LIVE OAK, Fla. — It would be easy to write off this year’s Suwannee High baseball team after losing eight seniors. The 2017 graduating class included some big sluggers and Suwannee’s top two pitchers.

But the Bulldogs aren’t in rebuilding mode. They expect to have another strong season, and it all starts with senior Hueston Morrill and junior Bo Bonds.

Suwannee Baseball Schedule

Feb. 20	Lafayette	7 p.m.
Feb. 22	vs. Evans at Lowndes (Ga.)	7 p.m.
Feb. 24	vs. Columbus at Moultrie (Ga.)	5:30 p.m.
Feb. 26	Lanier County (Ga.)	6 p.m.
March 1	North Florida Christian	5 p.m.
March 6	Lowndes (Ga.)	6 p.m.
March 8	at Lafayette	7 p.m.
March 9	Madison County	7 p.m.
March 15	at Marianna	6 p.m.
March 16	vs. Bay at Gulf Coast State	6 p.m.
March 17	at South Walton	11 a.m.
March 22	at Baker County	7 p.m.
March 23	Baker County	7 p.m.
March 29	Deerfield Beach	7 p.m.
March 30	Yulee	7 p.m.
April 5	at Bolles	7 p.m.
April 6	Bolles	7 p.m.
April 10	at Madison County	7 p.m.
April 12	at Lincoln	7 p.m.
April 13	Columbia	7 p.m.
April 17	at Lowndes (Ga.)	6 p.m.
April 20	at Chiles	6 p.m.
April 23	Taylor County	7 p.m.
April 24	at Taylor County	7 p.m.
April 26	Lincoln	7 p.m.

Both will be relied upon to produce runs and lead the offense. But most importantly, they’ll be Suwannee’s go-to pitchers in the biggest games.

“Not a lot teams can replace pitchers like we had last year with the pitchers that we have this year,” said SHS coach Justin Bruce. “That shows that Suwannee baseball is in a good position with players coming up.

“It’s going to be a fun year.”

Bonds and Morrill both feature 90 mph fastballs along with good secondary pitches; Bonds uses a changeup while Morrill throws a hard slider. Morrill, who has signed to play at Oklahoma State, is the more experienced pitcher while Bonds is ready to take on the challenge of facing some top teams.

“Our mindset as a pitching group is throw strikes and believe in yourself,” said Morrill, who went 3-1 last season with a 2.04 ERA. “I threw against some of those bigger schools last year like Bolles. Now I know how I’m supposed to be pitching against them.”

For Bonds, it’s all about confidence on the mound.

“Playing high-rated teams like Bolles, Lincoln — it doesn’t matter to me — if you go out there with the mindset that you’re the best pitcher, the outcome will be what you want,” said Bonds.

While pitching will be a strength, Suwannee will have to find a way to create runs after graduating some standout hitters. Of the 18 home runs the Bulldogs hit last season, 13 came from seniors.

Bruce sees a lot of opportunities for new varsity players to make an impact.

“We have a lot of good athletes and good hitters. Just not a lot of proven hitters yet,” Bruce said. “A lot of opportunities for guys to step up for the first time.”

Suwannee will have a junior-heavy team with many players moving up after JV. The Bulldogs added a transfer from Sarasota High in Nolan Miller. Miller is a sophomore catcher, pitcher and first baseman.

The Bulldogs start the preseason on Tuesday at home against Episcopal School of Jacksonville. SHS begins the regular season Feb. 20, hosting Lafayette.