By Brennan Stebbins (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
With the Carthage baseball program hoping to turn the page on a tough three-year stretch, the Tigers have turned to a familiar name to take over as head coach.
Kevin Burgi, the former McDonald County coach, is the new man at the helm and it’s something of a homecoming for him; his father, John, coached Carthage in the late 80’s and early 90’s.
“All of our family is from Carthage and my wife is from Carthage as well,” Burgi said. “I didn’t grow up here but it’s a place our family has always held special. When we had an opportunity to come back we were really excited.”
Burgi was an assistant principal at McDonald County last year after coaching baseball for four seasons. He guided the Mustangs to back-to-back Big 8 West championships in ’21 and ’22 and was named the conference coach of the year both times.
He takes over a Carthage program that’s fallen on hard times. The Tigers went 3-27 last spring and have won just 18 games in three seasons. They were especially hampered offensively last year, scoring one or fewer runs in 18 of their 30 games.
“We do have a lot of arm talent coming back,” Burgi said. “The group had some kids like Brodie Cole who started a lot of games and we had some freshmen step up and throw varsity innings like Blayne Lilienkamp and Landon Bland. We bring back a majority of our pitching staff. There are some guys who got at bats last year, but from a strength standpoint, the returning mound experience will be a really big deal for us. When you start as many young guys as they did last year you’ll have returning experience on the bases and in the field. We’re really excited about what we’ve been seeing on the mound.”
The senior Cole is a strike thrower who’s worked hard in the offseason to increase his velocity, Burgi said, and he was second on the team in strikeouts last spring. Lilienkamp, a sophomore, showed “really good stuff” as a freshman and Bland is another 10th grader who is a “big, big athlete” who can throw a couple different pitches for strikes–he led the team in strikeouts.
The Tigers have a senior-heavy roster with nearly a dozen in all. The list includes infielder Ty Perry, who was third on the team in doubles and RBI’s; Ethan Stark, who played in 24 games; Brayden Tate, who led the team in doubles; Austin Mitchell, who played in 21 games; and Eider Lyckman, who pitched in 10 games. Outfielder Gabe Madsen will be competing for playing time, as well as infielder Mason Adams, pitchers Bradon Abbott and Clay Conness and Colson Brust, who could pitch and hit in the lineup.
Returning underclassmen, besides Lilienkamp and Bland, are sophomore Carson Kinder, who pitched some as a freshman; junior Brady Carlton, an infielder and pitcher; junior Nolan Brown, who led the team in ERA and was honorable mention All-District; junior Langston Morgan, who started a majority of games in center field; junior Cooper Lilienkamp, who played in 16 games and could start in the outfield; junior Taylor Stephens, who played in 16 games; and junior Zach Hoenshell, who will compete with Mitchell and Brust to be the team’s starting catcher.
“We’re going to have about 35 players,” Burgi said. “It’s a good group of kids, and a pretty deep group of kids in most classes. We’re excited for it. Our mentality has just been to work hard. These kids have played baseball their whole lives. We want to teach them about the history of Carthage baseball and get them to work hard. They’ve done everything we’ve asked so far. We’ll keep coaching them hard.”
“I know well and we’ve gone through an offseason together now but there’s really not anything that’s certain,” he said. “We’re going to put the guys out there who can make the routine play and give us the best at bats possible. If they can hit, we’re going to find a place for them. The kids know it’s wide open and they’ve done a good job competing.”
Carthage will once again play at Carl Lewton Stadium after playing its home games in Joplin last spring; the stadium had been declared unsafe by the city. Most of the structure has been torn down, but temporary bleachers will be brought in for seating. A new stadium is being constructed near the high school.
The Tigers will play in a jamboree at Joplin on March 12, then play four games in the Lamar Tiger Classic and three games in the Roy B Shaver Classic to open the regular season. Their first home game is March 27 against Father Tolton Regional Catholic.
