By Chris Parker
Macks Creek took full advantage of the 2020 fall season after losing the 2020 spring season and having a shortened summer season.
“It was good for us to get out and play this fall. With losing the spring 2020 season and then not being able to really do much during the summer we spent that time really going back to basics with a lot of our guys,” Macks Creek head coach Jason Trusty said. “We only had three guys that had extensive varsity experience from what would have comprised last year’s team. Playing this fall meant we were able to get a lot of guys looks at different spots and then try to build on their individual strengths to make our unit better as a hole. We went through a lot of growing pains as we worked to make ourselves better.”
Fundamentals were a fall focus.
“We were able to go back to basics and very gradually introduce new elements of the game to our guys. We had a few guys with some varsity playing time from past seasons, but almost everyone that saw the field had none when we started. This group worked hard each day at different spots and we spent quite a bit of time trying to simplify the game. We also got to work on a lot of different game situations, sometimes as they came up in games, and use whatever experience we could to make us better. We also spent time implementing our signs and defensive sets, but again, we still have work to do to make us better as a whole,” Trusty said.
Grant English (INF/RHP), Tanner Smith (INF/RHP) and Trever Smith (Catcher) will be team leaders for the Pirates.
“These are the three guys that came in with extensive varsity experience and we sat down before the season and discussed how our fall would look. From my view as a coach and from theirs as returning lettermen I explained their role for this young, inexperienced group and I watched them grow as leaders,” Trusty said. “They are important because they have been through both good and bad seasons and have also got the experience to share with our younger and new guys to the varsity baseball level. They help to bridge the gap from our upper to lower classmen. Like I said, they all have grown into exceptional leaders in just a couple of months and I will lean on them more as we go into the spring slate.”
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Olivier Sanchez, Ethan English, Kyler Gabriel and Dakota Willis will join Grant English and Smith in the pitching rotation.
“In the fall we had 14 on our roster and 10 of them saw some kind of action on the mound. These six probably represent the guys that will get a majority of our innings this coming spring. They each threw some innings in the fall and we will look to increase that load a bit,” Trusty said. “Grant is our ‘bulldog’ on the mound and has some good movement and hits spots well. Tanner is our harder thrower and can move the ball around a bit. Olivier throws strikes and we are working on secondary pitches. Ethan moves the ball in-and-out and has been working on some off-speed items in the offseason. Kyler has some good control and again we are looking to develop some secondary pitches. Dakota threw the third highest in terms of innings (7.2) this fall, but has a nice compliment of pitches to go with a fastball that he can locate fairly well.”
Preston Borgmeyer will join Smith behind the plate at catcher with Smith taking most of the varsity innings.
Around the infield Macks Creek will have varied lineups. Hunter Harris will be at first base. Ethan English, Tyler Newcomb, Isaiah Schmidt, Olivier Sanchez will all see time at second base. Grant English, Tanner Smith, Preston Borgmeyer and Kyler Gabriel are expected to see time at shortstop. Third base will feature Dakota Willis, Tanner Smith and Olivier Sanchez.
In the outfield, Keith Edelman, Preston Borgmeyer, Olivier Sanchez, Trever Smith, Austin Brown, Kyler Gabriel, Tyler Newcomb and Isaiah Schmidt will all see time in the outfield.
The fall season provided some much needed experience, but improvements will be needed on both offense and defense.
“We’ve already got 14 games in of varying lengths and have experience from the fall as a unit. A lot of guys playing have shown improvement as that fall season went through and we all saw development as we went. I think that having already played those games is a small advantage for us in that we’ve already been able to get some of the jitters out that comes with getting into and competing on the varsity level,” Trusty said. “Defensively with a lot of new faces at positions we saw our fair share of errors in the fall and the stress it put on our pitching staff in that they needed to strike every one out. If we can cut down on our errors we will be in games. Offensively we didn’t put the ball in play too much until the end of the season. We had a lot of strike outs from swinging at bad and looking at good pitches occur. We just need to work on our approach and gain some confidence. And work on putting the ball in play and making the other team’s work defensively as well.”
Macks Creek opens the season on Mar. 19 at home against Skyline.
“I’m excited to get this group back up and going this spring. I really think that our experience in the fall will help us at the start and that the games we play will prepare us for the districts,” Trusty said. “I think that we will get better as the season goes and I’m looking forward to learning and growing with these guys as well.”
