Oh, to feel young again.

Watching big-leaguers get ready for an exhibition contest in the Florida sun, the Mars baseball team got that very chance earlier this week.

“They really went back to their 8-year-old versions of the little kids that fell in love with baseball,” Planets coach Jason Thompson said. “Even myself that has been around for a little bit, I felt like I was eight years old, too.”

In Bradenton prior to the Pittsburgh Pirates’ 3-2 Grapefruit League defeat to the Toronto Blue Jays on Thursday, Mars players got to see batting practice from up close on the field.

“It was just nice to get back to the roots and realize why we started playing the game in the first place,” Planets senior second baseman Jake Johnson said.

The reminder figures to serve Mars well as it returns to start WPIAL Section 3-5A play against West Allegheny on April 2.

“For these kids, being in the age of social media and you watch all these other kids from different teams, you’re constantly evaluating yourself,” Thompson said. “They start to almost focus on, ‘What’s next? What’s beyond? Am I good enough?’ They question their skills, then you go back to that this is just a game.

“Having that little kid feeling, I think, is going to be huge for us, (as) a little reminder of why we’re here.”

The size and abilities of the players at baseball’s highest level astonished Planets players.

“It was crazy to see how big those guys are, how far they hit it,” Johnson said.

The fact that even they aren’t flawless left a mark, too.

“It was interesting to see some of the players didn’t even have a perfect batting practice,” said senior closer and right fielder Jacob Maple. “Just seeing that not every player is perfect — even in the pros — was kind of like an eye-opener to me.”

Mars graduate and Pirates All-Star closer David Bednar talked with the team before the game, then pitched during competition for the first time this season.

“It was great to see David get an inning,” Johnson said. “He got a strikeout and we were all on TV going crazy for him.”

Bednar gave up a pair of hits and fanned a batter in a scoreless frame, while his fastball consistently clocked in around 97 miles per hour in the brief outing.

“He had a strained lat,” said Andy Bednar, David’s father and a Planets assistant coach. “It (the debut) just happened to fall on the day that we all were going to be there. You couldn’t have scripted that any better.”

Thompson let out a little laugh when talking about it.

“Jokingly, David said that he circled this day because he knew that we were coming,” Thompson said. “What is wild for me, all these things that Andy’s been able to experience with both of his sons, this was the first time that Andy was able to get down to watch David pitch in Bradenton as a Pirate for Spring Training.”

David Bednar connected the moment to his own upbringing in the Mars program.

“It just worked out that they get to come down and see a Bucco Spring Training game,” David Bednar said in a video post on the Pirates’ X social media account. “So we’re happy to see them here. I have so many fond memories of doing our spring baseball trip and to have them come here and hang out, it’s so full-circle and it’s really cool for them to have this opportunity.”

In past years, the Planets had gone to South Carolina for the bonding excursion. Scheduling at the Ripken Baseball complex there grew to be difficult, so Thompson and the team boosters looked into a new experience.

The weather in Florida was warmer than it’s been for Mars in Myrtle Beach. Connections between the Pirates and the team’s community made the time even more enjoyable. Pirates bench coach Don Kelly’s sons go to school in the district and Alex Kwong, a team clubhouse attendant, was a classmate of David Bednar’s.

“In a lot of ways, it was a little bit of a Mars reunion,” Thompson said.

The Planets arrived late in the Sunshine State late Tuesday night and stayed until Saturday. The team made use of St. Petersburg’s Baseball City, the former base for the Tampa Bay Rays’ Spring Training Camp. The facility features five Major League Baseball regulation-sized fields.

Aside from being immersed in the major league experience, Mars got its first two regular-season games in. The first of which was a toughly-contested 8-1 loss against nearby Northside Christian on Wednesday.

“Playing a team from Florida that’s already played 12 games and (is) swinging the bat well and playing well, that was our first regular season game,” Thompson said. “To play that type of competition is going to get us ready for a very tough section when we come back home.”

Before attending the Pirates game the next day, the Planets rebounded with a 14-7 win over St. Mary (N.J.). Mars also had a scrimmage against St. Raymond (N.Y.).

While the offensive confidence that came with scoring double-digit runs in their win will help, the experience against Northside Christian pitcher Andreas Alvarez — an Auburn pitching commit — will also pay dividends.

Alvarez threw in the low-to-mid 90s in his team’s win. Johnson feels it will slow things down for him and his teammates at home.

“Just seeing that will definitely make seeing stuff a little bit less good than that a lot easier to see, a lot easier to hit,” Johnson said. “It was just good to see that and get used to it and be ready for the upcoming season.”

Maple will remember the short stay for the connection it helped form with teammates, new and old.

“Just having a good time and team bonding,” Maple said. “Even with some of the JV guys getting to spend time with the whole team and getting to know people that are new to the team, it was a great time.”