Staff file photo / Neel Madhavan McDonald’s Brady Shobel pitches during a game at Lakeview last year in Cortland.

Last season, the McDonald baseball team won its first district championship since 1997. And the Blue Devils don’t plan on waiting nearly 30 years to do it again.

Returning all but one player from last season’s group, the Blue Devils are poised to make a return trip.

McDonald coach Andy Timko is optimistic about his team’s chances, but admits baseball is an unpredictable sport. If any team is equipped to survive the ups and downs of a baseball season, however, it’s probably the Blue Devils and their embattled roster.

“I think we’re able to do that,” Timko said. “I think we have enough firepower too, anyway, but baseball is a crazy game, so all it takes is one good pitcher from the other team on the hill and you’re in trouble. We only lost one guy from last year, and we got some good additions this year, so we should be right in the thick of things.”

McDonald added two names to the roster with plenty of postseason experience in seniors Jordan Perry and Casey Miller. Both were big parts of the Blue Devils’ undefeated regular season during the football season, and Miller played big minutes for McDonald during basketball season as well.

“Those guys could flat out run,” Timko said. “They’re both big additions for us. Early on (just) defensively, but later on, they’ll hit. Hitting a baseball is not easy, but eventually they’re going to hit. They’re good athletes.”

They’ll slide into the lineup alongside returning stars Quinn Schmidt (.494 batting average, 31 RBIs), Brady Klockner (.475 batting average, 16 stolen bases) and Nick Larson (.321 batting average, 21 RBIs).

Schmidt and Brady Schobel both return to the mound this season, where they finished with 6-1 and 6-2 records, respectively.

There are some tough foes on the slate this year for the Blue Devils, one of which is right at the beginning of the year. McDonald opens the year with six straight road games, starting with Boardman. Other non-conference opponents of note include Ursuline, Fitch, South Range and two games against Niles.

Facing good pitchers is crucial for a team hungry to make a postseason run.

“I want to face good pitching,” Timko said. “Those bigger schools have good pitching. I believe we can hit pretty well, but we need to face all ace pitchers every single time out, and doing that with that schedule gives our kids the chance to play up and show that they could belong with those schools, so that when we get into the tournament time, we feel like we maybe could have the upper hand.”

Between the experience of last year’s group and the success of the football and basketball players in the group, confidence shouldn’t be an issue. Last season there was some apprehension on the big stage, but the Blue Devils proved they should be there. Now, it’s about fighting through the regular season and making it happen.

“(We need to have) that winning attitude so last year the kids went into that regional a little starry-eyed,” Timko said. “They didn’t know if they belonged or not, and so I think this year, they already know what it’s like. They think they’re going to go there. Hopefully we can get there, and they can really compete. … They’re a bunch of good kids. They play hard. McDonald’s athletes, they always play hard. No matter who we’re playing, they’re expecting to come out on top.”