MONROE - As freshmen, Nick Bansley and Jared Dillon are making an immediate impact for the Monroe High School baseball team.
Bansley is the starting center fielder for the Cheesemakers, and Dillon is the starter in right field. Both Bansley and Dillon are making adjustments to varsity baseball.
"I think I have adjusted to it very well so far," Bansley said. "I think we have got a lot better since Mount Horeb (a doubleheader the Cheesemakers lost April 8)."
One of the biggest adjustments has been hitting a curveball and off-speed pitches on the varsity.
"The curveball they are seeing now compared to a 14-year-old's curveball is a whole different level," Monroe coach Dustin Huffman said. "They are up here because we know they can help. We are just expecting them to have a quick learning curve. It will be interesting to see how they respond the rest of the way."
Bansley has used his speed in center field to making several running catches. He plays football and baseball.
"For a freshman, his ball skills are very good," Huffman said of Bansley. "He's been very good at tracking balls in center field."
Bansley, who started playing baseball when he was 7 years old, said his speed and defense are his strengths right now on the diamond.
"I just need to get better at batting," Bansley said. "I need to do more work in the batting cage. I still feel like I can get faster."
Bansley and Dillon are both adjusting to off-speed pitching and working to make contact in tight counts with runners on base.
"When he (Bansley) does hit the ball it has a different kind of sound," Huffman said.
Dillon said it's been a huge step up playing on the varsity, but he said his teammates have welcomed him and Bansley.
"I have played with some of them before and it's fun being with the guys and making new friends," Dillon said.
Dillon said in his first at-bats in the season opener against Edgerton, he was really nervous.
"I have put a lot more pressure on myself because I don't want to let the team down," Dillon said. "The pitching and everything has got faster. The velocity is a lot higher. Like the coaches say, we want to work better and not harder."
Dillon has had several walks but picked up his first hit in a 5-2 loss to Stoughton on Thursday.
"He was a selective hitter early in the year," Huffman said of Dillon. "I feel like now he's being too selective, and there are pitches he's letting go that he could drive back up the middle."
The Cheesemakers (1-5, 0-2 Badger South) are looking to snap a five-game losing streak when they host Monona Grove today. Dillon sees the recent offensive slump as one that will be wiped out with time.
"If one person gets a hit, I think we will get more hits, and it will keep going," he said.
Bansley is the starting center fielder for the Cheesemakers, and Dillon is the starter in right field. Both Bansley and Dillon are making adjustments to varsity baseball.
"I think I have adjusted to it very well so far," Bansley said. "I think we have got a lot better since Mount Horeb (a doubleheader the Cheesemakers lost April 8)."
One of the biggest adjustments has been hitting a curveball and off-speed pitches on the varsity.
"The curveball they are seeing now compared to a 14-year-old's curveball is a whole different level," Monroe coach Dustin Huffman said. "They are up here because we know they can help. We are just expecting them to have a quick learning curve. It will be interesting to see how they respond the rest of the way."
Bansley has used his speed in center field to making several running catches. He plays football and baseball.
"For a freshman, his ball skills are very good," Huffman said of Bansley. "He's been very good at tracking balls in center field."
Bansley, who started playing baseball when he was 7 years old, said his speed and defense are his strengths right now on the diamond.
"I just need to get better at batting," Bansley said. "I need to do more work in the batting cage. I still feel like I can get faster."
Bansley and Dillon are both adjusting to off-speed pitching and working to make contact in tight counts with runners on base.
"When he (Bansley) does hit the ball it has a different kind of sound," Huffman said.
Dillon said it's been a huge step up playing on the varsity, but he said his teammates have welcomed him and Bansley.
"I have played with some of them before and it's fun being with the guys and making new friends," Dillon said.
Dillon said in his first at-bats in the season opener against Edgerton, he was really nervous.
"I have put a lot more pressure on myself because I don't want to let the team down," Dillon said. "The pitching and everything has got faster. The velocity is a lot higher. Like the coaches say, we want to work better and not harder."
Dillon has had several walks but picked up his first hit in a 5-2 loss to Stoughton on Thursday.
"He was a selective hitter early in the year," Huffman said of Dillon. "I feel like now he's being too selective, and there are pitches he's letting go that he could drive back up the middle."
The Cheesemakers (1-5, 0-2 Badger South) are looking to snap a five-game losing streak when they host Monona Grove today. Dillon sees the recent offensive slump as one that will be wiped out with time.
"If one person gets a hit, I think we will get more hits, and it will keep going," he said.
