On Friday, Feb. 13, Park’s baseball team will kick off their season in Dallas, Texas, during the Dallas Christian Round Robin tournament. During this time, more than 15 athletes will make their first appearance as Pirates. 

Last season the men finished 19-25 (12-15 in the AMC Conference) and lost in the quarter-finals of the conference tournament.

As for this spring 2015 season, Assistant Coach Brian McRae already has one main goal in place.

“To make the conference tournament and NAIA playoffs,” he said in an email interview.

Due to the large amount of graduates last season, the coaching staff has had their hands full with recruiting new players to fill those empty positions. In total, 18 new athletes have been recruited for the season.

“Our roster has a good mix of players from the Midwest, West Coast, Latin America and Canada,” said McRae in an email interview. “We recruit a very broad area.”

One of those recruits is Canadian KJ Courtney. Courtney, freshman and secondary school education major, is one of the 13 who will take mound as a pitcher this season. However, pitching is a relatively new position for Courtney.

“I haven’t always been a pitcher,” said Courtney. “Only the last couple of years I started pitching. (Before) I was a third baseman and right fielder.”

“We are very young on the mound,” said McRae. “So, our pitching staff will have to learn quickly before our 27 conference games start in March.”

The first conference game will be in St. Louis on Friday and Saturday, March 6 and 7, against the Harris-Stowe Hornets.

The Pirates will compete in 16 games before they play on Comfort Field Tuesday, March 10, against MidAmerica Nazarene University.

“The advantages of playing on the road so much before our first home game is that we get to play in better weather and we get to bond as a team on the overnight trips,” said McRae.

That bonding is one of the many things Courtney is excited for as the season makes way.

“I’m really looking forward to spending time with the team…getting to know guys better,” said Courtney.

“On the field we all joke around together, nobody seems to have a problem with anybody so I think it would be kind of cool to see if that chemistry transfers off the field like when we’re going to team dinners and stuff like that. Because those were some of the best memories I’ve had with some of my other travel teams.”

Another new recruit is Junior Outfielder Blake Sellers who will walk on this season.

“I found Park,” said Sellers. “I contacted the coach and said I wanted to try out and asked how does that process work?”

Now a Pirate athlete, Sellers said he is eager to see the relationship potential as well.

“There are a lot of new people,” said Sellers. “me being one of them so I’m excited to see how the newer and (junior college athletes) mesh together…with the older returning group.”

As far as goals, Courtney would like to see the baseball team make a new name for itself this season.

“We’re just trying to get back the reputation that I think Park deserves,” he said.

Courtney also said he is confident that with the strong work ethic within each athlete, the Pirates can accomplish this goal.

The Pirates home opener will be at 1 p.m. Tuesday, March 10, against MidAmerica Nazarene University.