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Photo by Todd Lester.
Briarwood IF Wesley Helms (18) fields a ground ballduring the Class 5A state baseball finals in May at Riverwalk Stadium in Montgomery. Helms will likely move to shortstop this season.
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Photo by Todd Lester.
Chelsea P Connor Ball (21) delivers a pitch during the Class 5A state baseball finals in May at Riverwalk Stadium in Montgomery.
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Staff photo.
Jake Rivers (11) fi elds a ground ball and throws to first base during a game between Oak Mountain and Northridge in March 2019 at Oak Mountain High School.
The high school baseball season has arrived, and the teams in the 280 Living coverage areas are aiming to make 2020 another strong one. The Briarwood, Chelsea, Oak Mountain and Spain Park high school programs are perennially strong. Briarwood and Chelsea are coming off state runner-up finishes, Oak Mountain has plenty of new faces, and Spain Park is looking to return to the postseason. Here’s a brief look at each of those squads.
LIONS HOPING TO REPLICATE SPECIAL SEASON
The Briarwood baseball team began and ended the 2019 season on opposite ends of the spectrum. The Lions turned an 0-11 start to the season into a Class 5A state championship series appearance. They beat Springville in the first game of the series before dropping the final two of the series.
“The season was special for a lot of reasons,” head coach Steve Renfroe said. “To see them overcome what happened early in the season. … Then to make a run like they did, it was fun to be a part of. It was rewarding to see how much joy they had during that run.”
Renfroe said last year’s four senior captains “carried the burden” of the slow start and helped keep the team together. A similar finish to this season will require some of the same leadership traits from some new guys.
Carson McKinney is back on the mound for the Lions, and he’s the only certainty on the team’s pitching staff at this point. Parker Hutson will play second base, and Wesley Helms will likely move to shortstop this season. McKinney will play the corner infield spots when he’s not on the mound as well.
Tyler Waugh will handle the brunt of the catching load, with some familiar faces back in the outfield including Eli Steadman and Blake McKenna.
“After that, we really don’t know,” Renfroe said.
HORNETS RETURN PLENTY OF EXPERIENCE
Like Briarwood, Chelsea got off to a slow start in 2019, sitting with a 6-6 record through 12 games. But the Hornets got hot after that and rode that momentum all the way to the Class 6A state championship series, where they were knocked off by Cullman.
“The fact that we went all the way to Montgomery, it was a historic season,” head coach Michael Stallings said. “It set the bar for all the teams that follow last year’s group.”
Chelsea lost just five seniors to graduation, with this year’s crop of 11 seniors contributing quite a bit a season ago. Stallings said the team will take the season “one day at a time” to avoid looking ahead to the postseason.
“We want to win the area,” he said. “Past that, it’s survive and advance and keep playing. You want to be playing in May.”
Two of Chelsea’s seniors are college signees, with outfielders Carter Frederick (Auburn) and Brady Morgan (Loyola New Orleans) leading the group.
Juniors Brock Hill and Connor Ball are back to spearhead the pitching staff, as the two combined to win 19 games last spring. Ball struck out 113 batters last season, shattering the previous mark at Chelsea for a single season. JT McGregor, Austin Frye, Garrett Frye and Reid Gongwer are names to watch on the mound as well.
Austin Frye will be the team’s primary third baseman, with Adam Reaves, Garrett Frye and Hunter Anderson all able to play in the middle infield. Jackson Webster is looking to break out at first base. Thomas Root and Jordan Smith will be factors as well.
Jacob Boyle is back at catcher, with Joel Sams and Kaden Weldon expected to see time behind the plate as well.
EAGLES REPLACING 18 SENIORS
Head coach Derek Irons has seen a pattern during his time at Oak Mountain. The Eagles were “junior heavy” in 2016 and 2018 and will be so again in 2020 after losing 18 seniors from last season.
Last year’s team won 30 games but fell in the first round of the Class 7A playoffs to semifinalist Hewitt-Trussville.
“By the end of last season, we were starting nine seniors and one junior,” Irons said.
Plenty of players will be playing significant varsity roles for the first time, so there have been a few more preseason scrimmages than normal, and coaches have made extra efforts to ensure everyone is up to speed.
“We’ve done it twice before,” Irons said. “It’s not completely unchartered territory, but there are a lot of new faces.”
Jake Rivers leads a senior class of six. Rivers, a UAB signee, pitched and played second base last spring. He is expected to play shortstop this year. Cole Sester (Birmingham-Southern) and Eli Fizer (King University) have also signed to play in college.
Irons said he is most excited about the Eagles’ depth within the pitching staff, with the team boasting six or seven arms capable of chipping in significant innings.
As for the relative inexperience, he believes the team should only get better as the season progresses.
“We want a steady climb throughout the year, learning along the way,” Irons said. “You always want that, but with inexperience, you don’t want them to get discouraged along the way.”
JAGS EQUIPPED FOR POSTSEASON RETURN
Area coaches call it the SEC West, comparing the difficulty of Class 7A, Area 6 to arguably the most competitive division in college football. Having to compete against Mountain Brook, Vestavia Hills and Hewitt-Trussville means two strong teams get left out of the state playoffs every year.
Last year, Spain Park was one of those teams.
“It’s difficult,” head coach Will Smith said.
There’s reason to believe Spain Park won’t be one of those teams this spring, as the Jags return plenty of pieces that played big roles a season ago.
“I’m really excited about our group,” Smith said. “The kids who are back have a lot of experience.”
Of the Jags’ 12 seniors this season, Linden Samaha returns to lead the pitching rotation. Samaha posted a 6-2 record last year, including wins over Vestavia Hills and Oak Mountain. Colton Ledbetter, a Samford signee, will move to center field after playing the last two seasons in right.
“Those are two guys that form our nucleus,” Smith said.
Also on the mound, South Alabama commit Eli Copenhaver should slide into a bigger role, along with guys like Matthew Robbins, Jaxson Lucas and Austin Gothard among the key arms as well.
In the infield, Chris Mancill is back at catcher, with junior Trent Thompson expected to log some innings behind the plate as well. Ethan Smallwood, Robbins and Copenhaver are battling for time at first base. Conner Eberhardt is back at second, with Adam Wygle and Carter Sidor set to take over on the left side of the infield.
Ledbetter moves to center, Jack Poist will play left field and there is opportunity for a few players to contribute in right field. Eli Mefford and Ashton Cobb are other seniors with a chance to contribute.
