Baseball team has new look, attitude

The North Lake Blazer baseball team is nowhere near the squad that limped to a record of 11-34 last season.

While the record, as of Feb. 23, is a quite similar, 1-11, the faces and attitudes of the baseball team have gone through a major overhaul. Only three pitchers and three position players remain from the 2005 team.

Head Coach Corey Mercer believes that being able to bring back players with prior experience is important. "It's tough at the junior college level, because you only have guys for two years anyway. It's not a four-year school where you bring back guys you have already had for three or four years," he said.

Mercer admits that last year was a disappointment. "[The player's] attitudes weren't good. We just weren't a very good team," he said. The Blazer baseball team had trouble finishing games. North Lake lost seven, one-run games in a row.

The 2006 campaign is hoping to have a better end result. The team has better talent and chemistry. "We're better off than we were last year. And we got better at every position. Our pitching staff is much better all the way through," said Mercer.

The attitude of the entire team impresses him. "They work hard. You have to tell them to leave so that I can go home," he joked.

Mercer has one main goal for his North Lake baseball team this season. "We want to get better every day. If you keep getting better every day, you're going to be fine. By the end of the year, we're going to be pretty good," Mercer said.