When Normal West opens its regular season next week on the baseball diamond, Coach Christopher Hawkins will be working with one of the youngest and most inexperienced teams he's had in his nearly 30 years of coaching.
Coach Hawkins had a strong group of seniors from last year's team, and unfortunately for him, only a handful of underclassmen saw playing time at the varsity level.
There are a few sophomores that the team will rely on this year that Coach Hawkins is very excited about. He says this will be the youngest team he's probably had in his nearly 30 years at Normal West.
On top of being young, Coach Hawkins indicates he is going to be without his top returning pitcher, who is down to Tommy John Surgery. The hope is he can maybe be in the lineup as a DH later this spring.
The Wildcats will be dropping down to 3A this year. Coach Hawkins hopes that while the record may not end up where it traditionally does, his hope is that his team is battle-tested through a rigorous non-conference slate and Big 12 Conference schedule to turn some heads when the postseason arrives.
