The baseball season is just under way, and Norwalk players said they are looking forward to a great year. 

“I expect this to be a fairly good team,” said Josh Pins, a senior at Norwalk who is a catcher for the team. “I don’t know how the freshmen are going to play, but if they do good, then that will be nice.” 

The biggest thing that the team could improve on is hitting the ball, according to Pins. He said that Norwalk lost a bunch of key games by one run last year because of the lack of hitting. 

In total, Norwalk lost by a single run nine times in one single year. Norwalk lost by one run to ADM, Bondurant-Farrar, Carlisle, Indianola, North Polk, Oskaloosa and Waukee Northwest, and lost by one run twice to Grinnell. 

“I think we have a chance to be pretty good this year,” said Cole Wardlow, a junior at Norwalk who is a pitcher and a second-baseman. “We lost a couple [of] seniors last year, but I think we got some talented juniors and seniors [this year].” 

The seniors who left last year were Aidan Kane, Ashton Stream, DJ Harris, Gabe Johnson, Ian Fisher, and Jackson Campbell. Wardlow said that the people who graduated last season will be missed, but he is also looking forward to “making new memories with teammates.” 

Briley Purcell, a junior at Norwalk who is a pitcher and outfielder, said baseball games are fun even when you are in the dugout. 

“I like being in the dugout cheering,” Purcell said. “I also like chirping [at the opposing team].”

Purcell said he has high hopes for freshmen Colton Moore and Rhylee Schmidt.

“They’re both good,” Purcell said. “I think they both deserve to play. They’ve [both] been working hard.”

The Norwalk Baseball Team’s next home game is against the Ballard Bombers at 7:30 p.m. May 28.