Twins boast veteran roster
The Glacier Twins hope their depth of
veterans can lead this year’s team back into the playoffs. Nearly
the entire roster consists of 18-year-olds, and most of them are
returning players.
“I think we look pretty good,”
second-year coach Lindsay Fansler said. “We’re going to rely on our
experience to lead us. It will help to have some consistency with
the coaching staff to build on last year. I think we know what it
takes to win in the league.”
Cody Hill looks strong on the mound,
Fansler noted, and will lead the pitching rotation. Zach Maassen
returns to the mound after some good outings last summer.
“He’s been working out and hopes to
come back a little stronger,” Fansler said.
Jeremy Nielsen, Connor Donahue, Devyn
Rocker and Issac Benezio will round out the staff.
Fansler expects the Twins to put up
some big numbers on the scoreboard, led by veteran hitters Cody
Elek, Kyler Blades and Carl Talsma.
“We have the maturity to take advantage
of younger pitchers, and we need to score runs against those guys,”
Fansler said.
In the field, Blades will be at
shortstop again, with Talsma on third. Fansler expects errors to be
way down.
“We should be mature enough to not make
stupid mistakes that can cost us some ball games,” Fansler
said.
The roster is a little lean with only
12 players, Fansler said, “but they’re all good athletes — everyone
will have to contribute.”
Four players are from Columbia Falls,
seven from Whitefish and one from Kalispell.
The Twins open the season April 26 at
Mission Valley. Their home opener is May 1 against Bozeman, and
they start conference play May 25 against Kalispell.
The Black and White scrimmage will take
place this Saturday at 3 p.m. at Memorial Park.
Roster
Jeremy Nielsen, Whitefish
Carl Talsma, Whitefish
Connor Donahue, Whitefish
Jimmy Jumper, Glacier
Devyn Rocker, Col Falls
Chris King, Columbia Falls
Kyler Blades, Whitefish
Cody Hill, Whitefish
Cody Elek, Columbia Falls
Geoff Streeter, Whitefish
Zach Maassen, Whitefish
Isaac Venezio, Col Falls