The Sun Valley Vanguards finished 6-13 last season, and 11th in the Ches-Mont Conference. Not much went right for the Vanguards as inconsistency, struggles on both sides of the ball, and being stuck in a very good Ches-Mont conference took its toll.

But, they now know where things went wrong, and what they needed to fix. Under head coach Brian Palmore, who has been part of Sun Valley baseball for over five years, they have their hopes high.

The big thing was the mental side of baseball is where they struggled most, the losses and struggling on both sides of the ball affected them in a huge way.

“There was a lot as a team that we took away from last year. Baseball is a very difficult sport and we noticed it was taking a toll on the players’ mental game,” said Assistant Coach Ryan Lopez. “That really translated into our play throughout the year.” 

Under Palmore, Sun Valley is committed to winning this season, something that has been tough to achieve over the last few seasons.

“From day one we changed our mindset to breaking through one ceiling at a time, having small goals set for us is helping us have a better point of view of our main goal, to win it all,” Lopez said. “The players are on board with it.

Something else they strive to do and improve on is playing with heart.

“I think we need to be able to communicate and play for each other, this sport is about teamwork and I think we can really succeed if we play with heart.” Senior 1B/RF Liam Pippin said when asked about lessons they learned from last year.

All this team wants to do is win. They believe they can develop their struggles from last year; offense, pitching, and defense. Last season, they struggled offensively, only one returning player hit above .200 last season. 

However, pitching was a strength to this team. They have a good top three consisting of seniors Sabo Graham (College of Central Florida commit), Max Bartholf (Widener), and Jackson Messick (Penn State Brandywine), who all posted an ERA under 3.70 last season, with Messick posting a best among returning players with a 0.57 ERA.

Graham and Bartholf posted a 3.63 ERA and 3.17 ERA respectively. Messick was mentioned by both Lopez and Pippin as a guy who can really direct younger players in the right direction.

“Jackson I believe is exactly what you want from a leader/captain for a team,” said Lopez. “He is a great leader who understands what it takes to win and will help guide all younger players in the right direction. Both Sabo and Jackson show great skill when it comes to playing the game, and their ability to be able to lead the younger kids on the team definitely fills the gap we lost last year.”

Though, it isn’t just seniors who are expected to help the team contend. Sophomores Ryan Messick and Logan Coleman are both solid pieces to the pitching staff. Coleman had high praise from Lopez.

“Logan Coleman I believe will have a huge impact on our pitching staff.” Lopez said. “Logan is a sophomore with great movement and control of his pitches. He is extremely humble and I believe when he has great success in the next few years, he will be a great role model for the younger players.”

Ryan Messick also posted a solid season on the mound last year, posting a 3.50 ERA with 12 strikeouts as a freshman.

So, what does Sun Valley want to do this season with all this preparation for the mental part of the game? Win.

“As a team, we want to be remembered and feared. We want other coaches to say that we play fundamental and clean baseball,” said Lopez. “Our goal is to fight from the first pitch to the very last regardless of the score. In the game of baseball, anyone can win no matter the game. It all comes down to who is more mentally prepared to fight for those seven innings. I believe we have a respectful and gritty group that will definitely turn some heads this season.” 

In 2025, Sun Valley is committed to one thing, fighting until the end, whether it’s a blowout win or blowout loss, the team will show grit and heart to keep fighting.