At the end of April, the Lindbergh High School baseball team was 13-13 after dropping six consecutive contests, not knowing where the season was heading. Fast forward to the end of May and a 5-2 finish helped the Flyers end the season 18-15.
“We had a very successful bounce back season going 18-15,” Lindbergh coach Darin Scott said. “We started off extremely well going 11-2 and winning the 54th Annual Lindbergh-Mehlville Tournament.”
Scott admitted the team had some tough stretches throughout the middle of the season, dropping a few close contests.
“We had some tough one run losses and had to battle back towards the end of the year, but overall we had a very positive season,” he said.
Lindbergh had several big wins this season, including victories over Mehlville, Kirkwood, Vianney and Lafayette, to mention just a few. Following an 11-2 start, Lindbergh was even ranked among the top teams in the state.
Junior catcher Lane Elder was named the team MVP for the Flyers. Elder finished the season with a .407 batting average and 32 RBIs in 32 games played. He and senior shortstop Michael Politte tied for the team lead with nine doubles each.
“Lane Elder stepped up big time this year as our junior catcher,” Scott said.
Lindbergh’s coach was also quite complimentary of junior pitcher Luke Steiner.Steiner started nine games this season, finishing 3-4. He led the team with 39 strikeouts.
“Luke Steiner stepped up to be our No. 1 throughout the course of the season,” Scott said.
Junior Ethan Cantareira also had a successful season for Lindbergh, as he batted .354 with a home run and 13 RBIs. Politte finished with a .338 average to go with four home runs and 22 RBIs, and Aidin Steuber and Luke Seiler each finished with a .333 batting average.
As for next season, with a strong cast of juniors returning, Scott said the program will continue to work to get better.
“We will continue to build our program and look to improve as we do every year,” he said. “We had many contributors and post-season award winners. It was a team effort. Our team qualified for MHSBCA Academic All-State which is always a goal.”
The Flyers’ difficult schedule will not allow for the team to rest on this season’s achievements, as Scott said his squad must improve when it comes to hitting.
“We have to get stronger and improve offensively to compete at the level of our very difficult schedule,” he said.