By Brennan Stebbins (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
Head coach Kyle Wolf called last season a roller coaster for the Joplin baseball team.
The Eagles picked up some quality wins and had some frustrating losses en route to a 14-15 overall record. They lost 5-0 to Republic in the Class 6 District 6 tournament
“At any given time we could beat anybody and at any given time we could also show up and get beat by anybody,” Wolf said. “We certainly had some very quality wins throughout the season that you look back on and can be pretty proud of.”
Wolf hopes that inconsistency evens out this season with a senior-laden roster and several players entering their third season of varsity baseball.
The team returns senior Brady Mails, an outfielder and pitcher who threw in relief and made some spot starts. He went 3-0 with a 3.30 ERA.
“Just a strike thrower,” Wolf said. “Not a kid who’s going to blow you away but he’ll throw strikes and give our defense a chance to work. He handles the bat well and I expect him to do a good job defensively and at the plate.”
Senior Byler Reither returns as the team’s primary shortstop and also served as the third starter on the mound. He batted .329 and was 1-5 as a pitcher but Wolf said that record was deceiving.
“He was a little bit of a tough luck guy where he threw fairly well but we didn’t support him with offense or he was pitching against a quality team that got him,” he said. “We’re going to lean on him to be an anchor of our staff this year and he can make about every play at shortstop. Very athletic with good range and a good arm.”
Senior Jackson Queen will play catcher and was primarily a designated hitter as a junior. He batted .322 last season.
“His biggest job this year will be to handle our pitching staff and do a good job behind the plate,” Wolf said.
Senior Justin McReynolds is the only returner who garnered postseason honors last season. He was a second team utility player in the Central Ozark Conference and earned honorable mention all-district honors as a pitcher and outfielder. He went 5-3 on the mound with a save and emerged as one of the team’s primary starters and nearly threw a no hitter against McAlester, Oklahoma.
“He and Byler will be our staples on the mound,” Wolf said. “He also hit .370 at the plate and is a gap-to-gap guy. He runs well so he can extend a ball in the gap to a double or triple. He started halfway through his sophomore year and probably brings back more experience than anybody we have.”
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Senior Landon Maples is an infielder and pitcher who primarily played third base but will cover shortstop when Reither is pitching.
“Very athletic and a strong arm,” Wolf said. “He needs to cut down on some strikeouts because when he gets the barrel to the ball he can do some damage.”
And senior Layten Copher started in right field last year and also pitched. He’s another athletic defender with a strong arm.
“Quite honestly he can kind of change the game when you know what he’s capable of with his arm in right field,” Wolf said. “Guys aren’t as quick to go first to third or score from second when the ball is hit to him.”
Senior Alex Isbell is a lanky right-handed pitcher with “really good stuff,” Wolf said. He’ll be expected to throw a lot of innings this season.
Junior Cole Lawrence can play all three outfield positions and will be competing for a starting spot. Junior Presley Ledford is a left-handed pitcher and hitter with a three-quarter arm slot and “a lot of stuff on the mound,” Wolf saids. He also plays first base. Junior Eli Sotlar is a utility player who can play infield and outfield. He will also serve as a pitcher.
A few sophomores like Kutler Schwarting (middle infield, pitcher) and Brock Waghorn (corner infielder, pitcher) will get a chance to earn playing time, too.
“Defense is an area we can be very, very good and we have the potential to be as deep on the mound as we’ve been the last few years,” Wolf said. “If all those guys can climb on the mound and pitch to their potential, I think we have the ability to have a very solid pitching staff. We’re not going to blow you away with velocity but we’ve got a lot of unique guys that give you a different look. Offensively we’ve got guys that can run and be very athletic. We’re probably not going to beat a lot of people with a three-run homer but if we’re willing to commit to being a gap to gap, middle-of-the-field type offense and move runners, we have an opportunity to be a good offense.”
Joplin will host a March 14 jamboree with Monett and Carthage. The Eagles open the regular season March 17 with Bishop McGuinness out of Oklahoma City. Joplin once again plays St. Mary’s Colgan from Pittsburg, Kan. (March 21), where Wolf coached with his friend and mentor Mike Watt. Other notable games include Hersey High School (March 29), a team from the Chicago area making a swing through southwest Missouri, an April 8 game against Columbia Hickman at U.S. Baseball Park in Ozark, and a trip to the Kansas City area in early May to play William Chrisman and Truman.
The most unique game on Joplin’s schedule, though, is an April 15 contest against Pittsburg, Kan. at Joplin’s Joe Becker Stadium. The teams will wear throwback uniforms to celebrate the city’s sesquicentennial. Columbus, Kan. and Galena, Kan. will play that morning and organizations from St. Louis and Kansas City will play an old-fashioned baseball game in between.
Wolf researched an old minor league team, the Joplin Miners, to come up with Joplin’s throwbacks. The Miners were once a New York Yankees affiliate and featured Mickey Mantle; they played at Joe Becker Stadium, which the city rebuilt/renovated several years ago.
“I tried to incorporate a little bit of the Joplin Miners and I found a picture where they just had a ‘J’ on the left chest of their uniform outlined in a diamond shape,” Wolf said. “We’ve incorporated that, that will be our look. Columbus had a team for a long time called the Bombers, so they’ve adopted that and Pittsburg is going with the Coal Diggers, another old team.”
