The young Bishop Ireton Cardinal baseball team is experiencing some growing pains in 2004. After one of the most successful seasons in Ireton history last season, the current squad is attempting to find its way in the early stages of the 2004 season.

The Cardinals, coached by Mark Heiser (2001 WCAC coach of the year), currently weigh-in at 0-3 on the season. Ireton has dropped games to St. John’s, Paul VI and Mount Vernon.

St. John’s is currently ranked #1 in entire metro area by the Washington Post. Paul VI, coached by Billy Emerson, is much improved this season.

"Paul VI is probably the team to beat in the WCAC South Division this season," said Heiser.

Leading Ireton on the pitching mound: senior right hander Jamie Cowan (currently 0-2), sophomore right hander Tim Sprague (0-1), sophomore left hander Roland Haskins, senior right hander Ronnie Semko, junior right hander Billy Robbett and sophomore right hander Blake Gillespie.

Semko has been the bright spot on the mound for the Cardinals this season with five scoreless innings in relief.

"We are very young defensively. We graduated eight starters off of last season’s squad," said Heiser.

Ireton finished 19-10 last season overall and advanced to the WCAC semi-finals and also finished as the V.I.S. state runners-ups.

Defensively, Billy Robbett catches over 90 percent of the innings. Junior Casey

Hogan or sophomore Mike Nolan mans first base. Blake Gillespie mans second base, except when pitching. Senior Danny O'Donnell (currently injured) or Jamie Cowan, when not pitching, or junior Derrick Padron mans third base. Sophomore Matt Boucher mans shortstop. Casey Hogan or senior Conor Tracy mans right field. Roland Haskins, when not pitching, mans center field. Junior Billy Ratliff or Tim Sprague, when not pitching, mans left field.

Other key players include: senior Brian Love (currently injured) and juniors Billy Valentine and Shawn Stever.

"We don't have any designated captains. We look to the seniors: Cowan, Semko, O'Donnell, Tracy and Love for the leadership," said Heiser. Cowan earned second-team All-WCAC honors last season. O'Donnell earned third-team last season.

Offensively, Robbett has recorded five walks and a double in 10 at bats (.600 on-base-percentage). Sprague, honorable mention All-WCAC last season as a freshman, is batting .545 with a team high four RBI's. Semko is hitting .500. Cowan is the next leading hitter at .273 for the Cardinals.

"Our goal this season is to finish as well as we can in the WCAC tournament and also at the V.I.S. tournament," said Cowan, who is likely to finish in the "Top-10" in all-time wins at Ireton by the end of the season.

"Our team goal is to play up to the best of our ability and maybe even contend for the Championship. Coach Heiser runs a first-class program. He and his two assistants get everything that they can out of all of their players," said Billy Robbett, a transfer from St. John’s.

"We've got some talented kids, but we need to find the right chemistry. We've committed 16 errors in these first three games. A lot of these guys are playing at the varsity level for the first time in their lives. Offensively, our guys need to be more disciplined. We need to relax at the plate. Our pitching will get better and it is going to help us down the road," said Heiser.

The Cardinals will play several games in the area before traveling to North Carolina to compete in the "Diamond Beach Classic" during the spring break.