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Pirate Baseball Starts Spring Training

	Jonathan Oglesby Moapa Valley Progress When the buds begin to form on trees, we know that it is spring and that means only one thing; the commencement of spring training for Moapa Valley High School baseball. Pirate Baseball has commenced its season with the annual Spring Training. Spring Training opened on Saturday, February 23 with a two-hour tryout.		MVHS player, Bobby Vallet rounds first base during Pirate Baseball’s Spring Training on Saturday..
	The Pirates will be coached and managed this year by new Head Coach Jim Vallet, a longtime Pirate coaching assistant. Vallet was very enthusiastic in his early comments about his new job. “We’re very excited for this season,” said Vallet. “We have a lot of good players and this group is a group of proven competitors and winners.” The Pirates began mainly with working on the fundamentals of baseball: pitching, hitting, and fielding. The Moapa coaching staff set up stations that provided repetitions in shagging balls, hitting, outfielding, and fielding ground balls. “We have lots of pitching depth as we have sixteen competitive pitchers but we really need to improve our defense and that’s what we will focus on this spring training,“ commented Vallet. Before concluding the first day of spring training, the Pirates finished with base running exercises that emphasize team speed and generally build a greater ability of knowledge concerning reading situations and base coaches. After the first practice, Head Coach Jim Vallet spoke about the team’s chances in the Southern 3A division. “This is the best division in the state but we have the talent to be able to compete,” Vallet said. “Our pitching strength is definitely going to help us because when you get to the Division and State Tournaments, you have a lot of games in a short period and you have to have a good rotation and we will.” The Pirates will play their first game Saturday as they host their annual MVHS Alumni Game.