By Justin Sampson (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
There is a different buzz around Camdenton baseball for the first time in recent memory.
The Lakers delivered their first winning season in six years last spring as they finished 17-10. That includes a 6-0 start and another seven-game win streak to finish the regular season. Only two starters are gone from that team, while a litany of postseason honors adorn the players that are back in the fold.
Third-year head coach Bryce Durnin believes 2019 could be a turning point as Camdenton is a step closer to competing in a gauntlet Ozark Conference and juggernaut district. Class 5, District 9 has put a team in the final four in all but one of the last five seasons, a stretch that has yielded two state champions and another two schools that reached the Class 5 State Championship Game.
That is the level that Durnin aims to get the Lakers to.
“We go into a meat grinder come May 5 every year with three Columbia schools and Jefferson City,” Durnin said. “The number one thing for us is to win a district game. The second and third game of a district tournament is something we need to get into.”
He will have eight seniors to aid that effort in 2019. Garrett Stamper and Riley Stidham will lead the pitching staff after combining for 10 wins a season ago. Stamper, a Second Team All-Ozark Conference selection, tallied 41 strikeouts with a 2.50 ERA in 53 innings as a junior.
Stidham fanned 20 batters and carried a 3.65 ERA through 40.1 frames of work.
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“If we can get the same effort from those two pitchers and have one guy more step in, there is no reason why we shouldn’t put up another 17 wins,” said Durnin.
Ethan Folks could find himself as the third starter in the rotation, while juniors Andrew DiBello and Jack Welsh will earn innings as well. DiBello also earned an honorable mention all-conference honors last season for his work in the outfield.
Senior catcher Dylan Thompson expects to be the cornerstone of the offense and defense. The Second Team All-OC pick was the triple crown winner of Camdenton’s 2018 team, leading the Lakers in hits (34), RBI (27), and batting average (.386) with a season-high 102 plate appearances.
Junior Brandon Pasley earned that same postseason honor for his work at shortstop, a position he has held since his freshman year. He will be relied upon to take a bigger leadership role with the infield defense.
The only gaps can be found at first and second base, and four or five names vying for those spots. All-sport junior Paxton DeLaurent could make that race interesting as he splits time at both corner infield positions.
His 15 RBI put him alongside DiBello (21), Stidham (18), and Pasley (10) as returners who drove in double digits runs last spring. That hasn’t been something the Camdenton offense could lay claim to in recent seasons.
“My first two years, we scored 90 runs each year,” said Durnin. “We made that a point of emphasis last year. We printed off stats throughout the season and structured our practices in a way that would help us increase the total number of runs scored. Last year, we scored 186, which was a big deal for us.”
The experience, on paper, is leaps and bounds above what Camdenton has been able to field over the previous two years. If the Lakers can put all facets together, the chance to contend in their district means they would be good enough to compete with any team in Class 5.
