by: Joanna Chadwick

Derby baseball coach Todd Olmstead is the coach of the month. 

Olmstead’s Panthers have finished 20-5 and 16-7 the last two years, respectively, but Olmstead knows these records won’t mean anything in 20 years. 

“My goals for our team are that we continue to get better and that my seniors leave here better men than when they arrived as freshmen,” Olmstead said. 

But, of course, the records do matter. 

The Panthers are an older team – yet inexperienced at the same time. The youth comes with them only returning three pitchers and two fielders. The oldness comes from the fact that they have 11 seniors. Because of this, Olmstead has admitted to the fact that the Panthers have gone back to the basics because of their lack of experience at the varsity level. 

“We have to teach and coach the guys a little differently than when we return a lot of players,” Olmstead said. “We have been stressing that we are a do-the-little-things-right type of team.”

Senior lefty Mitchell Johnson will head the pitching staff for the Panthers with Colby Morgan, Max White, Nic Martinez, Caden Rojas, and Hudson Halstead, the freshman, who will be asked to pick up some big innings for Derby. 

The Panthers’ best hitters coming into the year are Roman Boden, Kade Sheldon, Colton Ruedy, Caden Riojas, and Camdan Cooper. The five will look to get the Panthers over the hump at the plate. 

“We need to improve on our hitting at the state games,” Olmstead said. “We have pitched and played great defense for some time now. We just need to be better offensively once we get there.” 

The Panthers look to get back to the top of the state but know their road is a lot tougher than most.