As the weather warms up and the outfield grass gets greener, baseball season is underway and the varsity team has big goals. Following last season’s second place finish in the state tournament, the team is putting the pieces together to build a winning team again. There are a total of seven seniors on the roster, meaning several varsity roles left for juniors and underclassmen, but head coach Dionandre Josenberger is confident in the team he selected.
“I think we will surprise teams that think we will be down,” Josenberger said. “I really like the makeup of this squad.”
Before the season, players interested in trying out for the team attended the LPM morning workouts. LPM, meaning “Lunch Pail Mentality,” has been the slogan for the program since Josenberger took the coaching job last school year. It means to work hard, do your job and go home. This phrase was meant to be a reflection of the team’s work process, but now the team was introduced to a new acronym to represent the team’s playstyle: FIRE.
“LPM is more of a daily mindset,” junior catcher Andrew Maultsby said. “FIRE is just who we are as a team and how we take care of business.”
FIRE, “Fearless Effort, Intelligent Decisions” means relentless aggression and emotional control. All of these pieces are to build the ideal playstyle for the team. Last season, the team played with all the fire they could, boasting the best ranking in the state, according to MaxPreps and earning the most wins in school history.
A challenge exists to replace talent that left with the 2025 senior class. Players such as senior outfielder Alexander Paul, who was third on the team for batting average and on-base percentage, and Maultsby, who batted .303 and stole six bases, are returning varsity this year and look to extend their roles beyond the lineup.
“I feel like I can say I had a smaller leadership role on the team last year, and I feel like having that bigger role shouldn’t affect me,” Maultsby said. “I’m just ready for that responsibility.”
The LPM morning workouts along with post-tryout practices were aimed at development, after the tryouts were meant to supplement team needs and put players in roster holes. Players have been working on fundamentals through a structured practice to prepare for big arms the team will face this season with a target on their backs from their success last season.
“I think we identified the right guys in our program this year, but rosters are fluid based on need and performance,” Josenberger said.
With a polished lineup and rotation ready for the campaign, this team has not backed down on their goals for the season, as they are on the hunt for more postseason success. It is a difficult path to get back to where the team was last year, but they plan to do just that.
“We will have a much smaller varsity roster this year,” Josenberger said. “There should be plenty of opportunities for players to have an impact. Our goal is to win conference, districts and make a run in state.”
The team will have to lean on senior leadership, but expect younger players to accept big roles on the team in order to gain the most fluid batting lineup and pitching rotation possible. Josenberger looks for his team to trust the LPM process and play with FIRE this baseball season, starting with Smithville High School in their home opener this evening.
