Cherokee high school baseball coach Andy Vanfossan knew his team would be improved this season but even he admits he is a little surprised at just how well his team has played to this point. The Braves are 19-3 and seventh ranked in class 2A heading into tonight’s matchup with LeMars. Experience has been a major factor as only three senior were lost from last year’s team. He says they took their lumps a little bit last year in a tough conference, and hope to put something together this year. He says he doesn’t think any of them thought they’d be playing as well as they did.Vanfossan says to this point the defense has been outstanding. He says their pitching has come a long ways with guys throwing strikes and not walking a lot of people. He says that limits their pitch count and allows them to go a long way.Vanfossan says the Braves have been tested in a tough Lakes Conference race. He says you end up playing real good competition on a nightly basis and he hopes that pays dividends when the district competition starts.