By Dana Harding (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
2019 proved to be a wildly-successful year for Nixa baseball.
The team finished with a 23-3 record and won the Central Ozark Conference.
Unfortunately for the Eagles, two of those three losses were to Glendale — the latter of which occurred in the district final.
Head coach Jason Daugherty, entering his third year at the program’s helm, was pleased with Nixa’s growth throughout the season.
“I would say last year’s team exceeded my original expectations,” Daugherty said. “We were able to put quality pitching out there in every game, and we had some really clutch performances.”
A total of nine graduates — seven of whom were starters — depart the program, including Kinson Michel, Bryant Avery, Jake Uber, Ryan Cram, Isaiah Engleman, Hunter Crabtree, Tanner Chapman, Devon Roach and Brandon Teter.
Four of Nixa’s graduates will continue their respective baseball careers at the collegiate level this spring.
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Michel (.318 BA, 3 HR, 26 RBI, 3 SB) now plays for Pittsburg State University, Avery (.330 BA, 12 RBI, 7 SB, 2-0-3, 0.00 ERA) is at North Arkansas College and both Uber (4-3, 1.72 ERA) and Teter attend Three Rivers Community College.
“I was really proud of that bunch, and I thought we competed hard every game,” Daugherty said. “We will miss them.”
Nixa will be led by a trio of returning seniors in pitcher Ace Akers, catcher Joe Reid and infielder/pitcher Evann Long.
Akers, an all-state selection and Missouri State University commit, finished the season with eight wins, zero losses, two saves and a 1.45 ERA.
“Ace was the COC pitcher of the year last year, and we are going to lean on him heavily again this year,” Daugherty said. “He is also too good of a player not to be in our lineup, and I’m hoping he can be a huge impact on offense, as well.”
Reid, an all-conference selection and University of Indiana commit, hit .320 last season with four home runs, 20 RBIs and one stolen base.
“We are going to lean heavily on Joe to handle our pitching staff and provide a good bat in the middle of our lineup,” Daugherty said. “There is nobody in the area that can control the running game better than Joe.”
Long was an all-conference and all-district honoree.
“Evann was arguably our best offensive player last year,” Daugherty said. “He can hit for average and occasional power and is a good baserunner.”
The Eagles also return senior outfielder Sal Scalise (.271 BA, 17 RBI, 1 HR, 3 SB), senior outfielder Braydon Leggett (.227 BA, 2 RBI), senior infielder/pitcher Jake Jost (.240 BA, 4 RBI, 1 HR) and sophomore infielder Jaret Nelson (.294 BA, 2 RBI, 2 SB).
Two key Nixa returnees, juniors Isaac Mitchell and Blake Bridges, suffered season-ending injuries.
Both were set to play significant roles in the Eagles pitching rotation.
“Every team graduates seniors, so those losses are felt by everyone,” Daugherty said. “However, the losses of two of our top returning players may sting even worse.”
With a significant number of open spots in the lineup, Nixa will look to a host of varsity newcomers to step into impact roles for the team, including Zeke Berman, Alek Johnson, Jerris Thorton, Gage Weatherfield, Ryan Retone, Christian Ramey, Cole Fleischman, Brody Sanders Keith Piepmeier, Hardy Dougan, Sam Russo, Evan Johnston, Caleb Crockett, Michael Grizzell, Stone Simpson and Blake Pendergrass
While Nixa will feature an almost completely new-look lineup this season, Daugherty believes it has the potential to, once again, be extremely competitive.
“I still think we will hit and be able to score runs, and I still think we will play solid defense,” Daugherty said. “If we can just find some guys to step up on the mound, I think we will be fine.”
On the mound, Akers will lead a rotation that Daugherty believes has all the components necessary to compete. Long, Jost, Berman, Sanders, Fleischman, Crockett, Dougan, Russo, Peipmeier and Ramey could all factor into that rotation.
“A few months ago, I would have said that our pitching staff is as good and deep as I have had,” Daugherty said. “However, we have sustained two key injuries to our pitching staff. Although completely replacing those guys is impossible, we have quite a few guys who can pitch. All we need is for two or three of them to emerge from the pack and establish themselves as one of our main guys.”
With the pitching staff needing to iron some things out still, Daugherty believes Nixa’s offense may be its biggest strength heading into the season.
“I feel we could have a pretty solid lineup one through nine,” Daugherty said. “The guys we have returning should anchor our lineup, but I feel like some of our newcomers can really make an impact. Even though injuries have robbed a little bit of power from it, I still think we have several guys who can drive the ball and make things happen on the bases.”
For Nixa to navigate an always-challenging gauntlet of Central Ozarks Conference and likely district opponents, including Willard, Ozark, Kickapoo, Webb City, Glendale and Republic — to name a few — Daugherty believes its pitching rotation must quickly stabilize in the early weeks of the season.
“With some key injuries, there are a few question marks we are going to need to get answered, mainly with our pitching staff,” Daugherty said. “I think we will still be able to be in the conference championship conversation, but it will take some work. If our district stays the same, it will be a tough one, as there are several teams in it that can win it.”
Nixa opens its season Saturday, March 21, at Republic.
