Alex Eisen/MDN Velva/Drake-Anamoose infielder Colton Frankl throws the ball over to first base in a Class B baseball game played last season at Corbett Field in Minot.

There are no drop-offs for the Velva/Drake-Anamoose baseball team.

The then-No. 2-seeded Aggies made a statement last season in the Region 6 tournament, as they completed an epic comeback against No. 1-seeded Bishop Ryan in the title game to earn an 8-6 win and clinch their first state tournament since appearance since 2015.

VDA ultimately took home fifth place, and now the Region 6 defending champs are set to take the next step this time around with the 2019 season on the horizon.

The path back to the state tournament will be an uphill battle, though, as the team is without a number of key contributors from last season. Despite this, expectations haven’t changed.

“Our guys have expectations every year to get to the state tournament,” Aggies head coach Matt Weidler said. “This program has a strong tradition of winning, and those goals won’t change this year.”

The list of those no longer with the team has some big names. Players such as outfielders Aaron Dean and Jonathan Thomas have since graduated, but perhaps the largest hole to fill comes from the departure of Nicholas Effertz.

The then-senior played shortstop, third base and even pitched to help lead his team to last year’s state tournament. Those contributions got recognized at the end of the season when Effertz was named the Region 6 Senior Athlete of the Year.

“We lost three pretty good guys,” Weidler said. “They were a big part of last year’s team, but I’m still pleased with who we have returning.”

Among the name of players donning the blue and gold once more is Hayden Lee. The then-junior pitcher led the Aggies in strikeouts and had the best ERA last season. He’ll look to have yet another strong year at the mound as the team’s top throwing option.

Lee is one of four seniors, along with Quintin Peterson, Seth Fahy and Colton Frankl, who have started the past three seasons for VDA.

“Hayden had a really good year on the mound, and he’ll have to carry that over into this year,” Weidler said. “The rest of (the seniors) will have to play multiple positions, log a few innings on the mound and carry the rest of our younger guys.”

Younger guys expected to carry their own weight include Tace Pederson, Luke Zimmer and Jersey Selzler, who all pitched for the Aggies in either the region tournament or the state tournament last year as freshmen.

Regardless of the amount of years each player has under his belt, Weidler and the rest of the Velva coaching staff have no doubt that the pieces are there for another strong season.

“I don’t get worried about those (younger) guys,” Weidler said. “I’m confident in them, and they’re confident in themselves. They all understand each other and have the same expectations. They just work with each other and try to get better every day.”

The Aggies kick off the new season with four straight road games, beginning April 1st against Beulah at 4 p.m.

Justin Martinez covers Minot High School sports and Class B high school sports. Follow him on Twitter @JTheSportsDude.