When the Manhattan High baseball team set out and embarked on its 2016 campaign, it did so with three senior captains: Josh Chapman, Darien Stokes and Tanner Holen.

The Indians lost one to injury Tuesday night when Holen, a catcher, dislocated his thumb when a foul tip caught his free hand in the wrong place. He was almost immediately driven to a Manhattan hospital, where he underwent surgery that sidelined him for the remainder of the season.

The Indians may not have needed him Wednesday night in their 14-2 and 16-2 sweep of Highland Park, but Holen’s stern, businesslike presence on and off the field was missed.

“While he’s not a real loud person, he’s a real serious person about baseball,” head coach Don Hess said. “That’s the part I think we’re going to miss. Besides the catching, we’re just going to miss his serious, no-nonsense attitude behind the plate.”

Stokes concurred, adding that Holen serves as a mentor for the team’s less experienced players.

“He’ll really get on some of the underclassmen, and that’s something that we’ll have for Friday, because he’ll be in the dugout with us,” Stokes said, “which will be good.”

Hess, though, is able to empathize with Holen, as Hess was also a catcher in his playing days. As a result, the coach sent Holen a text Wednesday afternoon, offering words of encouragement.

“I told Tanner that I think he’s the best catcher in the league, bar none,” Hess said. “It’s been a pleasure to watch him catch this year, because he was our heart and soul.”

Holen is committed to play at juco Iowa Western next year, a commitment he made in August of 2015. Before that, though, he will finish out his high school career from the dugout.

“He lived for catching, and has really worked hard at it,” Hess said. “It’s a devastating loss for us, and especially for him. This isn’t how he wanted his senior season to end, and we’re going to miss him.”

But he will, of course, be beside his team in its final two regular-season doubleheaders and as the Indians venture into the postseason. That’s something that, even if he isn’t behind the plate, may go far for his team.