Warren County HS Baseball preview

Warren County HS Baseball is coming off a great season in 2019. The team made it to the state quarter-final game where they suffered a tough 7-5 loss to Tabb High School. The Wildcats had a new head coach last year in Coach Tierney, and they also have a new head coach this year. New coach TJ Atlee, coming from Millbrook High School in Frederick County, said he is excited about the upcoming season and to be a part of the WCHS Baseball program.

Jackson Arnold returns for his senior season.

The team as a whole has many goals and so does the first-year head coach. He said, “I want to be better at the end of each day than we were at the start. I think if we can do that we will have a very successful season. This team made it to States last year, so since day one it has been my goal to build upon that groundwork that was laid out last year.” Coming into a different program makes him eager to get out every day and understand the players he has to work with. When asked about the players he noticed and the players he wants to be leaders he said, “The group of seniors and junior Bryce Post. We need Jackson Arnold, Caleb Heflin, and Jaden Longmire to be a solid 1-2-3 punch on the mound. We need Jarod Ebersold to be a wall behind the plate and call smart games. We need Alf (Aldolfo Pereyra) to bring that energy and enthusiasm for baseball every day. Post needs to build upon his All-State season from last year.” The Wildcats have six varsity players returning this upcoming season, but only three were starters last year.

The Wildcats play in a well-rounded region when it comes to baseball. Atlee says, “Just looking at the region on paper and the things I’ve heard from the coaching staff, I think Brentsville, Goochland, William Monroe, and Independence will be our stiffest competition.” The new program in the region, Independence, is expected to have a good season. They have athletes from around the Loudoun County area and will be solid competition when the season gets started.

February 24th was the first day of practice and since then the team has been working hard. Atlee says the first weeks have been “Great!” He also added, “I’ve tried to maintain some things that Coach Minch and Tierney did to be successful. I’ve also added in a few new spins on things. It’s been fun walking that line between maintaining the norm and making little changes to make this program my own. I really like this team and am excited to get to play the actual games!” The Wildcats would love to have a season like last year and want to work to get there.

The WCHS season opener is on March 16 at 6:00 PM in an away game versus the Handley Judges.