Berger took over for the departed Jason Hammerle and will look to get Glendale back in contention this season.

And he has the credentials to do it.

“I have over 15 years of coaching experience ranging from little league, pony league, legion and softball,” Berger said. “I accepted the job at Glendale to coach at another level of the game I used to play and have a passion and desire to pass on my knowledge and experience from playing and coaching while being a positive role model to the kids.”

Berger says working with a small roster shouldn’t be too much of a hinderance as long as they have nine kids to play every game.

“I really don’t see too many challenges with a small roster,” he said. “The only major challenge will be making sure we can field nine players if players would happen to be missing for another school function they are required to attend or missing players for unforeseen circumstances. One big plus side is with a small roster younger players will see a lot of playing time to gain experience.”

The Vikings have four letterwinners back for 2018, including senior Dalton Gondek and juniors Nick Blake, Ben Kasaback and Josh Potutschnig.

All three juniors lettered as freshman and have plenty of experience.

“We are looking for Gondek, Potutschnig, Blake and Kasaback to step into the leadership role of the team and provide positive encouragement,” he said.

Also on the roster this season are seniors Quinten Ulrich, Griffen Radcliffe and Garret Vereshack, as well as juniors Darius Gustafson, Austin Clarkson and Ashton McClellan and freshmen Zach Bennett and Luke Spencer.

Blake and Potutschnig will be relied on as two of the team’s top pitchers. Potutschnig will also anchor shortstop when he isn’t pitching, while Blake will be the primary first baseman.

Still, with the pitch limit in play, the Vikings will need to have a solid rotation to stay in contention in the always-tough Inter-County Conference and Moshannon Valley League.

“Pitching is going to be a major challenge with limited pitchers and keeping pitch counts low enough to keep availability for reaming games throughout the weeks,” said Berger. “Blake, Potutschnig and Gondek will be the work horses in the rotation. Freshman Luke Spencer and junior Darius Gustafson will be seeing time on the mound. Kasaback could see some pitching time, hopefully giving me a few solid innings.”

The rest of the lineup shakes out with Gustafson in left and Gondek in center. Ulrich and Vereshack will share duties in right.

Bennett will start at third with Spencer and Radcliffe battling for the spot at second. Vereshack will fill in at first when Blake pitches. Kasaback will hold down catching duties. Clarkson will also catch and can fill in at different positions when needed.

So far, Berger says the letterwinners have been doing a good job leading the team.

“The four returning letter winners provide solid fielding and hitting, with the addition of Spencer, Clarkson and Gustafson they bring a lot of experience from playing youth summer ball,” Berger said.

Berger says the biggest issue will continue to be the weather, since the team hasn’t had a lot of time outside.

“Of course with being very limited on outside practice and having to conduct practices in door its hard to work on certain things,” said Berger. “The main thing being worked on is indoor drills and working with a few players on different things they will see at different positions to get them comfortable to move to a different position when needed.”

The teams goals this season are to continue to work hard, build trust and win some games.

The Vikings are scheduled to travel to Bellwood-Antis this afternoon, weather permitting.

Roster

Seniors

*Dalton Gondek, Griffen Radcliffe, Quinten Ulrich, Garret Vereshack.

Juniors

*Nick Blake, Austin Clarkson, Darius Gustafson, *Ben Kasaback, Ashton McClellan, *Josh Potutschnig.

Freshmen

Zach Bennett, Luke Spencer.

*Denotes returning letterwinners.

Schedule

March

28—at Bellwood-Antis.

April

3—St. Joseph’s. 5—Mount Union. 9—at West Branch. 11—Williamsburg. 12—at Harmony. 13—Juniata Valley. 16—Curwensville. 19—Claysburg-Kimmel. 23—Bellwood-Antis. 24—at St. Joseph’s. 25—at Mount Union.

May

1—at Williamsburg. 3—at Juniata Valley. 7—at Cambria Heights. 9—Moshannon Valley. 10—West Branch. 11—Harmony.

Games begin at 4:30 p.m. unless noted.