Baseball preview: Area teams have high expectations for 2010 season

Sunday, March 21, 2010

sd_sports@yahoo.com

ORAN -- Much like last year, youth will play large role this season for the Oran Eagles.

"We were young last year and we're definitely young again," head coach Mitch Wood said.

"I will say this, I've really been excited about the crew that I have out. They're doing a pretty good job of some things that we're wanting to do."

The Eagles return three seniors, including outfielder Mac McConnell (.283 Avg.) and outfielder/second baseman Gabe Kielhofner (.225 Avg, 14 RBI).

"Kielhofner really came on at the end of the basketball season and was probably one of the best basketball players we had," Wood said. "I see the same thing out here on the baseball field.

"He's doing a real good job of stepping up doing some of the leadership things."

Losing in the semifinals of the district tournament, the Eagles finished last season 12-9.

Oran will kick off the season against the visiting Bloomfield Wildcats this Tuesday at 4 p.m.

Charleston Bluejays

CHARLESTON -- Returning five starters from a team that went 13-9 last season, Charleston Bluejays head coach Michael Minner sees plenty of holes to fill.

"There are still some positions up for grabs," Minner said. "We lost quite a bit from last year, especially on the pitching end."

New additions to the Bluejay's lineup will include third baseman Danny McKinney, second baseman Justin Hardin and center fielder Trey Watkins.

While there's still a few spots in the lineup missing, Minners main concern appears to be on the mound.

"We are looking for pitchers right now," he said. "We will have to throw some guys out there with little or no varsity experience, but that's the fun of high school sports.

"You just never know what's going to happen next."

The Bluejays opened the season Friday night against Cape Central and will play again Monday when they travel to Portageville to take on the Bulldogs at 4 p.m.

Dexter Bearcats

DEXTER -- Finding replacements for two of their biggest bats from last season is sure to be high the Dexter Bearcats priority list.

"We lost a large part of our offense when Bob Miller and Mason Noe graduated," head coach Brian Becker said. "We have some guys who are waiting in the wings.

"It's now their time to shine."

All-District catcher senior Ben Mills will be facing a position change this spring, moving to shortstop with senior Sawyer Smith taking over catching duties.

One the mound, ace senior Cody Stause is expected to have another strong season.

"Stause is a pitcher that has the capability to beat anybody in the region," Becker said. "When he's on, Stause is as good as any pitcher around."

The Bearcats finished last season with a 17-6 record, their third straight season with at least 17 wins.

They will open up on the road Wednesday at 4 p.m. against the Kennett Indians.

East Prairie Eagles

EAST PRAIRIE -- With junior Connor Scott their only returning pitcher who saw time on the mound last season, the East Prairie Eagles will need to give a relatively inexperienced pitching staff plenty of support.

"In order for us to be successful this season we are gonna have to play good defense behind our pitchers," head coach Gary Scott said. "We cannot afford to make errors and allow big innings."

East Prairie returns five starters from a team that finished last season 12-8.

Coach Scott said versatility is key this year.

"We have some guys that have to play multiple positions," he said. "It's gonna take time for them to get comfortable at those spots."

The Eagles open the season against visiting Saxony Lutheran Monday at 4:15 p.m.

Kelly Hawks

KELLY -- Losing a large portion of the roster to graduation, the Kelly Hawks enter the 2010 season with a lineup full of first year starters.

"We lost seven of our starting position players from last year so we have lots of holes to fill," head coach Nate Wills said.

"We are excited about some of are young players stepping in and getting some experience."

Kelly finished last season making a run to the district finals, where they fell to Saxony Lutheran to finish the season 11-10.

How the Hawks fair this year will likely hinge strongly on the play of it's two returning starters, seniors Dustin Crowder and Ryan Rolwing.

Crowder, the Hawks shortstop, was selected to the SEMO All-Conference and All-District teams while batting .360 with four home-runs last season.

As for the teams other returning starter Rolwing, a first baseman/designated hitter, Wills expects to see improvement from last year.

"Rowling has really fine tuned his swing," he said. "We look forward to seeing have a break out season."

On the mound, underclassman Ian Householder is expected to be the staff's ace.

"Householder has worked really hard in the off-season to become our No. 1 pitcher as a sophomore which speaks volumes about his work ethic," Wills said.

Kelly will kick off its season hosting the Sikeston Bulldogs Wednesday at 4 p.m.

Scott City Rams

SCOTT CITY -- Bringing 13 upperclassmen into the season, the Scott City Rams will return much of the team that went 12-10 last year.

A few of those returning include senior pitcher/outfielder Skylar Cobb, senior first baseman/outfielder Zach Pobst and junior outfielder Chris Limbaugh.

"Hard working group," head coach Lance Amick said. "We hope to compete every time we take the field.

"Hope to outwork all opponents."

The Rams open the season Monday, visiting Jackson at 4 p.m.

Cooter Wildcats

COOTER -- Looking for their fifth straight Class 1 District 1 title, the Cooter Wildcats will face five 2009 district champions in the regular season after finishing last season 22-3.

Cooter has a strong pitching duo in senior Logan Edwards and sophomore Jordan Anderson.

Edwards went 10-1 last season while Anderson can throw the ball into the upper 80's.

"Our strong point will be pitching and defense," head coach Allen Crawford said.

They will start the season on the road taking on Gosnell, Ark. Monday at 4 p.m.

NMCC Eagles

NEW MADRID -- Coming off a 3-13 season where his team started six freshman, New Madrid County Central coach John Jones is expecting to see big strides in his young group's game.

"They played their hearts out last year and they're hungry this year," he said. "All of them seems to have grown about two inches and put on 20 pounds."

Collin Ivie will be back for the Eagles, last year's lone returning all-conference player for the team.

Jones said, though his team's young, opponents shouldn't look past them.

"We're going to have to fight," he said. "We're going to struggle."

"I know that, the coaching staff knows that, but these kids are so resilient they may surprise some folks."

New Madrid County Central will start the season on the road against the Caruthersville Tigers, Tuesday at 4 p.m.

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