Northwood High baseball coach Rob Stuart likes his team’s chances. But he still has some question marks entering the start of the season this week. “I don’t know how we stack up against everybody,” said Stuart. “I’d like to think we’re pretty good. But I’m pretty sure everybody (in league) is just as good as we are. “And I’m not sandbagging at all. I’ve seen some of those teams play in the fall and winter league and they’re just as good as we are. So, it’s going to be really difficult. “I don’t think anybody is going to run away with it.”

Northwood finished 14-12 overall last year and was 8-7 and in third place in the Pacific Coast League. The Timberwolves lost to Temecula Valley, 15-1, in the opening round of the Division III playoffs.
 
Northwood is again expected to challenge for one of the top three spots this year. “It’s really hard to tell,” said Stuart. “Our scrimmage really didn’t do anything for us, other than to kind of tell the coaching staff we have to find a way to make practices much more intense. “I think our ability to problem solve and or just think quickly is not quite there. I guess that’s what the pre-season is for. I hope we can get squared away by league because I think the league is as strong as it’s ever been, from top to bottom.” The Timberwolves open the season Friday at 3 p.m. at Northwood against Rancho Alamitos in the opening round of the Newport Elks Tournament. The tournament continues through next week.

INFIELD “We look pretty solid,” said Stuart. Senior Adam Garza, who saw some time with the varsity last year, gets the start at first base. Junior Sean Parvin, a returner from last year, will play at second base. The shortstop will be senior Brian Ferrante, who Stuart said has been, “the biggest surprise in the whole program.” “We knew he was a good player last year, but he was a little unsure of himself,” said Stuart. “He is the most improved player I’ve ever seen.” The third baseman will be senior Jason Van Leuven, who played first base last year. Van Leuven batted .352 with 14 RBIs, eight doubles and one home run last year.

OUTFIELD Michael Bonder will be the starting center fielder. Sophomore Ben Owens will play right field and center field, playing right field when Bonder is not pitching. Bonder batted .444 with 19 RBIs and 18 runs scored last year. Collin Laymon, a senior, will play left field. Also seeing time in the outfield will be seniors Josh Gray, Ty Martell and Sean Krueger. The designated hitter will likely be senior Andy Nikolenko, a returning player from last year.
 
CATCHER Behind the plate will be senior Brett Ensman. Sophomore Paul Wagner is also expected to get some playing time. Stuart said that Jordan Watanabe, a junior, will likely be the starting catcher when he returns from an injury, hopefully by league. Watanabe had to have surgery after a broken leg, Stuart said.

PITCHING Bonder, senior Andrew Likens, junior Mike Hillman, who was the top pitcher on the junior varsity team last year and Adam Brown, a transfer from Tesoro, will lead the pitching staff. Likens was 4-3 with a 2.85 ERA last year. He had 34 strikeouts in 49 innings. Likens is expected to start in Friday’s game against Rancho Alamitos. The top reliever is expected to be Laymon, who was 3-0 with a 1.64 ERA and two saves. Van Leuven and Hillman will also be used as relief pitchers.

AREAS OF CONCERN “I think our ability to just stay within ourselves and to try and not hit the ball out of the park (is one),” said Stuart. “With some of our power guys, they have to realize that with runners on second and third and less than two outs, we got to put the ball in play and we can’t go for the home run every time. “I think we’re pretty disciplined, but we need to realize there are ways to manufacture runs.” The Timberwolves open league play on March 21 against University. University and Northwood also play another league game on March 24.