing strikes are what make high school programs successful.

The Hilltoppers won its season opener Monday with a 5-2 win over Central A&M and had its Tuesday game with Pawnee rained out. They return to action Thursday at Pawnee and a Friday game with Blue Ridge.