The 2003 season may have been a rough one for the Albert Lea High School baseball team, but at the end of it coach Joe Sczublewski expressed optimism for the future.

One reason was the success of this year’s junior varsity team.

The JV Tigers, coached by Eric Burroughs, posted a record of 10-8. Of the eight losses, four were by two runs or less.

According to Burroughs, a combination of hustle, determination and teamwork led to a winning season.

&uot;These kids never gave up in any game during the entire season,&uot; said Burroughs. &uot;They believed in their teammates and themselves. The future for Albert Lea baseball looks bright.&uot;

Sophomore Jared Butler, who finished the season with the varsity, led the JV with a .522 batting average, scoring 12 runs, driving in 12 and stealing eight bases.

Donald Graves was the top pitcher, going 4-1 with a 1.96 earned run average and 22 strikeouts. Preston Dahl was 1-0 with a .088 ERA and nine strikeouts. Graves hit .294 with seven RBIs, nine stolen bases and a team-best 18 runs. Dahl batted .467 with seven runs and five RBIs.

The rest of this year’s junior varsity team and their statistics: Peter Bracker, .276 batting average, 12 runs, 10 RBIs, 11 stolen bases; Nick Hagen, .146, six runs, five RBIs; Zach Hansen, .100, three runs, two RBIs; Kris Pleiss, .306, 13 runs, 10 RBIs, eight stolen bases; Brock Sorenson, .413, 12 runs, 14 RBIs; Arick Matson, .259, five runs, four RBIs; Casey Ciffra, .357, four runs, 11 RBIs; Travis Klatt, .250, 10 runs, 14 RBIs; Jarrad Stadheim, .250, 10 runs, 14 RBIs.