By Brennan Stebbins (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
Last spring got off to a tough start for a young Monett baseball team. The Cubs lost six of eight early on but by the end of April won six times in an eight-game stretch.
It amounted to an 11-11 season, but head coach Michael Calhoun was pleased with the growth of his team.
“We lost a tough one in districts to a really good Hollister team that went to the final four but overall I was really proud of how they developed and fell into those roles, especially the last several weeks of the season,” he said.
Monett lost quite a bit to graduation, including Estin McBroom and Tanner Wright. McBroom, who’s pitching at Missouri S&T now, was a unanimous All-Conference pitcher in the Big 8 West, an All-Conference utility player and a first team All-District selection. He went 5-2 with a 2.59 ERA and batted .313 with five doubles, four home runs and 14 RBI’s.
Wright was a second team All-State catcher in Class 4, a second team All-Conference and second team All-District honoree. He batted .303 with seven doubles, two triples, three home runs and drove in 19 runs. He’s playing baseball at North Central Missouri College.
Monett returns at least seven players who saw varsity experience and four starters in senior Daniel Geiss and juniors Jason Garner, Josh Wallace and Marcus Young. Geiss was a first team Big 8 designated hitter and earned second team All-District honors after hitting .316 with 14 RBI’s. He also pitched to a 3.64 ERA and has signed with Maryville University. He figures to be the team’s No. 1 starter and play first or second when he’s not pitching.
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“He’s a fastball-curveball guy and he does have a two-seam cutter we were working on some last year,” Calhoun said. “He’s a great kid and he’s really looking forward to being the leader on the mound and in offseason stuff he’s taken advantage of that. He’s really looking forward to being that guy that everybody looks to lead on and off the field.”
Garner earned honorable mention honors in the Big 8 as an infielder and was second team All-District. He started at shortstop and will pitch more this season, too. He batted .265 with nine RBI’s and five stolen bases and had a 2.68 ERA on the mound.
Marcus Young is a left-handed pitcher who will also play first base and maybe in the outfield. He earned honorable mention All-Conference honors as an infielder and batted .247 with six RBI’s, two stolen bases and three doubles.
And Wallace was honorable mention All-Conference as an outfielder and a second team All-District player. He’ll probably play in right field again and could pitch some, too. He was a .254 hitter with 17 RBI’s and four doubles.
Junior Blaine Salsman and sophomores Alex Huntress and Evan Witt also got varsity experience. Salsman is a utility player, Huntress is a pitcher and infielder and Witt looks to take over at catcher.
Senior Caleb Sperandio, junior Kaden Palmer and sophomore Carlos Valenciano could also be contributors.
Calhoun said the Cubs look to have some solid pitchers at the top of their staff but depth might be an issue as the team’s overall numbers are down this spring. Filling out the outfield will be a priority early on, as well as finding more depth for the infield.
“I feel pretty good with our first guys but especially in high school when you’ve got guys on the infield who have to pitch, you have to figure out who’s going to take their spot,” he said. “When Jason Garner pitches we lose our shortstop, who’s going to be that guy? Same thing with third or first or anywhere. We have several spots on the infield right now like that. We might even have kids come in from the outfield to play shortstop or third. Whatever’s best for the group.”
Monett will join Carthage for a jamboree at Joplin on March 15, and the Cubs open the regular season March 19 against Neosho and Carl Junction. They’ll host the Monett Invitational April 1-2 and participate in Carthage’s Bill O’Dell Tournament April 4-9.
