BY ELIJAH SMITH (’18)

Spring is upon us and that means baseball is starting to get into swing. The Blue Aces have many new faces in the program but are returning starters from last season.

With a whole new coaching staff, the team has a new mindset going into this season. The coaches have been preaching getting to states since they have arrived to Granville. In the offseason the team was selling baseball wristbands that say “HP 35” which means Huntington Park and 35 miles away. Huntington Park is where they play the state championship games. The coaches are constantly reminding them of how close states are.

“Coach has two goals for us, one is to win the league and the other is to win state,” junior Justin Carson said.

The team returns some key seniors. Clay Piatt and Parker Tietz have major pitching roles this season. Jake and Jack Peterson will likely start and be key in the Blue Aces’ success.  Senior Slugger Brandon Anderson is going to be a big hitter for this years team, along with TJ Carney-Debord playing first base this year for the Aces.

“They provide us with a spark (seniors) that the team didn’t have last year, they push us harder and harder every day” junior Grant Ghiloni said.

The junior class is talented, led by ace pitcher Justin Carson who had a .25 ERA last year. This is his third season as a varsity pitcher and he will need to lead the rest of the inexperienced bullpen. Grant Ghiloni moved in from Lakewood this year, adding more depth to the infield. Coming from a talented Lakewood team last season it will be interesting to see how he fits into the new Granville System. Other juniors, Grant Porterfield and Grant Foster will also see their first varsity action this season.  

Very talented underclassmen will make key contributions to the Aces team this year. Grant Van Winkle is a freshman who played for a nationally recognized team last year, and is receiving interest from multiple division one colleges. I expect him to play a lot this season. Sophomore Nate Stone is returning this year and will be one of the Aces power hitters. He will be called on to spark some offense for the team.

Granville has a tough LCL to go up against, Lakewood and Licking Valley are two difficult teams that the Aces will play this year. Junior Grant Ghiloni transferred in from Lakewood and it is safe to say that is going to add a little more importance when the team faces the Lancers.

“There is very bad blood, Lakewood doesn’t like me very much” Ghiloni said.

With a combination of senior leadership and young talent, Granville looks to be a favorite for LCL champs if they can put all the moving pieces together.