Submitted Photo Warren senior Eric Dippold throws during an intrasquad game this spring.

Warren’s baseball team was “two games short” of qualifying for the District 10 playoffs a season ago.

Third-year head coach Andrew Morrison is adamant that making the playoffs is still the goal, despite losing 10 Dragons to graduation from a season ago.

“Any time you lose 10 seniors, there is definitely going to be a transition,” said Morrison, whose Dragons finished 6-13 last year. “One advantage we have is that we have four seniors coming back who will be in their third year as varsity starters. All four have been really good leaders so far this year, and we are counting on them to help out the younger guys who will be stepping into varsity roles.

“Our short-term goal is simple,” Morrison added. “We want to be a playoff team this year. That was also our goal last year and we fell two games short. We lost about half of our lineup, but that is not unique in our region. If you look at the other teams, they all lost quite a bit, too. If we play to our potential, I 100% believe we will be in the playoff mix this year.

“Long-term, our goal is to continue to provide a good experience for our kids,” added Morrison, who is assisted by Ed Baldensperger and Johnny White. “We want the kids to keep coming back every year and so far we have been successful in that regard. We want kids to look back at high school baseball as a positive experience in their lives. I think we have accomplished that so far, but the reality is winning a few more games would make it even better.”

Four of Warren’s experienced seniors are Gannon University-commit Brady Berdine (P, 2B, 1B), Konnor Hoffman (SS, C, P), Eric Dippold (3B, P) and Aidan Zdarko (OF, P).

“One big thing I’ve learned is that you don’t realize how valuable experience is until you have a little bit of it,” said Morrison. “I think any good coach is constantly trying to learn and adapt and I know that is what we are trying to do as a staff.”

Other seniors on the roster also include AJ Slattery (1B, P) and Andrew Bailey (OF).

“The biggest things we stress on a day-to-day basis are mental toughness and the ability to bounce back,” he said. “Every kid on our team is going to strike out and make an error this year at least once. Our success is going to be determined by how we respond. Putting your mistakes behind you and learning from them is how you grow. If we are able to grow this year, we can be a really dangerous team.”

Also on the roster are juniors Carter Cochran (INF, P), Jacob Franklin (INF) and Felix Valencia (OF, P); sophomores Kyle Dippold (3B), Elijah Snyder (C, P, INF), Brady Shene (INF), Collin Zdarko (OF, P), Tage Wyman (OF, P) and Zane Carlson (INF, P); and freshmen Kristyan Mancilla-Bertolami (OF), Nathan Klenowski (INF), Holden Demers (INF), Phillip Nickerson (OF), Bradey Chase (C), Zachary Peters (1B, OF), Landon Wood (OF) and Charlie Blum (OF, P).

“Pitching: all four of our returning starters pitch,” said Coach Morrison. “Brady (Berdine) has been our top pitcher for three years now and will be again. He’s continued to grow physically and athletically. He has the ability to be dominant at times this year. Konnor was second on the team in innings pitched last year; he’s going to throw a lot again this year. Aidan is another kid who has gotten quite a bit stronger. He looks really good on the mound. Eric (Dippold) was banged up and wasn’t able to pitch last year, but he threw a lot as a sophomore and even pitched varsity some as a freshman. We are excited to have him back out there. Carter Cochran, Eli Snyder, Collin Zdarko and Felix Valencia are all competing for mound time as well.

Eli Snyder is going to be the primary catcher, according to Morrison.

“It’s a big job for a sophomore, but he’s done a good job with the pitchers so far,” Morrison said. “Eli’s a really well-rounded ballplayer and can help us in multiple spots. Konnor can also catch and will likely see some time back there when Eli pitches. Bradey Chase is a freshman catcher who has improved a ton over the past few weeks and has a lot of potential.

Warren returns a lot of players who manned infield spots for a majority of its innings last year.

“Konnor will spend a lot of time at shortstop when he isn’t pitching. Brady Berdine can play second, first, or short. Eric is going to play more third base this year after spending a lot of time at second the last two years,” Morrison said. “Carter Cochran will be stepping into the varsity lineup and can play both corner spots. AJ Slattery, Brady Shene, Kyle Dippold and Jacob Franklin are all competing for time.

There will be a lot of competition for the outfield spots, according to Morrison.

“Aidan is going to be out there somewhere when he’s not pitching. The other spots are still in question as we sit here six days before the first game,” Morrison said. “Felix Valencia can really hit. He has come on defensively as well. Tage Wyman and Landon Wood are two younger kids who are really good athletes and could see time out there. Andrew Bailey is a senior who came back out for baseball this year who is competing for time out there as well.”

Team strengths include a solid top-half of the lineup and the pitching staff. Weaknesses may be an unproven bottom half of the lineup and inexperienced positions in the outfield.

Class 4A Warren will need to be strong in a region that includes Erie High (6A), McDowell (6A), Cathedral Prep (5A), Meadville (4A), Fort LeBoeuf (4A), General McLane (4A) and Corry (4A).

“Any time you play in a region with Prep and McDowell, those are the ‘teams to beat,’ said Morrison. “However, if we want to make the playoffs, it is important that we take care of business outside of those four games. As far as teams our size go, Meadville is always a really good program. We have the geographic rivalry with Corry and always seem to play crazy games with McLane. There will be no easy games in our region, same as always.

“Practice has gone well so far,” Morrison added. “It’s been a unique year in that we got to be outside for the first two weeks and then back inside right before games are supposed to start. We have been very focused on team defense this year.”