Greene County has a new look to the baseball coaching staff. Head coach John Hupp and assistant coaches Sean Ostendorf and Matt Paulsen are all former players for the Rams. They’ll get their first look at their team tomorrow night when Greene County plays on the road at non-conference Perry. The Rams open the Heart of Iowa Activities Conference season on Friday night in Des Moines vs. Saydel, a perennial contender for the league title.

Hupp was an assistant a few seasons ago for then-head coach Mark Sawhill. He’s also been a head coach at Woodbine. Ostendorf has been an umpire since he was in high school and is making the transition to high school coaching. Paulsen coached on the middle school level for the Rams with his Dad, Kevin, which he will still do.

Greene County is a Class 3A program for the postseason and the Rams posted a winning record a season ago at one over the .500 mark. The team won a postseason game for the first time in several years and lost to eventual State runner-up Harlan in the district title game at Harlan.

Top pitchers in senior Ben Wilkens and junior Austin Delp return. Junior Bryce Hoyle and others could figure in the pitching rotation.
Coach Hupp told Raccoon Valley Radio he’s emphasizing hitting early in the season, since the Rams did not have a potent offense in 2017.