Giving up 27 runs in three games, two of them losses, was hardly the ideal scenario envisioned by head coach Brad Hagedorn for his Seckman baseball team to start the 2017 season.
But losses to Wentzville Holt (11-0) and Troy Buchanan (10-7), sandwiched around a 7-6 victory over Columbia Battle at last weekend’s Troy Baseball Classic, also didn’t have the Jaguar skipper reaching for the Rolaids bottle.
“I would say there wasn’t a whole lot of concern,” Hagedorn said. “And I certainly wouldn’t put it all on our pitching staff. For example, in the loss to Holt, only three of those runs were earned. So our defense let us down a little.”
Hagedorn’s only real issue with the Jaguar pitchers was their penchant for walking batters. Nearly all of the 19 freeloaders in the three contests came around to score.
“We’ve got some really young arms, and that’s what it’s all about – getting that experience at the varsity level,” said the Jaguar mentor, who enters his seventh campaign in charge. “That’s why (the Troy) tournament is so good to start out the season. We get a lot of games in, in such a short time, and sort of get our feet wet.”
Two pitchers return, including senior right-hander Brendan Briggs, who compiled a 5-2 record last year as the Jaguars finished 14-15 overall. He’ll be complemented by fellow senior Jeremy Mossman, a lefty. Beyond that pair, Hagedorn is on a fact-finding mission to locate other arms.
“I put those two at the top (of our rotation), but I couldn’t tell you right now who will turn out to be one and two. Briggs really did what we needed him to do against Battle, giving us six innings. Mossman (in the 11-0 loss) gave up runs, but none of them were earned in five innings.”
Briggs, senior Shawn Smith and junior Zac Voss don’t have a lot of varsity pitching experience.
“And guys who were relievers last year are now being thrust into starting roles,” Hagedorn said. “We’ll try to find the best combinations and get as much pitching time for people as we can, especially early in the season. We’ve got some younger guys in (lefty) Donovan Summers and Jake Waeltermann, both juniors, and our sophomore, Ethon Anderson. We’ll be looking to see what they have, and (junior) Lucas Erdmann didn’t throw badly in the tournament.”
On offense, the graduation of such veteran contributors as Jake Herget, Justin Kutz, AJ Marsh, Josh Ray and Austin Lawrence means a serious loss of firepower, with that group driving in 101 runs last season. But Hagedorn said he believes his current squad will find ways to stay in games.
“Look at some of the (returning) guys who have been there,” Hagedorn said. “Like Smith, who hit very well last year (.284 average, 15 runs batted in). Briggs has the ability, if he hits like we know he can, to have a lot of gap power. Voss has the power to hit in the middle of our lineup, (as does) Blake Becker, who probably has our most home run power potential.
“Anderson doesn’t seem to be fazed, even as a sophomore, and I’ve been impressed with Nate Robinson. And Erdmann had a good weekend at the plate. We got a lot of guys on base; we just had trouble getting them in, but it’s coming.”
Hagedorn said the Jaguars have the ability to hit a lot of doubles, show some gap power and flash some speed on the base paths.
“But we have to learn to get the guys in, once they get on base,” he said. “We absolutely have to get the ball in play, execute, and be able to move guys around (the bases).”
Seckman played Francis Howell North on Monday, after the Leader deadline, in the continuation of the Troy tournament. Then the Jaguars have a break until they visit Jefferson on Saturday, April 1. It will be Seckman’s only game of the season against a Class 3 opponent.