By Brennan Stebbins (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
After winning just three games in 2019, Nevada’s baseball team bounced back in a huge way last spring. The Tigers got off to a 15-2 start and finished the year 19-7 after falling in the district championship game.
Head coach Danny Penn said the success all started with pitching.
“We had really strong starting pitching from a number of guys, two of which graduated in Blake Pryor and Elijah Nadurata,” he said. “They threw a bunch of innings for us and we had some young guys step up and really perform well in their first opportunities at the varsity level.”
Pryor led the team with a 6-1 record and threw 29.2 innings with a 2.12 ERA and 38 strikeouts, which earned him honorable mention honors in the Big 8 as a pitcher. He was also a second team Big 8 West catcher. Nadurata was 3-2 with a 1.35 ERA in 31 innings with 29 strikeouts and also earned second team Big 8 honors as an outfielder.
While those two are gone, the Tigers have some key contributors returning like junior Case Sanderson, a first team All-Conference pitcher, unanimous All-Conference outfielder and a first team All-District player in Class 4 District 12. He led the team with 47.1 innings pitched and went 4-1 with a 3.25 ERA and 82 strikeouts. Offensively, he batted .469 with a .577 on-base percentage and collected nine doubles, six triples and six home runs with 37 RBI’s and 45 runs scored. He drew 20 walks and only struck out nine times.
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“Last year as a sophomore it was his first high school baseball after losing his freshman year to COVID,” Penn said. “Of his 38 hits, 21 of them were for extra bases. We hit him second in the lineup and he did a great job of getting on base and bringing in guys who were already on base. We threw him in most of our big games so his ERA was up over 3 but he did a great job. He’s only added velocity since last year and he’s improved his secondary pitches.”
Seniors Eli Cheaney and Logan Marquardt also return after earning postseason honors. Cheaney is the team’s shortstop and was a unanimous All-Conference infielder and first team All-District player. He batted .416 with a .545 OBP with six doubles, 12 RBI’s, 42 runs scored and drew 17 walks. He suffered a severe leg injury during football season and should be close to 100 percent by the start of the season. Marquardt earned honorable mention All-Conference honors as designated hitter and could share catching duties with junior Cade Beshor, who caught about 30 percent of the team’s innings last year and drove in 12 runs while scoring 14.
Sanderson will play some at first base when he’s not pitching to give his arm a break. He’ll also be back in the outfield. Marquardt is also an option at first, as well as senior Kartman Highley, who drove in nine runs and scored seven runs last year. Sophomore Drake Ketterman (8 RBI’s, 15 runs) could earn time at third base. Senior Asa Wilson could play a corner outfield spot. Sophomores Brice Budd and Riddick Shook could play in the outfield.
Even with Sanderson back to lead the rotation, Penn said the team’s pitching staff will be a question mark after graduating four seniors who all pitched.
“We graduated over 90 innings from last year and that’s going to be a big void to fill,” he said. “Sanderson is going to fill some of that. Cheaney is going to fill some of that. Other guys we envision throwing innings include Kartman Highley, Cade Beshore, Riddick Shook and Asa Wilson. Some of our sophomores, it’s going to be important to see how their stuff plays at the varsity level and how they handle the successes and challenges they face. I think a lot of the early part of our season is going to be figuring out what guys are going to compete on the mound and give us the best chance while also looking to fill out those other defensive spots like second, third and corner outfield.”
This year’s team collectively possesses a high baseball IQ, Penn said, and the players have been coached by knowledgeable coaches in the past. That will be a “tremendous” benefit, he said, and he also likes the team’s leadership from players like Cheaney, Marquardt, Sanderson and Beshore.
Nevada will travel to Seneca on March 11 for a jamboree, and will open the regular season at the Stockton Tournament March 24-26. The team’s home opener is April 2 against Carl Junction. The Tigers will travel to Carthage for the Bill O’Dell Tournament April 4-9.
