St. Pius X (19-3 in 2018) and Herculaneum (12-6-1) both reached Class 3 district finals, but that’s as far as the league would get in a season that lacked a district champion. The Lancers and Blackcats have most of their starting lineups back, and they’ve been tossed together into District 3 this spring.
St. Pius hasn’t lost a conference game in three years and has won the last four small-schools division titles.
The Lancers return senior Elijah Dale, the reigning small-schools most valuable player, and coach of the year Jerry Woods is back for his 12th season.
Dale is a superb shortstop and one of the best pitchers in the county. Last season, he led the team with a .479 batting average and 27 runs driven in. On the mound, Dale was 4-1 with a 2.69 earned-run average. He struck out 58 batters in 26 innings.
And Dale’s not even the No. 1 pitcher on the staff. That role goes to senior Jeremy Isenman, whose 9-2 record was only overshadowed by a microscopic ERA of 0.58. Isenman fanned 84 batters in 48 2/3 innings.
“We have other players who could assume that role (ace of the staff), but they are crucial position players. We use them to form a solid bullpen,” Woods said.
The Lancers have plenty of team speed and can hit for a high percentage throughout their lineup. Their top seven batters can all hit for power.
Seniors Dustin Burch (outfield), Tyler Hedtkamp (outfield, shortstop, pitcher), Austin Meyer (catcher, first base), Kaleb Schweigert (third base, pitcher), Brendan Weatherholt (second base, shortstop, pitcher) and Adam Edwards (outfield) all return to the varsity this season.
Burch was one notch below Dale in the batter’s box at .478. Burch is a powerful runner who stole 19 bases and had four triples. Hedtkamp swiped 11 bags and batted .328 with 20 RBIs and three triples. Edwards (.375, 10 stolen bases) and Schweigert (.379, 25 RBIs) also run the bases well.
“For us to have another great season, all of our returning starting varsity players will have to contribute,” Woods said.
St. Pius won two games at Potosi against the Trojans on Saturday to start the new season. Hedtkamp (3 innings), Weatherholt (2) and Noah Lampros (2) combined on the mound to shut out Potosi 7-0 in the first game. Dale was 2 for 3 with a triple and RBI to lead an 8-hit attack. The Lancers won the second game 11-1 in five innings. Lampros and Weatherholt had doubles and Isenman pitched four innings and struck out six to pick up the win.
The Lancers host Maplewood-Richmond Heights on Friday.
Blue Jays, Blackcats start a new tournament
Jefferson and Herculaneum collaborated to host a new tournament this spring. Greenville (Ill.), West County, Priory and Metro also were invited.
The Blue Jays let a 4-1 lead slip away to West County in their first game of the bracket on Friday, losing 6-4, but bounced back to shut out Metro 14-0 later that day. Jefferson finished 1-2 after losing to Greenville 13-4 on Saturday. Priory beat West County 8-7 on Saturday to claim the title.
Jefferson finished 10-13 overall and 3-2 in the small-schools division last year. The Blue Jays’ season ended with a loss to Saxony Lutheran in the first round of the Class 3 District 3 tournament.
Senior Jacob Melton and junior Levi Ebersoldt are the top two hurlers. Melton looked sharp against West County and was limited to a pitch count. Melton struck out 33 batters in 24 1/3 innings and was 2-1 last season.
“The biggest bullpen he’d thrown was 40 pitches,” head coach Robert
Kuehnle said. “We want to save his arm for later in the year. If we let him finish the game today, it would have been a different outcome, but you’ve got to protect the kids before you protect the wins.
“He was cruising until we saw his mechanics start to falter and we didn’t want him to get hurt.”
In 39 innings last season, Ebersoldt had an ERA of 0.72 and a record of 2-3.
“He’s been our ace since his freshman year,” Kuehnle said. “(Ebersoldt and Melton) are going to take the majority of starts, but we also have Braden Harmon and Tommy Moon who are going to be big for us as well.”
After crushing most of the offensive records on the football team, senior Andrew Graves is looking to crush some baseballs after sitting last year out while he recovered from knee surgery. Graves, an outfielder who can hit for power, is an accomplished sprinter on the track and field team and will compete in both sports this spring.
“You never know what he’s going to give you so we love having him,”
Kuehnle said. “He makes incredible catches in the outfield and he can either bunt for a hit, or hit a bomb.”
Colby Ott batted .400 from the leadoff spot as a freshman and Kuehnle said he expects Ott to be one of the top bats. Levi Roth, Jacob Bridges and Erik Eisenbeis return to the varsity. Roth has been the starting catcher the last two years and Kuehnle said the rest of the Blue Jays follow his lead.
“Mechanically (Eisenbeis) is probably our best outfielder,” Kuehnle said. “He struggled at the plate (against West County) but we know we’re going to get some good production out of him.”
Wind was a factor in last weekend’s tournament, and some miscommunication on defense by Jefferson helped West County come back to win.
“Everybody got a little frazzled and it was beginning-of-the-year mistakes,” Kuehnle said.
The Blue Jays are also in Class 3 District 3 with their conference rivals. Jefferson hosts Saxony Lutheran today (March 21).
Herculaneum success relies on Duncan’s right arm
Losses to Greenville and Priory on Friday in the Blackcats’ first joint tournament with Jefferson won’t define the Blackcats’ season, but they gave head coach Zac Bone a good idea of his team’s shortfalls.
In the season opener against Greenville, Herculaneum trailed 4-0 before junior Jordan Duncan drove a pitch off of the center field wall to score Cole Myers in the fifth inning. The game remained 4-1 until the bottom of the seventh when Chance Jenkins and Blake Leathers scored for the Blackcats to cut the deficit to 4-3. The bases were left loaded when three straight Herky batters couldn’t deliver.
In their second game Friday, the Blackcats trailed Priory 8-0 before falling 13-2. Herculaneum won its first game of the season by beating Metro 13-3 in Saturday’s fifth-place game.
“There were a lot of early-season mistakes, especially from the defense,” Bone said. “We were down 1-0 and hadn’t given up a hit yet. We knew it wasn’t going to be perfect the first couple of games.”
Duncan took up two spots on the small-schools team last year when he was selected to the first team as an infielder and honorable mention on the mound. Last year he led the Blackcats in batting average (.440) and RBIs (20) and was 3-1 with an ERA of 1.56 and two saves on the bump. He also scored 24 runs and stole 18 bases.
“I thought we competed well. Jordan Duncan was excellent on the mound,” Bone said after the loss to Greenville.
Herky is loaded with senior experience with Jason Harden (third base, pitcher), Leathers (outfield), Marino Ragan (pitcher, outfield), Trevor Smith (pitcher, infield) and Dalton Cook (pitcher, infield). Ragan was 2-0 with an ERA of 0.47 and averaged a strikeout per inning in 2018. Leathers and Smith are three-year starters who can play multiple positions.
“Marino Ragan came in and gave us two good innings (against Greenville). Cody Gibson gave us a chance with two quality innings,” Bone said Friday.
Harden is a three-time all-conference selection (second team in 2018) and batted .314 with five doubles and eight stolen bases last year.
“We have a lot of depth in our senior class,” Bone said. “Blake Leathers hit well (Friday).”
Junior Greg Rose (pitcher, infielder) and Myers, a sophomore, the starting catcher for Herculaneum, return this season.
“We have experience in some key spots,” Bone said.
The Blackcats lost 4-0 to Hancock in the District 4 final last season. All of the pieces seem to be in place for Herculaneum to take a shot at a district title in 2019.
Herculaneum is in the St. Mary’s Tournament on Friday and Saturday.
De Soto bats slumber at tournament in Ste. Genevieve
The Dragons opened the season with a pair of losses on Friday in the seventh annual Old Settlement Tournament in Ste. Genevieve.
De Soto lost its opener 9-2 to Valle Catholic and then were shut out 12-0 by Jackson, a Class 5 quarterfinalist last season. The Dragons mustered just five hits in the two losses. Nic Krodinger had a hit and scored both of De Soto’s runs in the loss to the Warriors.
The Dragons are coming off of an 8-15 season that ended when they fell 3-2 in nine innings to Park Hills Central in the Class 4 District 2 tournament.
“After graduating most of our starters from last season, we are going to have to wait and see what type of team we are going to be,” head coach Matt Buechting said. “I feel that team speed will be improved and we should have the ball in play a lot more, but other than that, time will tell.”
Seniors Clayton Snudden (outfield), Andrew Downs (catcher), Dieterich Guertzgen (pitcher) and Shaun Brooks (pitcher) and juniors Briar Fischer (infield, pitcher) and Kameren Brooks (outfield, pitcher) have the most experience of the returners.
Snudden has been a valuable asset to De Soto athletics for four years. He’s a standout on the gridiron and hardwood and now takes his talents around the bases one more time for the Dragons. The skills Snudden (first team Mississippi Area Football Conference Red Division in 2018; second team large-schools division baseball in 2018) has as a wide receiver are the same when he patrols the outfield: quickness and the ability to close on the ball.
Downs led the Dragons with a .421 batting average last year and is a solid defensive backstop.
“We need all of our seniors to play key roles if this is going to be a successful season,” Buechting said. “Clayton and Andrew will be a couple of our main contributors and leaders.”
Kameren and Shaun Brooks combined to go 4-4 on the mound last year. The Brooks’ brothers will be relied on to replace stalwarts Hunter Canada and Brett Gibbs, who graduated last spring.
“We feel we have very capable younger arms to fill these innings,” Buechting said. “At this point we are going to have to see who wants to step up and be our No. 1 pitcher.”
The Dragons travel to Perryville on Monday to play the conference champion Pirates.
Festus wants to use speed as pressure
Eddie Martin had a breakout season as a junior last year.
His presence is a big reason why the Tigers are capable of winning a second Class 4 district championship in three seasons. Festus was 16-8 last season after losing to Park Hills Central in the District 2 semifinals. Martin was a first-team member of the large-schools division team after batting .487 and playing strong defense at shortstop.
Seniors Caleb Hyde (utility), Charlie Pratt (pitcher) and Zach Baisch (left-handed pitcher) are all varsity veterans head coach Jeff Montgomery is counting on. Senior Ryan Reando appeared in six games on the mound last season.
“Hopefully (the four seniors) can build on the opportunities and growth they got last year and lead us offensively and defensively,” Montgomery said.
Between pitching for Festus High and the Festus American Legion team over the summer, Pratt saw a lot of time on the mound and he’s improved quite a bit over that time. He was 2-2 with a 3.60 ERA for the Tigers last spring. Baisch was 1-1 with a 1.83 ERA and Hyde batted .298 with 16 RBIs.
Montgomery said that Festus could routinely have three sophomores in the lineup in Collin Reando, Jacob Folk and Cole Wagner, who will get some time on the mound.
“They are all potentially good ballplayers, and we need them this year out of necessity,” Montgomery said. “It should be a great opportunity for them.”
Dominic Nolfo and Kobe Branscomb are new this year. Nolfo was on the football team last fall and Branscomb started for the basketball team and was one of the conference’s top players.
“They will help us in many capacities by being athletic and character guys,” Montgomery said.
Junior Nolan Stafford and senior Zach Liles provide pitching depth. Liles was a first-team performer for the football team last year. Juniors Connor Wilkinson and Wyatt Daugherty can both pitch and play in the field.
“We are pretty deep with many athletes who we hope can contribute and pitch, but we don’t return a lot of experience on the mound overall,” Montgomery said.
If the Tigers are to have success, Montgomery said it starts with improving their play in the field.
“That has to be a strength of ours,” he said. “We have to just keep having a positive attitude and work to get better. I think our kids know this year is going to have some challenges. The kids are showing up and going to work, so that’s a good sign they’re up for the challenge.”
Festus began the season in the Parkway Tournament on Friday with a 5-1 loss to Parkway South. Pratt fanned six batters and walked three in three innings and was saddled with the loss. The Tigers are at Potosi today (March 21).
Hornets split two at Arcadia
Sophomore Hunter Bassin scored two runs and had a hit and RBI at the plate in Crystal City’s season-opening 8-4 win against South Iron on Saturday.
Bassin was also the winning pitcher after he hurled four innings and struck out six batters. Tate Ramey scattered three hits and pitched three innings of scoreless relief for the Hornets, who fell to 1-1 after losing 19-4 to Arcadia Valley in their second game on Saturday.
Bassin, who’s also the starting shortstop, is trying to help Crystal turn around a 1-13 campaign in 2018, where its only win was 4-3 against St. Vincent. The Hornets’ season came to a crashing end with a 15-1 defeat at the hands of Class 2 District 3 champion Valle Catholic.
Senior Collin Wilkerson (catcher) and sophomore Julian Rivera (third base) are also keys to Crystal’s revival. Wilkerson batted a robust .394 last season and is the team captain.
“We focus on all of the little things,” said Crystal City head coach Ricardo Pastrana, who enters his fourth season. “Offensively we focus on our approaches at the plate, try to get runners on, move them, and make productive outs.”
The Hornets host Valle Catholic today (March 21).
Hawks have Div. I pitcher
There’s only one player in the league who’s signed to play Division I baseball.
That’s Hillsboro senior Michael Brewer, who committed to the University of Southern Mississippi last summer. Brewer is that rare talent who could have just as easily played college basketball. But at 6-5 and throwing 90 mph, Brewer feels his best hopes of being paid to play professionally are on the diamond.
He pitched four innings and was the winning pitcher in the Hawks’ 5-3 victory in their season opener against Parkway Central in the Troy Buchanan Tournament on Friday. Junior Logan Warren scattered three hits in three innings of relief to earn the save.
Hillsboro last won a district title in 2010 (Class 4) and has been competing in Class 5 District 1 since then. The Hawks finished last season 10-10 after losing to eventual district champion Jackson.
“I think for us to be successful this year, we will need everyone to contribute in some way,” head coach Kevin Lucas said. “With the core group of returners, it gives us a good foundation and hopefully the newcomers can adjust quickly to the varsity level.”
Brewer doesn’t have to do it all on the mound. Seniors Christian Hancock and Ethan Eckrich are good complements to Brewer, whose 3-1 record and 3.73 ERA doesn’t jump out on paper. Hancock and Eckrich combined to pitch 28 1/3 innings, but Eckrich walked three times as many batters (26) as he struck out (7).
“Pitching could be a strong point for us this year,” Lucas said. “I guess you could say Brewer is our ace, but Hancock and Eckrich hope to have something to say about that, I’m sure. If those three can give us starts, our bullpen can handle the rest.”
Coming out of the pen this season are Warren, Grant Beck, Dayton Hoelter, Brendan McLaughlin and Isack Hamilton, all juniors.
Hamilton is slotted to be the catcher and senior Hayden Voyles and junior Mark Moore are the two top outfielders. Moore is also a three-sport athlete who batted .462 last year in limited plate appearances, but he should be able to steal more than one base with his speed and quick jump off the bag.
Lucas said he’d like to see Hillsboro be able to do just about everything at the plate and on the bases.
“With the bats the way they are, I don’t feel you can just rely on the home run,” said Lucas, who led the school’s fence-crashing softball team to the state final four last fall. “I want to see us drive the ball into the gap. If we can cut down on the strikeouts and get extra bases, then we could have some pretty good success this year.”
The Hawks are off until they host St. Clair on March 27.
Seniors key to Owls’ revival
Finishing last year with five wins against 16 losses after falling to Festus in the Class 4 District 2 tournament, Windsor is ready to turn the fates around. The Owls scored just eight runs in their final six games of 2018, all losses.
“We have many players returning and a great group of younger players filling in,” head coach Jeff Young said. “We had great participation in the offseason and there is a feeling of excitement and wanting to move Windsor back to a competitive power in the conference and districts.”
Six seniors figure to be the key to the turnaround. Connor Hartmann (pitcher, third base), Cooper Thomas (catcher), Chase Beard (pitcher, outfield), Nate Browning (outfield, second base), Justin Van Etten (first base, pitcher) and Cole Stelling (second base, pitcher) are all capable of being all-conference performers. Van Etten was a second teamer last spring.
None of the players on this year’s roster hit .300 or above last year. Van Etten will hit in the middle of the lineup. Hartmann was injured for most of last season.
“He was our No. 1 pitcher as a sophomore, and he will contribute daily at third base and hit as well,” Young said of Hartmann.
Beard will be given the ball in key matchups after going 1-4 last spring. Thomas returns as the starting catcher. The middle infield is made up of Browning (shortstop) and Stelling (second base). Stelling didn’t play last season because of an injury.
Newcomers to the varsity include outfielders Andy Omanovic and Derek Williams. Omanovic will bat leadoff. Matt Martin and Pierce Hartmann will both pitch and play in the infield. Ian West, Kalen Gmerek and Luke Weick will all get plenty of at-bats. Nick Hummel (second base, pitcher), Cal Gaitens (pitcher, outfielder), Grant Siegal (second base) and Gavin Kinworthy are all vying for playing time. Justin Stenger is out with an injury.
Young said the Owls “have a ton of pitching” with Connor Hartmann and Beard expected to be the aces.
“Both throw hard and will be playing next year in college,” Young said.
Windsor began the season in the St. Charles West Tournament last Friday. The tournament concludes on Friday.
McAnally leads Eagles onto diamond this season
Senior Colton McAnally was as valuable to Grandview as any other player was to his baseball team last season.
McAnally is the team’s top pitcher, best infielder and probably at the top in the outfield, too. When the Eagles needed a key hit or out last year, they often looked to McAnally, who was a second-team small-schools division pick. With the graduation of Trace McDaniel and his team-leading .431 batting average and 32 runs knocked in, Grandview needs McAnally (.389, 17 RBIs, 21 stolen bases) more than ever.
“We are a team that depends on getting on base, stealing bases, hit and running and moving runners up,” head coach Jeff Ketcherside said. “We don’t have power so we depend on playing small ball to create runs.”
Junior Ethan Mollard batted .364 and had seven extra-base hits last season. When Mollard isn’t in the outfield, he’ll be on the mound, where he was 2-2 last year.
“I will be looking for (McAnally and Mollard) to expand on last year,” Ketcherside said.
Senior Nathan Bordeau is at first base. Bordeau was a designated hitter last year who will bat in the middle of the order.
Freshmen Chase Wilson and Austin Gallaway have select ball experience and will see time on the mound.
“They will be called upon to be big contributors,” Ketcherside said.
Freshman Clayton Riddle starts at second base and sophomore Sam Rose is at third. The outfield has more experience in seniors Trenton Kostro, Bryan Martinez and Ely Moore.