Berkshire enters the 2025 season with a “new” coach and seven returning starters.
The Badgers finished last season with a 15-9 record overall and tied for first in the Chagrin Valley Conference Valley Division with a 10-2 mark.
“We look to be competitive again in the Valley Division,” said Berkshire coach Brian Hiscox, who is back for his second stint coaching the Badgers. “We are a relatively young team with only three seniors, but our young guys have varsity experience. Having two of our top three arms from last year back in the mix will be a huge help with Patrick Brancel and Sam Barcikoski. We have other guys working to earn innings on the mound in our non-conference games, too.”
Brancel is one of the area’s top all-around players, whether he’s behind the dish or on the mound. He batted .467 last season with a 0.74 earned run average in 48-plus innings of work.
“Junior Patrick Brancel is a truly dynamic baseball player,” Hiscox said. “He’s as close to a five-tool guy that we’ve had at Berkshire in a while. He can hit for average and power, he can field, he can throw, and he’s an above-average runner. As the returning CVC Player of the Year, he will look to be our leader both offensively and defensively.”
When Brancel pitches, Bear Masink will catch.
Barcikoski will play center field when he isn’t pitching. He batted .300 last spring and posted a 3.11 ERA in 27 innings pitched on his way to earning All-CVC honorable mention honors.
“Junior Sam Barcikoski is a player who burst on the scene for us last year as a sophomore,” Hiscox said. “With another year of development under his belt, we expect his production to be even better.”
The Badgers also return sophomore shortstop Oliver Miller to the lineup. He earned second-team All-CVC honors last spring.
“Last year, in his freshman year, he played shortstop for a majority of the season and had some clutch hits,” Hiscox said. “Another year older and another year of development have gone a long way in both strength and speed. He was fifth on the team in stolen bases last year.”
Berkshire’s other returning starters include senior outfielder Paul Brent, senior first baseman Jason Brent, senior utility player Aiden Pollock, and Masink, a sophomore catcher/infielder.
“Filling in those other spaces around them will be important to our success this season, and that’s where I see our seniors adding leadership,” Hiscox said. “Jason Brent, Paul Brent, and Aiden Pollock have all started and played in big games for us during their time and we will need them to shore up our defensive play. We will look to these guys for their leadership in bringing our other young players along.”
Several younger players will fill out the starting lineup.
“Our biggest challenge is youth and the learning curve,” Hiscox said. “Guys are going to have to figure out varsity baseball quickly, but that’s also a fun part of the game. We are looking forward to that challenge.”
Berkshire’s goals haven’t changed.
The Badgers have their sights set on the Valley Division title and a postseason run.
“The goal is always the same, to compete for and win a CVC championship and make a run in the playoffs,” Hiscox said. “If we take care of what we can control, we should be in the mix for a league title at the end. We have a couple of good tests early to get us ready for CVC play and a couple of good tests late to get us ready for the OHSAA tournament.”
To achieve their goals, the Badgers have to play fundamental baseball and maximize any run-scoring opportunities.
“We need to minimize our mistakes and capitalize on our opponents’ mistakes,” Hiscox said. “There’s only so many breaks in the game, so any opportunity we have to put up a big inning on offense, we need to take it. On the flip side, any opportunity we have to prevent a big inning while on defense, we need to prevent it.”
