Field of seniors to lead Wildcat baseball team

The Mount Si Wildcats baseball team is retooling this year after suffering huge graduation losses last year. Coach Gary McGregor is looking for a middle-of-the pack finish for his team this season in the conference.

Last year, the Wildcats made it to the first round of the KingCo Conference playoffs, but were defeated by Sammamish, a team they had beaten twice during the regular season. They finished the season with a record of 12-9, good enough for third going into the playoffs.

"We have 12 seniors [on the team]," said McGregor. Of those seniors, several will contribute heavily to the Wildcats' success. They include: pitcher/outfielder Bryce Kaestner, pitcher/infielder Nick Harpel and infielder Jeremy Bess.

Catcher Brandon Sales tops the list of freshmen to watch this season. Other players to watch, according to McGregor, are sophomore pitcher/outfielder Alex Smart, sophomore pitcher/infielder Jordan Lettau and junior pitcher/outfielder Nick Kirschner.

McGregor, though, stressed that despite the large number of seniors, most do not have a lot of varsity experience, which might be a concern.

In KingCo this year, McGregor thinks Issaquah and Newport will finish at the top of the conference. Both of those teams, Newport in particular, have been very good for a long time.

McGregor is entering his third year at the helm of the Wildcats and this year he has some new faces as assistants. Warren Sheldon will be coaching the JV team. Jeff Sattler will be assisting with varsity and Jerry Cabe will be coaching the "C" team.

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