Among the key returners to the field for the Georgetown varsity baseball team this season is senior infielder/pitcher Christian Linville, a fourth-year varsity starter and two-time Southern Buckeye Athletic/Academic Conference National Division all-star.

By Wade Linville –

After being stuck in the gymnasium for much of the baseball preseason due to cold temperatures and rainy weather, the Georgetown G-Men were able to get some quality practice time outdoors on March 22 as they played host to the Western Brown High School junior varsity team for a friendly preseason scrimmage.
No official score was kept for the scrimmage, but both teams would get the opportunity to provide some younger players with some time on the field while some of the more experienced Georgetown varsity players were able to hit the diamond for a bit of preseason tune-up.
The G-Men struggled with inexperience at the varsity level last season with a slew of freshmen, but some of last year’s experience has led to a great deal of improvement for Georgetown’s underclassmen.
The G-Men are also equipped with some key returners that include fourth-year varsity starter and two-time Southern Buckeye Athletic/Academic Conference National Division all-star Christian Linville.
Linville will once again be one of the G-Men’s top throwers at the mound and lead-off hitter. When not at the mound, Linville will see time at third base where he performed well in Wednesday’s scrimmage.
“Christian Linville comes back with a lot of experience,” said Oliver.
Other seniors taking the field for the G-Men this season are Landen Lucas (third year varsity player) and Connar Benjamin.
Another key returner for the G-Men is junior shortstop/pitcher Jonathan Strickland, a third-year varsity player.
“Jonny Strickland will be playing shortstop for us a lot this season when he’s not on the mound, and we’re looking for him to be a leader on the field for us,” said Oliver.
Taking the field as sophomores this season are Georgetown Peyton Penny, Blake Miles, Alex Bolington, Isaac Holland, Travis Newberry, Jackson Gregory, Ethan Hardy, Carson Ralston, and Kyle Cornette.
This year’s G-Men are also equipped with four freshmen who will be looking to make a successful varsity debut – Mason Caldwell, Anthony Carrington, Josh McKenzie, and Chandler Patrick.
Returning for his third year as head of the Georgetown High School baseball program is coach Daniel Oliver.
“There are some things we could have done better. The outfield could have tracked some balls better. We talked about our batting stance and those kind of things, but we haven’t been able to get out (on the field) and work on that kind of stuff as much as I would have liked. The weather hasn’t been cooperative, and these scrimmages are kind of tough because you are trying to play everybody and trying to see what I can do to help kids get better,” Oliver said following Wednesday’s scrimmage.
The scrimmage gave the G-Men one of their first opportunities to see live pitching from an opponent, and in the scrimmage they were actually able to put up a total of 12 runs, already showing significant improvements at the plate since last season in which they failed to bring home a single victory. But the Georgetown team that took its share of lumps last season has been working hard toward improvement, hoping that their efforts will lead to some victories this spring.
“We’re getting better, and that’s all that matters right now,” said Oliver.
The G-Men were scheduled to host the Fairfield Lions for a preseason scrimmage on March 18, and they will begin Southern Buckeye Athletic/Academic Conference National Division play on March 27 with a road game against the Bethel-Tate Tigers.