By Kary Booher (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
At a place like Rolla High School, where sports are generally competitive, the baseball team’s finish last year still lingers in the back of some minds.
In essence, the Bulldogs were three runs away from winning a Class 5 district championship but saw Camdenton take the prize. The 8-6 loss ended an above-.500 season, as Rolla finished 13-12. That was after a fourth-place finish in the Ozark Conference.
This year’s roster has almost 28 combined on varsity and junior varsity, but a couple of injuries and surgeries in recent months will challenge Rolla’s depth.
“We want to build upon last year and continue to take steps towards becoming a conference and district champion,” Rolla coach Kenny Hohe said. “We have experienced players who have varsity experience and a ton of baseball experience over the years playing.”
The Bulldogs’ pitching staff graduated three arms that combined for almost 72 innings. Look for seniors Drew Johnson, Colby Shivers, Collin Woods, juniors Hunter Hoss and left-hander J.J. Yoakum to handle the starting duties.
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Woods pitched in almost 47 innings, struck out 45 and issued 16 walks. He finished with a 1.39 earned run average. Hoss worked nine innings last year, while Shivers pitched 8 1/3 innings.
Woods (All-Ozark Conference honorable mention) was somewhat in the shadows No. 1 pitcher Treyton Ruth, an all-district and all-conference selection who struck out 46 in 46 innings.
“Collin matched him pitch for pitch most of the season and was a huge part of our success,” Hohe said. “And I’m hoping he’s a huge part of our season again this year.”
The bullpen arms include seniors Eric Henson, Wyatt Sowers, juniors Andrew Henson, Luke Seest and sophomores Chase Lindsey and Austin McKnight. The Hensons and Seest combined for almost eight innings last year.
The projected catcher is Ethan Stephenson, a sophomore.
“He’s getting bigger and stronger,” Hohe said. “I think he’ll be force behind the plate and batting.”
Offensively, the team graduated all-conference outfielder Blayne Yarger. Look for Woods, Shivers and Brady Yarger (All-Ozark Conference honorable mention) near the top of the order. Woods has committed to Hannibal-LaGrange and Shivers to Fontbonne.
“Woods and Shivers have some of the same skill set,” Hohe said. “(Yarger) had a really strong sophomore season. As the season wore on, he gained confidence, and had a good finish and summer.”
Johnson, a first baseman who is drawing college interest, could bat in the middle of the order after having 16 hits and 12 RBI last year. He also was selective with 14 strikeouts but also 12 walks. The team is waiting to see if all-district hitter Parker Yoakum can gain medical clearance at some point. He had 14 RBI and 16 runs scored last season as a third baseman.
“We’re going to be cautious with him because he might play at the next level,” Hohe said.
The defensive lineup may see Brady Yarger at second base, Woods or Shivers at shortstop, Henson as a corner infielder, Wyatt Sowers in the outfield and Hess and Seest as a corner outfielder and super-utility, respectively.
The roster also includes senior Grayson Madonna, junior Gus Gremp, sophomores Troy Benson, Carter Kriete, Chase Lindsey, Isaac Long, Austin McKnight and J.J. Yoakum.
This is Hohe’s second season at Rolla. He is 159-127 overall in 14 seasons, including 11 seasons at Cuba High School.
“I expect all of our seniors to be strong leaders,” Hohe said. “They understand what it takes to be great and have worked hard this offseason to meet the expectations we have for our program and for our players individually.”
