By Justin Sampson (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
Parkview has gone through a population decline over the last couple years, a fact that Beau Davis came face-to-face with in 2017.
He took the Vikings to an 8-20 record in his first season, dropping a tight 4-3 decision to Ozark in the Class 5, District 11 opener.
This year, Parkview has six seniors, four juniors, and three sophomores to work with. Three freshman have been a regular presence at offseason workouts.
“My starting group is solid. We had a lot of juniors start last year, so they got a year of varsity experience,” said Davis. “We just have zero depth. We are hoping for a big freshman class to come out.”
Despite just 20-25 bodies to work with, Davis expects to be able to throw four quality starting pitchers with comfortable bullpen relief. The entire crop of seniors can contribute on the mound as well.
Nick Young will be the No. 1 starter after a Second Team All-Ozark Conference campaign. He led the staff with 54.1 innings, nothing 34 strikeouts with a 4.38 ERA as a junior. His velocity also took a leap over the summer as he was able to top 90 MPH.
Caleb Brockman saw the second-most action as a junior, amassing 23 strikeouts and 40.2 innings of work in seven starts. Fellow seniors Bowin Davidsson and Jordan Wiles will fill out the rotation while juniors Caleb Haines and Deegan Cesna will also compete for innings.
Davidson spent much of last year at shortstop as well and his speed will be on display both in the field and in the leadoff spot.
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Offensively, Parkview was plagued by routinely being just close enough to keep things interesting in 2017, but often succumbed to quality opponents in late innings. A six-game losing skid cast a blemish on the middle of April despite the Vikings scoring five runs or more in four of those losses.
“Last year, we lost almost 10 game by two runs,” said Davis. “It seemed like we just could not finish or put people away, and I’m hoping they get over that hurdle this year.”
First Team All-Conference outfielder Coy Fox could be the most consistent hitter after slapping 29 hits and 16 RBI with a .377 average as a junior. Antonio Pender, another senior and All-District catcher, should see a more prominent role in the offense.
Davidson was second on the 2017 team with 15 RBI and a .241 average.
Davis reiterated that a bout with injuries or ineligibility could derail the year, but with a host of juniors that have starting experience, he hopes those varsity reps will allow this team the ability to close out games.
“We will play with any team we get on the field with. Last year, we had close games with Kickapoo, Willard, Bentonville… big teams that had great records. We didn’t have that depth in our bullpen. This year, I think those kids that were sophomores will be able to step up and fill that role. If we stay healthy, we can surprise a lot of people in the Ozark Conference and our district.”
