No, it hasn’t snowed much this winter, but it’s been a long, slow brutal one for coach Zeb Wallace and the Walnut Grove Tigers baseball team.
You see, a year ago, the Tigers lost only five games and only by a combined seven runs, including their finale – a heartbreaking, one-run loss in the district championship game.
So as a new season dawns across the Ozarks, you can imagine why there is a sense of unfinished business at the northern Greene County high school, especially after an offseason that featured field improvements. The team no longer has to play all road games.
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“It’s time to go this year,” Wallace said. “Our record last year was 20-5, but I told our kids it was really 1-1 from the postseason. So, we can’t be content or get big-headed. We have pretty high expectation for ourselves.”
This spring offers a lot of intrigue around Walnut Grove, where the team graduated only one senior and returned many key components.
Pitching should be a strength. Hayden Jeffryes was 9-1 with a 1.78 earned run average last season, while Logan Thomazin was 6-0 with a 0.88 ERA. The team also can turn to Kyle Keith and Dakota Morlen.
Thomazin was a first team all-conference, all-district and was first team All-State as an infielder. Jeffryes also was a first team all-conference, all-district and first team All-State as a pitcher. Morlen emerged as an effective late-innings reliever last year, as he attacks the strike zone and has some deception with a three-quarters delivery.
“They threw bullpens all winter,” Wallace said. “I really believe I have four starters who I can send out on the mound.”
Offensively, Thomazin, a shortstop, finished with team-bests in average (.548), RBI (31) and stolen bases (29) and likely will return to bat third in the lineup. Jeffyres hit .319 with 13 RBI and 20 steals. Hunter Gilkey, a catcher who was first team all-conference and all-district, had 22 steals and a .355 average. Kolten Buckner bats cleanup after being a first team all-conference and all-district last year.
Jaron Dishman also will factor into the lineup, and look for Justin Dennis and Dallas Meinders to play key roles as well.
Even better, the team will play its home games back in Walnut Grove after spending last year using Barnhouse Field in Republic while the home field was under renovation.
Donations have helped to create a concrete-style backstop, dugouts, a backstop netting held together by black steel poles, plus there is a crushed red lava all-dirt infield. A water system also has been installed.
It means a ton to Wallace, who along with players have been involved in the field’s improvement. Wallace, you see, is a baseball man at heart. He played at Billings High School and was a pitcher at Central Methodist University.
“The community has really stepped up and helped with a lot of donations,” Wallace said. “It’s been a big turnaround. We’re definitely on the right track. … It’s given us a foundation to build on.”
Call it a foundation for a team that could build the program’s own foundation by taking the next step. Of course, the season will have to wait after Walnut Grove’s basketball team plays in the Final Four in Columbia. But …
“The season for us started last June when we started our summer ball,” Wallace said. “It was one of those situations where there is nothing we could do to change (the ending at districts).”
Walnut Grove Tigers
Coach: Zeb Wallace (30-31, 4th season)
Last year: 20-5 (lost in Class 1 district championship)
Roster: P/SS Logan Thomazin, P/CF Hayden Jeffryes, 3B Jaron Dishman, P/SS/CF Kyle Keith, C Hunter Gilkey, 2B/OF Justin Dennis, 1B Kolten Buckner, RF/P Dakota Morlen, LF Dallas Meinders, Hesston Shuler, Cole Melton, Jon Smith
Schedule
March
19-26 – at Clever Tournament, 29 – vs. Hermitage, 31 – vs. Dadeville
April
1 – vs. New Covenant, 4-9 – at Wheatland Baseball Classic, 12 – at Wheatland, 16 – at Fair Grove Festival, 19 – vs. Humansville, 21 – vs. Marionville, 26 – at Pleasant Hope, 28 – at Greenfield, 29 – at Ash Grove
May
2 – vs. Weaubleau, 3 – vs. El Dorado Springs, 5 – at Mount Vernon, 9 – vs. Hartville, 10 – at Halfway, 12 – vs. Fair Play
