Staff file photo / Brian Yauger Mathews senior Alex Nicholson throws a pitch last season against Bristol.

After an unexpected and early exit from last season’s tournament, the Mathews baseball team is looking for redemption.

With 11 seniors on the roster and no shortage of talent, the Mustangs are not only looking to avenge their 2022 season, but surpass their 2021 year that was led by a lot of the same core.

It was a tumultuous year that ended sooner than hoped, but having their season end prematurely served as a lesson heading into this year.

“A lot of these guys were a significant part of our district championship team in 2021. Last year obviously, we hoped to defend the title and whatnot,” Mathews coach Jared Terlecky said. “We were league champs too, but we had just a ton of adversity. We lost an assistant coach, passed away right on the field. We had seven or eight of the nine starters last year miss time to injury. Pulled groin, sore arms, elbows, twisted ankles, shoulders, all kinds of stuff seemed to happen last year, and we got through it and we were able to win a league championship which was pretty good.

“I think if the guys learned anything from last year, it’s that when you get to the state tournament for baseball, you don’t get to play a series, it’s one game like the World Baseball Classic. It’s great in a way because anybody can beat anybody and that’s what happened last year. We got knocked out of the tournament earlier than what I think a lot of the kids were expecting, and I hope that it left us hungry for this year.”

That attitude of unfinished business and an insatiable hunger has already shown itself during the offseason workouts. One senior, Heydon Matheny, said as much on the first day of practice. While he’s the one that verbally said it, Terlecky has noticed that mentality all throughout the Mustangs’ lineup.

“He was one that really kind of stood out in my mind,” Terlecky said. “He said to me, ‘We’ve got unfinished business from last year.’ He plays basketball and other sports. They had a good basketball season, they had a successful season and stuff but the first day you walk in practices like ‘Now we’ve got to make up (for last season) and have a good strong finish here because it’s our last chance’. I could definitely see that with the seniors I could definitely see them realize that their time in high school is coming to an end and this is their last chance at a significant run in the tournament.

“We have to practice in the gym this time of year and even in the gym practice, I can see some pretty good intensity. If we didn’t get a drill right, ‘Let’s do it again.’ I’ve got an assistant coach and one of his favorite sayings is, ‘A good team will practice until they’ve got it right. A great team will practice until they can’t get it wrong.’ I’ve seen them start to adopt that mantra. It really makes me proud of them that they’re starting to see that. Hopefully they’ll carry those lessons with them after they graduate.”

The senior-laden Mustangs are going to be led by Matheny, who played every position last season and Terlecky likened to having an extra coach on the field. Heavy hitters Ethan Petak and Alex Nicholson will play big roles as well along with the other eight seniors.

Petak, a Malone University commit, will be splitting time behind the plate and in centerfield and Nicholson, who will be attending Waynesburg University, will be returning as the team’s ace.

“There’ll be games where I start an entire group of seniors,” Terlecky said. “These guys have been playing together pretty much most of their lives so they’ve really been working hard and looking forward to this year ever since last season ended. Working on hitting, working on pitching, lifting weights to get stronger. and they really put a lot of work in this offseason and we’re hoping it’ll pay off.”

Mathews has a tough schedule featuring multiple top Division IV opponents and a handful of larger area schools in addition to a challenging league schedule.

The Mustangs’ schedule includes 2021 state champion Kennedy and 2019 state champion Toronto along with LaBrae, Howland and Newton Falls.

Toronto has been a top program as of late and will provide an excellent challenge for the Mustangs, including adapting to a turf field.

The weather has been a little more forgiving than in recent years, notably last year. Mathews has been able to get all four of their scheduled scrimmages in.

“One thing unique about this year is we have gotten a couple of scrimmages in,” Terlecky said. “In northeastern Ohio to get multiple scrimmages is difficult. There’s been years where the first time we practiced on the field was in a game. … It looks like we’ll actually get our four scrimmages, which is pretty rare.”

Mathews gets things going on Monday with a home contest against league rival Pymatuning Valley.