Beyond the fact that the 2020 baseball season could be held despite the COVID-19 pandemic is encouraging news that Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn's numbers are growing.

H-M-S had just 13 players out for baseball in 2019, barely enough to field a varsity team and too few to play a JV schedule. That's not the case in 2020. The preseason roster numbers 20, which includes a combined 16 sophomores, freshmen and eighth graders.

As a result, H-M-S will play JV games along with varsity contests this year. That's good news to first-year head coach Jeremy Gloden.

"Having JV is a really huge stepping stone for this program," he said. "We have quite a young group. They are guys we can build on. I've seen it from Day 1."

Six letter winners return from the 2019 squad which compiled a 4-17 record. Samuel Haack is the only senior. Junior letter winners are Ben Haack, Sam Heyn and Dawson Schiphoff, and sophomore returnees are Keaton Graves and Jordan Ortega.

Gloden said the Hawks' defense looks promising. On offense he is emphasizing "small ball" to advance runners and using speed to generate runs.

"We're really working on hitting to make more contact. Our focus is to make contact and put the ball in play," he said.

Pitching will be a key for H-M-S, which graduated its four leading pitchers. Five returnees with varsity experience last year only pitched a combined 20 innings.

Gloden said last week he has seven or eight players penciled in for defensive positions. Younger players will need to "step up and grow up" to round out the lineup. How well an athlete can contribute offensively will help him decide who fills those spots.

"If a player can contribute on offense, we'll find a spot for them defensively," Gloden said. "I'm going to put the people out there who can put us in the best position to win."

Having played at Spalding Catholic and coached at South O'Brien, Gloden knows the War Eagle Conference and believes its reputation is deserved.

"It's one of the best small school baseball conferences in the state," he said.

With their entire lineup returning, Remsen St. Mary's (1A No. 1) is the "odds-on favorite" to repeat as conference champion. Gloden also sees West Sioux (2A No. 3) and Hinton (1A No. 9) as strong contenders.

SENTINEL-NEWS FILE PHOTO

Dawson Schiphoff is one of three returning junior letter winners this year

H-M-S finished with a 2-8 record in WEC games last year, tied for eighth place. H-M-S's abbreviated 2020 schedule includes 10 conference games and non-conference contests against George-Little Rock and West Bend-Mallard.

"We tried to find a couple of teams outside the conference to compete with," Gloden said. "I'm really happy with how it worked out. Twelve games are perfect for our timeframe."

His goal for the Hawks is to be playing their best baseball when postseason competition begins on July 11.