Baseball teams hopeful for strong spring runs

The 2019 high school baseball season is officially here, with Feb. 18 marking the first day of competition for many schools across the state. With a new season brings the hope of success and the realization of a team’s goals. 

For the schools in the 280 Living coverage area, that success is certainly within reach. Briarwood, Chelsea, Oak Mountain and Spain Park have all made a habit of putting competitive products on the diamond throughout the past several years, and this season promises to be no different.

LIONS FULL OF 'YOUNG GUYS'

The Briarwood locker room looks a little different this spring. Gone are several players who started for three or four years, and now it’s time for a crop of young, talented players to take their place.

“They’re a young bunch, but I really like them,” head coach Steve Renfroe said. “They’re fun to be with. I think they can become a really sound baseball team.”

Renfroe believes the Lions have the toughest schedule in his tenure, with the likes of Hewitt-Trussville, Helena, Oak Mountain and Spain Park on it. The Lions also play in Class 5A, Area 8, with John Carroll, Ramsay and Woodlawn.

“It’s going to be challenging,” Renfroe said. “But the great news is the kids want to play it. And they know that seeing those really good teams is going to make them better, more resilient.”

Sophomores Wesley Helms, Eli Steadman and Jonah Carroll all had big roles last season as freshmen. They will be expected to do big things once again. Then there are experienced players such as Sam Hamner, Bryce Perrien and Andrew Ponder who will help lead the way. Briarwood’s roster boasts six seniors this spring.

“We’ve got close to 15 sophomores, so it’s going to be a year to watch young guys that nobody knows show up and play,” Renfroe said. “The competition of the young guys is going to be fun to watch.”

HORNETS RELY ON WORK ETHIC

Chelsea has a handful of returning position players from last year’s squad, including Nolan Forehand, Bennett Horton, Carter Frederick and Will Peacock. Those four are expected to provide even more this year. 

But on the mound, it’s a different story, as the Hornets are looking to fit several new pieces into the puzzle to form a solid pitching staff. Sophomores Connor Ball and Brock Hill are going to be given opportunities to seize big roles, along with Frederick, JT McGregor, Horton, Hayden Hutcheson, Jacob Tinnell and Forehand. 

“This group’s going to have to fill a lot of voids from last year,” said Michael Stallings, Chelsea’s athletic director and head baseball coach. “Just on the mound, we’re replacing 175 innings, which is a big number.”

Stallings believes the “level of competition” will define the 2019 version of the Hornets, and he said the quality depth will allow for that competition to be a positive for the team. Chelsea will play against the likes of Pelham, Calera and Helena in Class 6A, Area 8.

EAGLES LOOK TO TAKE NEXT STEP

It would be difficult to choose a term that exaggerates how senior-heavy the Oak Mountain baseball roster is in 2019. The Eagles’ roster is exclusively upperclassmen, with 18 of those 21 players being seniors.

“There’s a lot of excitement,” said Derek

Irons, who enters his fourth year as head coach. “We’ve got a lot of pieces coming back from last year. We’ve got some guys that’ll be stepping into new roles that are excited about that challenge.”

Five of the team’s eight starters in the field last year return. The left side of the Eagles infield remains intact, with Auburn University signee Landon Cato returning at third base and Caleb Ragland at shortstop. 

Cato, Ragland and pitcher Jackson Kimbrell are three players who will lead the way for Oak Mountain this spring. Behind Kimbrell, there is not much varsity experience, but Irons is hopeful that the pitching staff will end up as a strength. 

“Our depth on the mound will be the best it’s been in my three years here,” Irons said. “We’ve got nine or 10 guys that we feel pretty good about.”

Oak Mountain moves this spring from Class 7A, Area 6 to Area 5, where the Eagles will compete with Hoover, Thompson and Tuscaloosa County. After starting 14-0 last fall and going 13-12 down the stretch, Irons is looking for a strong campaign from beginning to end this spring.

JAGS HOPE FOR HEALTHY SEASON

Spain Park was bitten by the injury bug last season, to put it mildly. Within the first week of the season, both of the Jags’ starting middle infielders, John Poist and Lane Willis, were out with injuries. 

This year, the Jags are hoping to get healthy campaigns from both of those guys, along with their other three seniors: pitcher Will May, catcher Braden McNees and infielder Colby Mills. That’s the lowest number of seniors head coach Will Smith has had in his time at Spain Park, but he’s confident in that group.

“Out two captains this year are John and Lane,” Smith said. “It starts with those guys. The leadership they exhibit will go a long way in how well we do.”

Spain Park has two other starters returning in Adam Wygle and Samford University commit Colton Ledbetter, who burst onto the scene last season. The Jags lost their top two starting pitchers from a 2018, but Smith said there are several guys with the chance to do well.

“We don’t have a dominant guy, but there is depth,” he said.

The Jags are in Class 7A, Area 6, with Vestavia Hills, Mountain Brook and Hewitt-Trussville, all three teams that Smith said could easily be top five in the class. 

“It’s difficult,” he said. “On the other side, it’s exciting, because it’s challenging as well.”