With the end of winter sports comes a new wave of sports. One of the more successful sports in the past few years has been baseball. The team looks toward making another run at the state tournament.

The Blue Jays have made it to the state tournament three years straight now. The team competes very aggressively during the postseason but something is just holding them back from getting to the championship game.

“Going into the state tournament, not an 8 seed, having to play the best team in the state would help a lot,” head baseball coach, Andrew Biery said.

If the Blue Jays can finish the regular season with an improved record, the chances of them making a run at state increases dramatically. The 2017 team can do something no Blue Jay baseball team has done yet, a state title.

The team lost much of their leadership with the departure of last year’s seniors.

“Leadership is something you’re going to always want to lean on,” Coach Andrew Biery said.

Four of the nine starting players from last year were seniors, and three of those four seniors signed to play in college. The look and feel of this year’s team is completely different. This year’s team contains six seniors and several juniors that had varsity and state experience from previous years.

Even though the team lost those seniors and leaders, the chemistry is at an all-time high. This group of seniors and juniors have been playing together since elementary school and are used to playing with each other. The players who have moved into the state have also mended into the mold of the team very well. With the system that Coach Biery is implementing this year, they need to rely on each other more than before.

This year, Coach Biery is starting what is called, “The Blue Jay Cup.” Varsity and JV have both been mixed up and split into two teams; the black team and the blue team. The blue team is led by senior Tim Bell, and the black team is led by senior Charlie Peyla. Each team has opportunities to win and lose points. For example, if a player on the blue team is late to class, they team loses 25 points. The team with the most points at the end of the year is rewarded. This system requires communication and unity. Hopefully, this system can bring the team closer than ever.

“All the seniors have been here for a long time, and we are going to try and show the underclassmen what it means to rely on each other in order to win,” center fielder, Pedro Vasquez said.

High expectations are set for the sluggers of Junction City. Like every young team, it will be a work in progress but the rewards are unimaginable.

“I feel something special with this team, and I want to take advantage of that,” Coach Biery said.