By Chris Parker
Diamond baseball will have a new look on the field this season with just two part-time starters returning from last season’s district runner-up team. The Wildcats graduated 10 seniors off last year’s team.
Leading the way for the team will be Jacob Atkinson (senior pitcher/right field/first base), Peyton Marbough (junior pitcher/outfield), Cody Neal (junior catcher) and Matt Navarro (junior pitcher/second base/third base). Atkinson is the team’s lone senior.
Atkinson, Marbough, Navarro and Grady Bentley will be the team’s key pitchers.
Neal and Brayden Clement (sophomore) will be behind the plate at catcher.
Atkinson and Ty Stokes will see time at first base. Navarro, Alex Stevens (junior) and Roper Shaner (sophomore) are second base candidates. Bentley and Navarro will be looked to at shortstop. Third base will be held down by Daniel Weiss and Austin Girdner, both sophomores.
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In the outfield, Marbough, Landen Adams, Thomas Gow, Adam Brown, Stokes and Clement could all see time.
“This ball club is going to have to find an identity early,” Diamond head coach Bill Gray said. “We have one great senior who is more of a follow me guy than a vocal leader. If they choose to follow him, we will be a solid, hard-working group that will put it all on the line every time we take the field.”
Diamond opens the season Mar. 17-21 at the Lamar Tournament.
“This team will be scrappy having to fight for everything they get,” Gray said. “There will be days we can stay toe to toe with anyone and days we get whooped, but they are going to know they have been through a fight.”
