“We’ve got good speed, regardless of what lineup we go with; about six of them can run,” he said.

In reference to the young team he emphasized; “We just have to keep working, keep swinging the bat… it’s just going to take time; we play three games this week so we will be that much closer to being a veteran team.”

In terms of areas that need improvement, he came back to hitting.

“To be a consistently good hitting team we have to cut out the strike outs, especially with runners on base … we’ve got to put it in play,” he said.

This philosophy was proven during the Madison game. The Wolverines continuously “put the ball in play,” placing pressure on the Madison defense to make plays.

The Patriots had several fielding and throwing errors that helped the Wolverines extend their at bats and get out to a quick start. Polk jumped out to an 8-0 lead in the first inning, adding more runs in the third and fourth before the 10-run mercy rule was invoked in the fifth inning. Several players had multiple hits on the night and the pitching was almost perfect.

When asked about the hitting, Stott joked, “The colder it got, the better we hit. We had some boys step up tonight. This was a good start for us; Daniel Painter and Dylan combined for a no hitter. Everybody got to get in the game. (It was) a good win, a good conference win and we’re 1-0.”

Polk played last night versus ACA at home and plays Mountain Heritage away tonight. Look for results in Tuesday, March 19th’s sports section.

Polk County 2013 baseball roster:

No. 6 Jordan Brown, No. 9 Alec Philpott, No. 12 Bryce Martin, No. 23 Wes Brady, No. 3 Dylan Turner, No. 18 Morgan Groves, No. 1 Tyler Campbell, No. 21 J. C. Suddeth, No. 16 Daniel Painter, No. 5 Konner Scruggs, No. 2 Mark Mazzilli, No. 7 Trevor Arrowood, No. 10 Dequan Gary, No. 22 Jaylin Hines and No. 28 Tyler Tomberlin.