The Windsor baseball team hopes to change their fortunes this season.

Last season, the Owls went 5-14. While the Owls struggled at times, the record may have been a bit deceiving. The Owls lost five games by one run.

Head coach Jeff Young said, “We were very competitive last year losing four games in the bottom of the seventh inning and several others by a run or two.  If we can hit better than last year and be more mentally tough, then we will produce more wins.”

The Owls open their season at 4 pm today at CBC in the opening game of the Troy Tournament.

Senior Carter Schmutzler said, “I think the team will do a lot better this year if we can keep a positive attitude and mentally stay into the season and gain confidence.”

The Owls will lean heavily on standout pitcher Connor Hartmann. The junior was 2-1 last season with a 1.68 earned run average.

Hartmann said, “I think this year we’ve made a huge improvement in the depth of our pitching. It’s really important to have more than just a couple guys you can hand the ball to and expect them to do their job, especially when you’re playing three or more times per week.”

The Troy Tournament is always a difficult test for the Owls because they will face much larger schools throughout the tournament. The difficult regular season is designed to help the Owls prepare for conference and their district tournament.

Hartmann said, “I think this year’s team is a group that has the potential to win some big games. As long as we’re locked in and believe we can compete with everybody, I think we should pile on quite a few regular season wins to go along with a really good shot to come out on top of our district.”