MARYSVILLE — With consecutive opening round losses in the Class 4A baseball state tournament, the Tomahawks are in the precarious position of being grateful for their fortune, but not quite meeting their expectations.

“We’ve got to figure this one out to get to that next level,” said coach Kurt Koshelnik. “But at the same time, we’ve got to be able to get that far.”

With the loser-out state baseball bracket, it’s common for a deserving team to get knocked out early. But if anybody is built for a state tournament, it’s Marysville-Pilchuck. (Order photo reprints.)

As any baseball expert will say, building around pitching is the closest surefire method there is to winning and the Tommies have plenty of experienced arms. In fact, Koshelnik returns three of his starting pitchers from last season’s team that went 19-5 overall and 15-1 in Wesco North play.

“If we have any expectations for this year, it’s a hope that we pitch well,” Koshelnik said.

And with ace Brennen Steinbaugh back, along with Jake Thomas and Matt Cooper, the Tommies will look to frustrate opposing offenses.

At the plate, and in the diamond, however, is where the question marks come from.

“We lost a lot of guys that were big hitters for us,” Koshelnik said of graduating seniors and all-state selections Levi Cartas and Devin Peterson (both honorable mention).

But the Tommies do return speedy, but powerful center fielder Austin Denton, who was also an all-state honorable mention. Denton made a name for himself in the fall as a record-setting fullback for the Tommies, but said he enjoys baseball more. Along with Denton, Steinbaugh is also a power hitter who will likely find a spot in the lineup regardless of whether he is on the mound.

The Tommies expect to get a major contribution from Dane Widness, whether it be from left field or right, and the infield will likely be led by speedy Kyle Pace.

Baseball is hard enough of a game to dominate with the best players, so the Wesco North teams will likely look to improve upon their record against M-P, and Koshelnik has a pretty good idea of which team will make the longest strides.

“Lake Stevens has always been young and good — they should get old and better at any time,” he said. “Snohomish is always a pretty solid team with a good program and Stanwood is pretty good too.”

The Tommies opened the season March 16 at Mount Vernon, and their next game is 4 p.m., March 18 at Mountlake Terrace.