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Clarinda A's open 61st season on Wednesday
(Clarinda) -- The Clarinda A's open their 61st season of baseball later this week.
(Clarinda) -- The Clarinda A's open their 61st season of baseball later this week.
KMA Sports talked with Clarinda A's manager Ryan Eberly for Tuesday's Sports Feature and he's looking forward to getting the season started with a home date against a team from Omaha at 7:30 on Wednesday.
"A lot of good things are going to happen this summer," Eberly says, as his team looks to bounce back from a disappointing 26-25 season a year ago.
Eberly has four players back from last year's team. Mitchell Price, Zack Belanger, left-handed pitcher Chad Cox and Clarinda graduate Dakota Woods all return after being a big part of the 2014 team.
"We have four kids that will help turn the corner and get us back on top," says Eberly, who says the team has added some players from Austin Peay and Jacksonville State, a couple schools they haven't taken kids from for awhile, and Nicholls State as some of the top schools that are sharing their players with the A's for the summer.
The A's will open the season against Omaha on Wednesday, then open MINK League play at St. Joseph on Friday. The team's annual baseball camp for area youth, which is run by the players, is Wednesday through Friday from 9:30 to noon each day.
The MINK League looks a little different this season after the Omaha Diamond Spirit folded during the offseason bringing the league down to eight teams. Sedalia, who won the MINK South last year, moves to the North, joining the A's, Chillicothe and St. Joseph. Ozark, Nevada, Branson and Joplin make up the south division.
Eberly says these first few games are important for each kid to find their role.
"Everybody will play and we'll try to settle into a lineup," says Eberly. "I hope (the players) come up here, enjoy it, and be a part of the community.
There are two home games this week, but July is the best chance to see the A's at Clarinda Municipal Stadium - Eberly Field. The A's play 12 of their 29 games at home in June, but 14 of their 18 are at home in July.
The full feature with Eberly can be heard at around 1:45 on Tuesday afternoon, then at around 6:25 on KMA-FM 99.1. It can also be heard by clicking the audio file below.
