By Brennan Stebbins (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
For the first time in a dozen years the Carthage baseball program has a new face at the helm.
When longtime coach Mike Godfrey retired following the 2020 season – which ended up being cancelled – the school turned to assistant coach Luke Bordewick to take over. He spent three years on Godfrey’s staff.
“Coach Godfrey led a great program, he set a great foundation,” Bordewick said. “A lot of that work ethic and coachability, it comes from him instilling that. That’s something I’ll be grateful for. These kids know what hard work is. They’re not standoffish at all. They’re willing to try new things for their coaches. That’s one thing coach Godfrey put in. We’re trying some new things absolutely. We’re just going to see how it goes. He laid a great foundation and it makes it easy for a guy like me to come in and try some new things.”
Godfrey left on a high note. In what was his final actual season coaching the Tigers the team went 16-10 in 2019 and finished second in Class 5 District 11. It was the team’s first winning season since 2014, though Carthage won the District 12 championship in 2018.
Last spring the Tigers were going to be a really young team, Bordewick said, with three or four sophomores in the mix for starting spots.
“Taking that season of reps out really kind of stinks,” he said. “Even more so this year it’s going to be a really young team. In terms of varsity experience it’s going to be a really young team.”
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Seniors Kaden Kralicek and Will McCombs are the team’s only returning starters from that 2019 team.
Kralicek, the team’s shortstop, batted .263 as a sophomore and scored 15 runs. McCombs, the starting catcher, was a .256 hitter.
“Defensively they’re as close as you can get to a sure thing,” Bordewick said. “Two of the main anchors of our team are catcher and shortstop. I’m very confident that they’re going to have the right plan at the right time, make the correct throws, correct calls. Defensively it’s very reassuring as a head coach to have those two guys at those two important spots.
“Offensively they’re going to be definitely in the mix in the order,” he said. “I don’t know exactly where in the order but they’re going to be guys who are playing important roles for us. I think they both have really quick bats, fast hands. Their approach is really solid. Looking for pitches to drive. They’re going to be a couple key pieces in our offense for sure.”
As sure as those two positions are, the rest of the lineup is full of question marks.
Seniors Grant Collier and Mason Utter will definitely be involved. Utter was competing for a spot in the starting rotation last season and will likely be one of the team’s top two starters this spring.
“He’s put a lot of work in this offseason to get stronger and then we’re tinkering with how to throw pitches to get break on it,” Bordewick said. “He’s been putting a lot of work in. Grant is the same way. Those four seniors have been working their tails off for us. That’s really cool to have as a senior group, those kids who have come in and put the work in.”
Collier earned a handful of starts as a sophomore and was expected to earn time in the outfield last year.
Outside of those four players, Bordewick said nobody’s spot is safe. A junior, Kaden Arr, will also pitch some innings and could earn a spot in the starting rotation. He’s a “long, lanky kid” who’s added some weight this year and is throwing harder.
“Those first two weeks of practice before our first game on the 20th are really going to be important for us,” Bordewick said. “That’s where kids are going to decide if they take advantage of the opportunity or not.”
The coach expects between 22 and 26 players on the varsity and junior varsity rosters, and another 15 to 18 playing freshman baseball.
Work ethic should be a strength of the roster, he said, and the team’s best on-field attribute figures to be speed.
“We’re going to be a really, really fast team,” Bordewick said. “We’re going to play fast, defend fast.”
Offensively the Tigers will be aggressive and look to advance runners any way they can, including by stealing bases and bunting runners over.
“We’re going to be a small-ball team and rely on two-out hitting,” Bordewick said. “If we’ve got a runner on second try to find a way to get them in, however that is.”
Carthage will scrimmage at Joplin with the Eagles and Monett on March 16. The season opens March 20 with games against Glendale and Kennett. Carthage will host the Bill O’Dell Tournament April 5-10.
