By Michael Cignoli (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
MARIONVILLE — The last time the Marionville baseball team entered the season with a new head coach, he led the Comets to their first state championship in program history.
The bar has been set incredibly high for new Marionville skipper Jacob Gideon, who inherited the reins after former coach Alex Weathermon accepted the job at Lebanon.
The Comets went 45-9 during Weathermon’s two seasons with the program, including a storybook run to the state title during the Marionville native’s first year in charge in 2021.
The Comets also graduated five all-state talents in their class of 2022, including Southwest Conference player of the year Cale Clark. But with a handful of state champions still remaining on the Marionville roster, Gideon and the Comets are eager to contend for the program’s third consecutive district title.
“The biggest obstacle that we will face will be complacency,” Gideon said. “This program has had a lot of success the past two seasons but the players on this year’s team need to understand that those accomplishments belong to the teams from the previous years. This spring 2023 team has to develop a mindset that we haven’t accomplished anything — yet.”
Gideon has plenty of familiarity with his new players, as he spent the past two seasons as the coach of the district’s junior high baseball team. He has also spent three years as one of Marionville’s assistant football coaches.
When the varsity baseball job became available, Gideon was a logical candidate.
“The most appealing thing about the job is the work ethic and talent of the student-athletes,” Gideon said. “It doesn’t matter what sport it is, these athletes work hard and are willing to do whatever it takes to win.”
Despite the roster turnover and coaching change, don’t expect any significant alterations to the Marionville brand.
“I don’t think that the philosophy or coaching style will be very different from what the kids have had before,” Gideon said. “We will have our own set of core values that may differ from the previous coach, but ultimately our goals and expectations for the season remain the same as before. I expect our players to be accountable, be leaders, have high integrity and never give up. My goal as a coach is for us to win games but to also have fun and make this experience enjoyable for the players in our program.”
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Those players include senior Blane Young, who was one of the members of the 2021 state championship team. During an all-state junior season, Young hit .395 with 11 doubles, two triples, two home runs, 21 RBI and added eight stolen bases. All are tops among returning Comets.
Sophomore Will Crumpley (.277) and junior Garrett Grimm (.239) are both back after seasons that earned them all-conference honors. Grimm was also an all-district selection.
“Going into any new season — especially with a new coach — I think it’s fair to say that no position is guaranteed,” Gideon said. “So I could make the argument that every position is open at this point. Each player must embrace the opportunity for competition and earn their starting spot in the lineup. I look forward to seeing which players step up and earn their spot as well as a leadership role for our team.”
One logical candidate for such a role is senior Wil Carlton, who Gideon called a “gifted athlete” that has excelled on the Marionville football and basketball teams. He’s taking his talents to the diamond this spring and will serve as a pitcher and outfielder.
“We are excited to see how he will translate that to baseball,” Gideon said. “He has a strong arm and we hope that we can get consistent pitching production from him.”
Carlton, Young, Crumpley, Grimm and junior Isaac Stimpson are projected to throw the bulk of the varsity innings, though freshman Bryer Guerin and juniors Preston Herd and Owen Bright will also see time.
Junior Kanien Klineline (catcher/outfield) and sophomore Jace Vickers (outfield) will look to win starting jobs during a preseason that is poised to be one of the most competitive in recent memory.
“There are a lot of unanswered questions right now because of the coaching change and the talent that we graduated, but that also means that there are a lot of players who will have an opportunity to earn a starting spot,” Gideon said. “I think this opportunity of competition will bring out the best in our players and everyone will improve because of it.”
Gideon said he was also excited to see how seniors Michael Gilliland and Layne Daugherty, junior Dante Buckmaster and sophomores Uriah Flageolle and Braden Batchman would fit into the Marionville lineup. All play the outfield, while Batchman can also play second base.
“Our team’s biggest strength is our depth,” Gideon said. “We did lose a lot of talent from last year’s class, but we have a good mix of veteran leadership and young talent. I expect this team to be able to remain as competitive as they have been in the past few years.”
The Comets will open the regular season at the Pleasant Hope Early Bird tournament, which is scheduled for March 18-25. Their home opener is scheduled for March 28 against Purdy, while their first Southwest Conference game will be an April 3 visit from Sarcoxie.
“If we are known for anything I hope that it is that we play a respectful, classy brand of baseball,” Gideon said. “I expect to see leadership from a lot of different players that will hopefully set the tone for the entire team.”
