Look around at this year’s Brainerd Baseball team, and you’ll see a lot of unfamiliar faces. The team returns only two players who started on last year’s 21-5 team that lost in the first round of the state playoffs. But that doesn’t mean the expectations are any different for this year’s squad.

Despite losing most of last year’s team, this year’s squad refuses to call it a rebuilding year. And both coaches and players say it would be a disappointment if they didn’t make it to state. But they’ll have to rely on a different brand of baseball to make it back this season.

By — Justin Prince

Sports Director in Bemidji