COCOLAMUS – A few of East Juniata High School’s athletic teams are waging a battle against a new opponent these days – attrition – and are not faring particularly well.

Two years ago, the Tiger field hockey team, which was already a cooperative between East Juniata and Juniata high schools, was shelved due to a lack of players. Now, the Tiger baseball team is facing a similar fate.

“We only have nine,” East Juniata head coach Mark Barge, who would be entering his third spring at the helm, said on Friday. “Last year, we ended the year with 11 or 13 (players). We had two graduate and a couple in vo-tech (Mifflin County Academy of Science and Technology in Lewistown) that said baseball wasn’t working out for them.”

School officials believe 15 players would be the minimum necessary to put a competitive team on the field. That means Barge has until Thursday, Sept. 25, to find six players who want to take to the diamond in the spring.

If they do not come up with any players, the Tigers could forge another co-op with Juniata in baseball. If that doesn’t happen, the baseball team could also be shelved. The Sept. 25 deadline is the date the PIAA needs to know what teams its member schools are fielding in the spring.

Barge, a 1997 graduate of East Juniata, said roster numbers were never a problem for the program during his playing days. “We could have fielded two or three teams,” he said.

The coach explained there are former baseball players at the school who haven’t come out for the sport for various reasons. Some have academic conflicts, while others have switched to other sports, like track and field. “They do really good in track, so you can’t blame them for that,” Barge added.

Except that their absence has left the baseball program floundering for players and its future in question. Barge hopes there are former players who might reconsider and sign up for baseball.

“I hope some of these boys understand what’s going to happen, and the boys come out,” Barge said.

As far as the solution to save the program, Barge said, “Whatever’s best for these young men, that’s what matters to me.”

Barge has guided the Tigers to a 15-24 record in his two seasons. In 2023, East Juniata finished 8-12 overall and 7-9 in the Tri-Valley League. Last season, the Tigers went 7-12 overall and 5-11 in the TVL.