Seckman came out swinging at the 28th Troy Buchanan Classic with 20 hits and 24 runs in two games, a 9-3 win over Liberty (Wentzville) March 15 and a 15-0 shutout in four innings the next day over Gateway Legacy Christan Academy.
But in the final game of pool play March 16, the Jaguars lost 15-3 in five innings to Francis Howell, the four-time state champion that finished second in the state (Class 6) a year ago. Seckman played in the fifth-place semifinals on Monday, after the Leader deadline. The tournament was set to conclude Tuesday.
With six players back after earning all-conference honors last year (in the Suburban Conference Red pool, the second tier competitively), and coming off a 21-6 season (7-0 in league play, good for the championship), the Jaguars have the talent to repeat as conference champions and challenge for their first district championship since 2013.
“We should have a good mix of power and speed,” said head coach Brad Hagedorn, who begins his 14th season. “We’ll be able to hit for a high slugging percentage and also steal a good number of bases.”
In their first three games at Troy, the Jaguars swiped 10 bases, four by junior center fielder and leadoff batter Ryan Bradford, a first-team all-conference pick last year after hitting .305, scoring 41 runs and stealing 15 bases. Against Liberty, Bradford had three hits, walked and scored twice. He had two more hits and a run against Gateway.
Senior first baseman Nathan Higgins (first team all-conference) hit .364 with 24 runs batted in last year. He had two hits in the opener and his three-run home run in the fourth sealed the win over Gateway. Junior catcher/outfielder Brady Vessells (first team) hit .350 with three homers and 21 RBIs last year.
Senior Kayden Kohlberg (another first-teamer) can play third base and in the outfield and will pitch; he was 7-1 with a 2.90 ERA and 48 strikeouts in 44 2/3 innings last year. In the opener against Liberty, Kohlberg was the winning pitcher, fanning nine and allowing four hits and an unearned run.
Tommy Gibbar played quarterback for Seckman last fall when the Jags reached a district final in football for the first time in their history. He already had certified his versatility as an athlete last spring by earning first-team all-conference recognition in the outfield, leading the team in batting average (.422), hits (48) and stolen bases (20 in 23 attempts).
Senior Zach Walters (second team all-conference) will play second and third base and pitch. He slugged four round-trippers and drove in 20 runs a year ago.
Seckman has an extensive roster with players who can plug into multiple positions: seniors Hayden Boyd (second base), Tyler Tipton (shortstop, pitcher), Kody Brown (left field, catcher), Carter Hutsell (right field, pitcher), Gavin Bayless (second base, pitcher) and Nolan Schrick (third base, pitcher); juniors Connor Day (third base, pitcher), Alex Fieseler (third base, pitcher), Aiden Schumacher (outfield), Ethan Schoemehl (outfield) and Jack Schlechte (catcher, pitcher) and sophomore Carter Bingel (first base, pitcher).
Hutsell pitched a four-inning no-hitter against Gateway. Kohlberg is the staff ace, with Hutsell and Day also in the rotation and the fourth starter likely coming from bullpen arms. Walters or Tipton can fill the closer role.
Fox Warriors
While Seckman faced a Class 6 finalist in its season-opener, Fox traveled to Festus March 15 to play the Class 5 state champion Tigers.
The Warriors mustered only one hit off lefthander Mason Schirmer, the winning pitcher in last year’s state final, and lost 7-0. Senior outfielder Seth Steiger doubled to lead off the third inning, but was stranded there.
Junior starter Ethan Mazzola and senior reliever Anthony Sabella pitched for Fox. Three errors in the third inning helped fuel a six-run Tiger outburst.
Fox fell to 0-2 the next day with a 6-3 loss to De Soto, another team from the Jefferson County Activities Association.
In 2023 the Warriors, who compete in the Suburban Conference Green pool, won five of their final six games before falling to Mehlville 3-2 in the first round of the Class 6 District 1 tournament to finish 14-9.
“I thought (Sabella) pitched as well as anybody in this game,” veteran head coach Neil Richardson said after the loss to Festus. “He kept us in it. Ethan was tough because it’s frustrating when the defense isn’t playing behind you. He’s got a load of potential.”
After batting .396 last year, junior Lucas Urschler returns at catcher. He had one of the errors in the loss to the Tigers.
“He had a tough inning, but he’s going to bounce back,” said Richardson, undertaking his 18th season at the helm. “We know what he’s going to be. He’s a great kid. He’s smart. He’s a leader.”
Sabella and Mazzola will split duty at first base when they’re not on the mound. Junior Landon Vernon made his first varsity start against the Tigers, at second base. Sophomore shortstop Braden Christman, who has the good hands and strong arm needed at that position, hit in the No. 2 spot against the state champs.
Junior Andrew Bendler played third in the opener, but can shift to short and also will pitch. Senior Will Bruenger bats ninth and usually plays right field but was in center against Festus because of an injury.
“(Bruenger) can lay it down and we feel like he’s going to have a good season no matter where we put him,” Richardson said.
Juniors Gavin Cacioppo and Hayden Schumacher patrol right field while senior Corban Waller gives the Warriors a left-handed bat and plays left field.
“You can tell that he knows he’s a senior and this is his year,” Richardson said. “He’s confident and strong. (In 2023) he struggled hitting balls to all parts of the field and this year we’ve seen nothing but that. When the ball’s inside, he’s going to punch it into left.”
Northwest Lions
Cody Huff is the third head coach in three years at Northwest. He takes over for Logan Winder, who guided the 2023 Lions to an 11-18 overall record and a 3-4 mark in the Red pool. The Lions lost 4-0 to Seckman in the first round of the Class 6 District 1 tournament.
Northwest kicked off its 2024 season in the Lindbergh-Mehlville Tournament March 15-18. The Lions fell to Lindbergh 7-1 in the opener, but scored three runs in the bottom of the fifth to beat Mehlville 6-5. Northwest wrapped up play in the tournament against Lutheran-St. Charles on Monday, after the Leader deadline.
“This year we are looking to hit gap-to-gap; we won’t see many home runs but are anticipating a good amount of extra-base hits through the middle of our lineup,” Huff said. “We have a good mix of average to above-average speed, but small-ball (isn’t) our main focus.”
Against Mehlville, freshman Carson Leuthauser had two hits, including the game-winning double, and four RBIs. Junior Jack Wood started on the mound for Northwest, allowing four hits and striking out four. Only two of Wood’s five runs were earned. Junior Hayden Greenwood came on in relief and earned the win after 2 1/3 innings of scoreless work.
Of the 12 pitchers who appeared for Northwest last season, seven graduated as part of a 14-member senior group. The top returnees on the hill, by innings pitched last year, are seniors Coby Williams (16 1/3) and Nick Younkins (15 2/3), but Huff said senior Dom Debella is the designated ace of the staff. He threw six innings last season and was the losing pitcher against Lindbergh, allowing three runs in 1 2/3 innings.
“Dom’s been leading by example at practice,” Huff said. “Our Nos. 2-3 are still up in the air, but we are going to piece together the end of our rotation. We have a good amount of role pitchers in the bullpen.”
Senior shortstop Cory Harris is a top returnee at the plate after hitting .312, although he was hitless in his first six at-bats this season. Seniors Brett Barnett and Brayden Westover join Harris and
Leuthauser in the heart of the batting order.
“If the middle of the lineup contributes the way we believe they will, we think our team will be pretty solid,” Huff said.
The rest of the team includes seniors Landon Chesnick (outfield, pitcher), Doug Fielder (third base, pitcher) and Landon Richard (pitcher) and juniors Chase Dodge (second base), Landen Griffin (shortstop, pitcher), Wes Knuckles (outfield), Evan Lawson (pitcher, first base, outfield), Caleb Mckenna (outfield) and Jackson Venatta (catcher, third base, pitcher).