By Stephen Buus (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
Seymour Tiger baseball coach Jason Duey has a good feeling his team can better its 2017 record of 12-12 overall and 2-4 in the Summit Conference thanks in no small part to the amount of experience the Tigers will bring.
“We have all but one of our kids back from last year so we are optimistic that this spring will be much better than last year,” Duey said. “We have improved each season (5-9 in fall 2016, 12-12 in spring 2017, and 11-4 this past fall) since I have been here.
“The players get all the credit for the improvement. They have bought in and continued to work and improve. With that said we know that we will have to continue to improve each day of the season if we are going to compete in our conference and for the ultimate goal of playing in the district championship game.
“We have made great improvements but we still have a long ways to go. We were in a ton of close ballgames last spring but most of them did not go our way. I think we were hoping to win instead of expecting to win. Our mental approach to the game has to change.”
Eight starters return for Seymour, who lost to Gainesville in the first round of district play a year ago. Senior Logan Bryant (outfielder/pitcher) was honorable mention all-conference with a .309 average, 14 RBI, and 10 stolen bases.
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Junior catcher Eric Helms was honorable mention all-conference and all-district. He led the Tigers in hitting at .338 with one home run, 9 RBI, and 16 steals.
Senior Mo McCarty had the most wins on the mound, going 5-4 as a junior with a 2.36 ERA. He also hit .250 with 11 RBI and six stolen bases.
Classmate Dee Garner was 2-2 on the hill with a stingy 1.61 ERA.
Other returning starters include juniors Brady Brooke, Keaton Owens, and Truman Hosiner; and sophomore Carson Sturdefant. Top newcomers include sophomores Nathan Baker and Larry Benson and freshmen Brock Pearce and Nathaniel Hosiner.
As far as predicting who Seymour’s main competition will be, well, Duey hears the familiar roar of Lions.
“Having defending state champion Mansfield in our conference and district presents an obvious challenge for us but there are plenty of good teams in our conference, district and on our schedule so we must not overlook anyone. I am looking forward to see how we stack up at the end of the season as we enter district play.”
Seymour will have home-field advantage in Class 2 District 10, which also features Mansfield, Fordland, Gainesville, Norwood, and Sparta. The Tigers open their season in the Sparta Classic on March 16 and will also play in the Southwest Missouri Wood Bat Tournament in mid-April.
