By Dana Harding (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
Salem finished the 2017 campaign with a 17-4 record, falling 9-6 in the district semifinals to Blair Oaks.
While South Central Association Coach of the Year Phillip Karr considered the season a success, weather hampered a run at a possible school record.
“The biggest disappointment was the wet spring because the 2017 team wanted to surpass the most wins Salem ever had in a season which was 2009 and that team was 20-3,” Karr said. “We had a three-game tournament that was never made up and also couldn’t get two of our regular season rainouts made up.”
The Tigers lost seven seniors to graduation from last year’s roster, including Cody Manthey (OF), Jon Arzt (P), Dalton Cook (C), Kory Ramsey (P/INF), Eli Floyd (OF), Gabe Chang (OF) and Jacob Johnson (P).
Cook and Arzt were both all-district and all-conference honorees. The pair, along with Cook, now play at Mineral Area College.
“Dalton had one of the best seasons that I have seen while at Salem,” Karr said. “He hit .441
and carried us in several games or got the clutch hits in some tight games. Jon always had a knack for getting out of jams and he made the right pitch when it mattered in crunch time.”
With so many departed seniors, Salem’s roster will have a new look in 2018.
Leading the charge will be senior shortstop Nate Bray (3.28, 18 RBI, 4 SB), junior second baseman Boone Schrader (.309, 13 RBI, 1 SB) and senior third baseman Lawson Toman (.298, 11 RBI, 3 SB).
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Bray, a Central Methodist University commit, is a two-year starter for the Tigers.
“Nate Bray is a really solid infielder and was an SCA All Conference first team player,” Karr said. “Nate is going to have to take control of this team and be our coach on the field.”
Schrader was a 2nd team all-conference selection as a sophomore.
“Boone hit a little over .300, which is pretty solid as we play a good schedule,” Karr said. “Boone loves the game and matured nicely as a player during his sophomore year. We need him to continuously improve and have even a better year in 2018 for us to be successful.”
Toman was an all-conference honorable mention as a junior.
“Lawson Toman threw pretty well for us last year,” Karr said. “Hopefully he can pick up from where he left off last year as he started to really get going offensively at the end of the season.”
With a host of roster spots to fill, opportunities exist for varsity newcomers to make an immediate impact.
Senior Cole Mackley (OF); juniors Chandler Gray (OF), Jacob West (1B) and Noah Leathers (3B); and sophomores Brett Fore (P), Reese Dodson (SS) and Silas Wulff (C) will all compete for varsity playing time.
While opportunities exist, the Tiger roster will need to acclimate quickly to varsity play.
“We have some players with a lot of potential, but they haven’t had to get it done yet at the
varsity level so I’m excited to see what they can do.” Karr said. “We play a schedule that can lead to several losses quickly if we don’t grow up fast.”
Despite the number of new faces in the Salem lineup, the process doesn’t change. Karr believes a heavy dose of fundamentals will help grow solid baseball players, although that growth won’t happen overnight.
“Our pitching staff is a big question mark with only one player throwing substantial varsity innings,” Karr said. “Hopefully, we can make a few more pitchers, but starting the season we are thin. Our lineup is so wide open right now that is difficult to even talk about it. So many of our
starters this year will be clueless to varsity baseball, and you have to be mentally strong if
you are young and struggle early.”
For Salem to be successful early on, it will rely on its core group of returning starters.
“Our overall strength would be good leadership from the seniors that we have back this year,” Karr said. “We are hoping to grow as a solid team as the season progresses and make the most of every practice day that we have.”
Salem begins its season in the Cabool Classic March 19.
