KITTITAS Kittitas baseball coach Eric Sorensen had to think a bit when asked to describe the type of season he hopes to have in 2017.

Its not a rebuilding year, he said, after contemplating the question. I think its going to be a year that we can feed off of from last year.

The Coyotes came ever so close to a fifth-straight state tournament appearance. Instead, a loss to Liberty Bell in a loser-out 2B district tournament game ended their season.

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I felt like we didnt achieve what we wanted to, Sorensen said. Districts left a bad taste in everybodys mouth and I remind them from the first day of practice that we have a whole lot more to accomplish.

Creating chemistry

This season, the Kittitas coaching staff has made it a point to create more team chemistry early on, starting with more senior leadership.

The Coyotes feature seven seniors in Travis Ledgard, Tommy Ott, Ben Weber, Jerome Lael, Jace Moen, Dylan Byers and Hunter Wallace.

Sorensen said it is going to be important for them to set an example for the kind of baseball club they want to become.

We have a bunch of old guys and then we have a bunch of young guys that will be our future, Sorensen said. We need to have good leadership to teach these new guys what it is about.

After weeks of being forced inside and watching their baseball diamond slowly thaw out, the Coyotes have been working on team building exercises to create one cohesive unit.

It can always be better, Sorensen said. If we arent a cohesive brotherhood it doesnt matter how good you are. We are nine guys working as one.

Finding replacements

This past Monday, Kittitas finally got its first taste of a damp field when it was able to practice on the elementary school grounds, but there were a few familiar faces missing.

Over at least the last few seasons, pitcher Jaden Meador, catcher Druw Ledgard and outfielder Eli Eilers have been cornerstones in the program, but they graduated last spring.

Sorensen found suitable replacements including a three-man pitching rotation made up of seniors Webber, Ott and Travis Ledgard.

We are going to miss Jaden, Sorenson said. He was a guy you could trust for a Game 1, but the nice part with these three is take your pick. Over the course of a weekend we can have two good starters and a third that can come in and shut the game down.

Although each could pitch on any given day, each has his own identity.

I have big shoes to fill, but I think the three of us are going to make a big difference, Travis Ledgard said.

Balanced lineup

Kittitas also will feature a balanced lineup that will have Weber at the top to Tyson Dekoning in the middle to junior Nick Meador.

Another bench player looking to contribute is freshman Justin Hudson.

We just have guys who can get on base and we will have an overall better lineup, Weber said.

The Coyotes start their season this afternoon against Selahs junior varsity squad, but throughout the upcoming weeks their opponents will not be as familiar.

Kittitas entered the brand new Eastern Washington Athletic Conference league this year, and although DeSales has been a perennial powerhouse by winning 11 state championships since 2000, Sorensen said there is going be some great competition.

We want to have the first league title for this new league, and I think if we dont make it out of districts, we wont be satisfied, Sorensen said.

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Kittitas baseball promotes more team chemistry, senior leadership for 2017 season - Daily Record-News