High school baseball practice officially began on Monday for teams around the state including the Greene County Rams. Mark Sawhill has been head coach since 2003 and he is joined by assistant coach John Hupp, a former standout player for the Rams. Longtime high school assistant coach Kevin Paulsen still coaches baseball, but he is now at the middle school level.

Coach Sawhill told Raccoon Valley Radio the first few days of practice have been spent working on defensive cutoffs, base running, and the fundamentals of hitting, fielding and throwing. He added their are about 25 players out for baseball including several younger players, so they’re taking it slow and covering the fundamentals.

The Rams open the 2014 baseball season at Allensworth Field in Jefferson vs. the Saydel Eagles.

High school softball practice in Iowa officially begins on Monday, May 12.