By Denise Tucker/For OzarksSportsZone.com
The Hermitage Hornets surprised a lot of teams last season, and coach Joe Nicholson thinks his team could sneak up on people again this season.
In 2016, the Hornets set a school record for wins, going 19-6 and making it to the Class 1 District 8 championship game before falling 5-4 to Macks Creek.
Nicholson said his team surprised even itself last season.
“The biggest challenge was convincing our team that we could compete and that we could win,” Nicholson said. “Once our guys realized we could be successful things began to fall into place for us.
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“I think when we won the Lakeland Tournament, it dawned on our guys that, ‘Hey, we might not be too bad.’ We fell one hit short of winning the district and our goal this year is to get back and get that done.”
But the Hornets are going to have to do that without some key players who graduated last spring.
Stone Allen, a catcher who hit .357, scored 37 runs and stole 34 bases last season, is playing for Graceland College in Iowa. Robert Ideker (first base) hit .394 in 2016 and is playing at William Penn University (Iowa). Cory Nicholson (pitcher) went 7-4 last season with a 2.58 earned run average and batted .280. Nicholson also is playing at William Penn University.
Hermitage will also be without Brent Aubuchon (third base), who hit .352 and drove in 28 runs, and Josh Howard (right field).
The Hornets have a talented core returning, including junior pitcher Alex Aubuchon. He went 6-2 with a 2.57 ERA, hit .338 and stole 27 bases.
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“Alex will be one of our main pitchers and will also catch a lot of innings for us,” Nicholson said. “Alex can play anywhere in the field and is a solid stick at the plate. He is a solid basketball player with an extremely high baseball IQ.”
Easton Sabala, junior outfielder, hit .390 for the Hornets. “Easton is also a quality pitcher and will have to replace Cory (Nicholson) on the mound and become our innings eater. Easton is very quick on the bases and is a good hitter.”
Austin Hostettler, senior shortstop, hit .279 as the cleanup hitter last season. “I look for him to put up some huge offensive numbers.”
Darek Reeves, senior center fielder, hit .263 and played multiple positions. “Darek also has a good arm and will throw a lot of innings for us on the mound, as well. I look for Darek to step up big this year.”
Jeff Salmon, senior outfielder, hit .220 last season. “Jeff has great speed on the bases and is an all-around good athlete. Jeff will be a key part of what we try and do this year.”
Nicholson is also looking to sophomores Hunter Sanders and Clayton Harris to contribute this season, and sees his team being extremely competitive in the Polk County League and district.
“I think Walnut Grove is the best team in the conference,” Nicholson said. “We have a few different teams in our district this year. Macks Creek will be strong and I think St. Elizabeth will be, as well. If things go like I expect them to go for us, in the end we should be competing for the district title.”
And with a roster of only about 10 players, Nicholson will need all hands on deck when the Hornets open their season on March 18 at Wheatland.
“We do not have many players,” Nicholson said. “We plan on having each of our players trained to take on many roles. The experience our returning players gained last season by being on a winning team (will be key this season).”
