Photo by Kyle Parmley.
Chelsea’s Riley Watkins (24) pitches during a game against Mountain Brook on March 5. Watkins is one of 11 seniors for the Hornets and has signed to play at Itawamba Community College in Mississippi.
Last year, the key to the Chelsea High School baseball team’s season was the junior class. That group helped the Hornets make a Class 6A semifinal playoff run.
This spring, the key lies in that same group of guys, now seniors. Those 11 athletes will be critical if Chelsea has plans to make a run in the state playoffs again.
“We’ve got a lot of guys coming back and that’s a plus moving into this season,” said Chelsea coach Michael Stallings. “We’ve got a big senior class and a lot of those guys contributed on the field last year. We feel like we’ve got good experience from that standpoint.”
The Hornets are replacing four seniors that also contributed in a big way last spring. Even though there is a great deal of production that’s back from last season, Stallings buys into the notion that each team is different.
“The biggest thing I try to impress on them is this team is not last year’s team,” Stallings said. “This team has yet to achieve and accomplish what last year’s team has.”
This year’s team will have to forge its own path.
“That’s the challenge with this group and for us as coaches, is to get into the season and see how well this group handles adversity and see how our leaders respond and see how they’re going to pull the team through those situations,” Stallings said.
Chelsea has a bevy of productive arms that are part of that large senior class, which has already begun leading the way this year. Stallings has plenty of options, with guys such as Riley Watkins, Cameron Gage, Sam Towery, Emmitt Hudspeath and Brendon Case able to toe the rubber and throw quality innings.
“Those guys saw time on the mound last year and were guys that started games or came in and closed out games,” Stallings said.
The Hornets have their entire starting infield back from last season. From third to first base, Will Hayes, Nolan Forehand, Clay DeWeese and Watkins remain to provide stability and production.
William Root has started in right field for the last two years, while guys like Jacob Tinnell, Carter Frederick, Carter Burleson, Reed Burleson and Stephen Fant battled for significant playing time.
Behind the plate, Connor Griffin and Will Peacock began the year fighting for playing time after the departure of Jacob Burback.
In February, the Hornets had a pair of players sign to play collegiately. Case is heading to Georgia State and Watkins signed with Itawamba Community College.
Chelsea has started the season on a solid note, notching wins over the likes of Prattville and Shelby County. The Hornets have also knocked off Benjamin Russell, the team that knocked them out of the playoffs last season.
Through March 21, the Hornets have accumulated a 13-6 overall record, as they prepare to begin Class 6A, Area 8 play against Helena on April 3. At the plate, Forehand, Frederick and Griffin have eclipsed double digits in the RBI column, while Watkins is hitting for a .400 batting average. On the mound, Case, Hudspeath and Towery have logged the majority of innings, with Case throwing a no-hitter against Briarwood on March 8.
Chelsea sets goals for each position group. For pitchers, the aim is to be efficient. Offensively, quality at-bats are paramount. Defensively, the objective is to not give the opponent extra outs in an inning by committing blunders in the field.
“If we can do that, we can have success,” Stallings said.