By Chris Parker
Fair Play baseball has a new head coach this year in Cuyler Martin. He will be looking to help Fair Play to double digit wins for the first time since 2012.
The Hornets were able to get in some games in the summer, but losing the spring season hurt development for Fair Play.
“The lost season really hurt us just like I’m sure every other program around. We were able to have a short summer schedule, so that really helped us get some valuable innings in and for me to see where we are development wise in all aspects of our game,” Martin said. “It will be a real special time when we get to all be together again and compete on the baseball field. I have really high expectations for this group so I expect a lot out of them.”
Four seniors will lead Fair Play in Adrian Hartshorn (pitcher/shortstop/centerfield), Cory Cantrell (pitcher/third base), Kolin Thomas (catcher/pitcher) and Adam Bass (first base/third base).
Cantrell and Hartshorn will be the team’s top pitchers.
“Cory’s best weapon will be his ability to throw deep into games. He is our hardest thrower and has multiple off-speed pitches to compliment his fastball,” Martin said. “Adrian’s best weapon will be his ability to control his fastball early in the count and put hitters away with his breaking pitches.”
Thomas will help lead from behind the plate at catcher, which is a new position for the senior.
“He did an excellent job for us over the summer. He is a converted middle infielder, but he is a hard worker and he took charge of the position rather quickly,” Martin said.
Fellow seniors Lane Neil and Mason Hopkins will compete for time at second base.
Sophomore Koda Wicklund (centerfield) and Jacob Grove (right field) will be key players in the outfield.
Senior leadership will be a strength for Fair Play.
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“I think one of our biggest strengths will be our maturity level. We have a lot of seniors who have played multiple sports together for a long time, so I think that the cohesion that they have together is going to have a big impact on our season,” Martin said. “Another strength we will have is definitely our infield. We will have a senior at every infield position including catcher so having that much experience on our infield will definitely help.”
On the mound, Fair Play will need to limit free passes. At the plate, the Hornets will focus on consistent contact.
“We will need to improve our ability to control our pitches and stay ahead of batters and we need to improve our ability to put the ball in play and make solid contact on a consistent basis,” Martin said. “This past summer we hurt ourselves by throwing too many walks and getting behind in the count to batters. If we can also limit our strikeouts and put the ball in play more it will be a huge boost for us.”
Fair Play opens the season on Mar. 20 with a doubleheader at Weaubleau with the host Tigers and Lighthouse Christian.
“I have really high expectations going into the season. We have a great group of young men that work hard and enjoy competing,” Martin said. “We are going to be a very tough team to beat if we play to our abilities and hopefully will be playing for a district championship towards the end of the season.”
