KAYSINGER BASEBALL: Bluebirds feature solid core

Veteran pitching and a group of versatile core players bring hope to Cole Camp second-year baseball coach Todd Rusk.

The Bluebirds return all four pitchers from last year’s team that went 11-7 and reached the championship game of the Kaysinger tournament.

Garrett Gilbert (4-3, 3.11 ERA) led the staff in wins and strikeouts (68).

Andrew Yeager (3-2) posted the best ERA of the starters at 1.67.

Caleb Eckhoff went 2-1 with a 2.33 ERA, and Ron Herdman went 2-1 with a 5.60 ERA.

The Bluebirds bring back three players who batted over .450.

Senior all-conference and all-district catcher Trenton Miller batted .492 with 16 stolen bases.

All-conference first baseman Eckhoff hit .455, and all-conference and all-district outfielder Gilbert hit .452 with 15 stolen bases.

The Bluebirds lost four key players including all-conference and all-district pick Chad Schlesselman. Andrew Kurz, Brandon Rupe and Nick Veale are no longer on the team.

Senior shortstop Corey Vance, sophomore outfielder Aaron Pitts, sophomore outfielder Jesse Strickland, freshman outfielder/catcher Skylar Belzer and freshman outfielder Tyler Rusk are key newcomers.

Having nine freshmen on the roster will give the Bluebirds depth and versatility, but getting those players enough playing time could be a problem, coach Rusk said.

The rest of the conference appears to be evenly matched.

La Monte won’t field a team this season because of low numbers.

Smithton

Only six players return from a team that won just three games last season.

Sean Smith comes back as the Tigers’ No. 1 starter. Aaron Houston will pitch in relief.

Tyler Miyashiro, Mat Stockstill, Cody Walker and Clint Wehrman round out the team’s list of returning starters.

The Tigers lost all-conference and all-district performers John Crawford and Andy Rowlette as well as Tim Ramey.

Smithton coach Eric Rehmer will have a deep ballclub this season.

“I do have 14 players but only six have played for me in the past,” Rehmer said. “I have five freshmen and three seniors. The other six are middle classmen.”

Rehmer likes his team’s work ethic, but inexperience will be a concern early.

Sacred Heart

Only a handful of players remain from Sacred Heart’s 2006 state championship team.

Only all-conference catcher/pitcher Jason Lamb, all-conference outfielder Jacob Melick and outfielder Alex Geml return from a team that won back-to-back district championships.

The Gremlins lost three all-staters.

Third baseman J.G. Kelley and pitcher/shortstop Jaric Reid signed to play baseball at Maple Woods Community College in Kansas City.

Pitcher Austin Mullins graduated after earning the victory in the 2006 state championship game.

The Gremlins lost first baseman Brandon Martin, and sophomore outfielder Seth Keethler will miss the season because of a knee injury.

Sophomore Jacob Harlan is the Gremlins’ fourth returning starter. He played third base and pitched last season.

Harlan and Lamb will anchor the pitching staff this season.

“We lost a lot of very good players,” coach Steve Goodwin said. “We will be very young.”

The Gremlins expect to win, though. They are going for their eighth straight winning season.

Sophomore infielder Sam Liston, freshman infielders Nate Bailey and Wes Register, freshman outfielders Chris Hoffman and Jacob Rosendale, and freshman catcher Nicolai Cox are newcomers who should make an impact.

Lincoln

The Cardinals will lack experience in the starting rotation, but hope a veteran group of everyday players will make the difference.

Kevin Aery is the Cardinals’ only returning pitcher from last season when they went 5-10.

Logan Treece, Robert Southard, Kenny Winfrey and Steven Wischmeier give the Cardinals a solid nucleus.

Richard Bonner, Clayton Bradshaw, Alec Crull, Josiah Casey, Jasper Glenn and Matt Wright bring starting experience.

Bonner, Bryson Waibel and Drake Young will join Aery on the pitching staff.

Jon Craig is another newcomer who could break through this season.

The Cardinals lost all-conference player Trey Glenn.

Northwest

The Mustangs hope to build on last year’s performance.

They went 8-8 and reached the semifinals of a district tournament.

The core of last year’s team returns.

Ian Wiskur leads a deep pitching staff.

Trevor Cunningham, Ty Crooker and newcomer Austin Blackburn will see mound duty.

Most of the Mustangs’ infield returns.

Cunningham will play shortstop, Wiskur will man third base when he’s not pitching, and Mark McDonald will catch.

Northwest will miss first baseman Will Alexander who will miss about a month of the season because of a knee injury, according to first-year coach Billy Daleske. Jordan Fowler will fill in.

Luke Simmons is the projected starting second baseman.

Crooker will anchor the outfield.

Daleske likes his team’s lineup from one to nine. The batting features several players who can hit the long ball.

Green Ridge

The Tigers lost six seniors from a team that won the consolation trophy in last year’s conference tournament and reached the district semifinals.

However, first-year coach Paul Fletcher thinks his team has the talent to make a run in the Kaysinger Conference.

Despite losing ace pitcher Will Snyder, the Tigers feature four solid candidates for mound time this season.

Austin Jensen, Brett Shoop, Luke Skidmore and Nathan Thacker will pitch this season.

Fletcher said that Jensen has looked good the past couple of weeks.

Shoop, a second-team all-stater last season, Kevin Hontz, Jensen and Aaron Vincent will see time at multiple infield positions, and Thacker will start at first base when he’s not pitching.

Skidmore will anchor the Tigers’ outfield with freshman Chris Pottorff receiving a chunk of playing time, too.

Freshman Austin Honn will start most games at catcher.

Fletcher likes his team’s infielders, offensively and defensively, and believes Skidmore will be an asset in center field.

Stover

Third-year head coach B.J. Adams likes his senior class.

Senior shortstop Wes Mueller was an all-state, all-district and all-conference selection last season after batting .522 with six homers and 15 RBIs.

Senior outfielder Dusty Offield scored 13 runs and had seven RBIs for the 5-11 Bulldogs.

Third baseman Anthony Brown hit .348 with eight RBIs.

Outfielder Chad Boles and utility players Seth Folsom and Ethan Shackelford round out the Bulldogs’ senior class.

Brown, Mueller and Offield will be in the starting rotation.

Mueller was the team’s workhorse last season. He went 3-4 with a 3.46 ERA in 41 2/3 innings. He struck out 67 batters.

Sophomore second baseman Tyler Wilson is the Bulldogs’ other returning starter.

The all-conference pick and all-district honorable mention hit .410.

Daniel Brown, Zach Danner and Jon Snelling graduated.

Sophomore outfielder Jordan Quick and sophomore infielder/outfielder Dillion Offield should see plenty of playing time.

Both players will pitch.

Adams is concerned that many of his boys haven’t played baseball since last spring.

The coach said his team’s offense and defense needs to improve over last year.