Returning six starters including the reining Player of the Year in the Southern Buckeye Conference National Division has Batavia coach Geoff Carter hoping that the Bulldogs can duplicate the team’s success from a year ago.

“I like that the majority of the team has played together for three years now,” Carter said. “And our 3-4-5 hitters are arguably the best in the league.”

The Bulldogs are off to a solid start in 2012, boasting an 8-1 record through their fist nine games, which leaves them alone in first place in the SBC-National.

A lot of the Bulldogs success this year depends upon the continued success of last year’s Player of the Year, junior Ryan Gormley.

Gormley hit .490 last year with 32 RBI, eight doubles and two home runs. Now a year older, Gormley is off to an even better start than a year ago.

The third baseman is batting .571 to start off the year, going 12-21 with a triple, a home run, nine RBI, 11 runs scored and three stolen bases. Gormley also has a .679 on-base percentage. The junior is closing in on Batavia’s RBI record with still another year ahead of him.

As well as Gormley is playing, Coach Carter is just as excited about the Bulldogs’ pitching staff.

“I like our pitching staff’s depth so far,” Carter said.

The Bulldogs are led by junior Tyler Luginbuhl who has a 1-0 record in 14.0 innings pitched and an ERA of 2.00. Flanking Luginbuhl in the rotation are Tyler Carver and Hunter Meadors, both of whom have 5.25 ERA in 4.0 innings pitched.

The Bulldogs have a good mix of experience and youth with five seniors, eight juniors and three sophomores on their roster. Carter is interested to see how the younger players are able to acclimate themselves into the team.

Of the eight juniors, Austin Lenhardt may be one of the most valuable. Lenhardt has speed for days and is closing in on the stolen base record at Batavia.

The junior shortstop had 21 stolen bases last year, putting him among the top in the city and only behind Amelia’s Zac Hultz in the SBC.

Lenhardt is poised to have an even better 2012 as he already has 11 stolen bases on the season through just nine games. He’s batting .391 with a .500 on-base percentage. He has five RBI, 10 runs scored and a home run to go along with his speed on the base paths.

The Bulldogs are 3-0 in the SBC so far this season and 8-1 overall with their only loss coming to Madeira in a heartbreaking 5-4 defeat on March 29. Following their lone defeat, the Bulldogs have rattled off five wins in a row with the chance to make it six when they faced New Richmond on Wednesday, April 11.

The Bulldogs will then play Thursday, April 12 at Goshen, Friday, April 13 at Bethel to round out the first half of their season.