Young Cyclones gained experience in 2016

There was much to learn for the young Cyclone baseball squad in 2016. They may not have accumulated the amount of success they wanted, but they put more wins on the board than the last two seasons and gained experience to propel them forward next year.

In Florida the season started out well in spring training, where the Cyclones went 7-3. Back in Illinois, however, weather made it difficult to practice or play on their home field. With a freshmen heavy starting roster, many of the players also needed more time to adjust to college-level playing and pitching, exposing offensive weaknesses. Overall the team went 13-32 and 3-18 in the Illinois Skyway Collegiate Conference. Last year the Cyclones had 8 wins overall and 9 wins in 2014.

Despite the rough run, Moraine Valley had some bright spots. In both regular season matchups with the always indomitable Kankakee Community College squad, the Cyclones played well and were able to split both series. When they faced each other in the first round of playoffs, Moraine Valley pushed the game into extra innings, but ultimately lost 7-6 to end the season. Righty Joe Lara (Lake View) emerged as the #1 pitcher after walking on in the spring. According to assistant Coach General McArthur III, he “outperformed our expectations.” Nolan Bullock (Rich Central) also was a solid addition, earning a nod to the All-Conference second team. Bullock batted .302 overall with 6 RBIs, 17 runs and 6 doubles.

“Most of our starters were freshmen so they gained valuable experience that they should be able to use next season, including our pitchers. We look forward to them being comfortable next year,” McArthur said. “The future is bright. We have many returning position players and pitchers as well as some new recruits to help fill spots where we needed more production. We plan to ramp up our fall season which will give the players more at-bats and more live situations to become familiar with as we move into the spring season.”