The Buena Vista University Baseball team is ready to get this 2019 season underway, coming off a 15 win and 23 loss 2018 season. The team also finished 2018 with 10 wins and 12 losses in conference play.  

With a six-seed finish in the conference tournament last year, the Beavers are looking to build upon that foundation. 

The team opened its 2019 season last weekend where it went 0-2 in non-conference play. This weekend, March 9-10, they travel to Topeka, Kan. for four games.  

One player who’ll prove key for the Beavers in the 2019 season is senior Noah Paper. Paper, who was injured last year with a torn labrum in his shoulder, is looking forward to bouncing back for his senior year. 

“The biggest thing was just getting healthy. Last year we had a young team and it helps that we have a lot of guys coming back this season. All of them have a lot to bring to the table.” says Paper. 

 Paper, alongside Head Coach Steve Eddie, has set big goals for the team and look to make waves in the American Rivers Conference all year. 

 “The biggest goal of course is to win a conference championship, but we need to just take it one day at a time,” says Paper. 

Despite the big goals planned for the BVU Baseball team, Paper and the rest of the squad are mostly looking forward to, “Just doing what we do.”  

Head Coach Steve Eddie and Pitching Coach Steve Sonka have faith in the Beavers and believe the conference title isn’t out of reach. 

“Our number one goal is to try and win a conference championship,” said Coach Eddie. “But right now, our short-term goals are to find our emotional leaders, the guys that we can rally behind when times are rough.”   

According to Eddie, staying in the top three in key areas will help set the team up for success. 

“To win the league we need to be top three in pitching, offense and defense, so if we are in the top three in all of those categories it should be a good year,” Eddie says. “We need to be able to score runs to take the load off our pitchers.” 

With the pitching rotation garnering focus from the coaching staff, Coach Sonka has been working the Beavers hard at the start of the year in order to prep them for a long season. 

“The most important thing for pitchers is being in good athletic shape. We do a lot of drills to try to gain velocity and to make the pitchers better athletes,” says Sonka. 

He also adds that the team does not have a designated ace yet. The number–one pitcher has not been named, but there’s a competitive nature between the Beavers to claim that spot. 

“Right now, we got three or four guys who could be in the running for the ace spot. I couldn’t tell you who it will be at the end of the season either,” says Sonka. 

Returning to the team after a year-long absence, Assistant Coach Joe Paletta rounds out the coaching trio. Acting as a substitute strength coach after the departure of former Director of Athletic Performance Ryder Weischedel, Paletta has worked the Beavers hard in the offseason.  

“We had a very good conditioning program this off season that helped everyone get ready for the start of this season,” says Eddie. 

With the season already underway and conference play beginning March 22 against Simpson, Buena Vista has everything to prove. Success will be defined in the end by the Beavers with the accomplishment of Paper’s one goal, “To put a ring on our fingers.”