By Tyler F. Thompson (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
William Wise enters his second season at the helm for the Waynesville Tigers baseball program.
Throughout the offseason terrain, one intangible is leaps and bounds above the others: attendance.
“I have had a very good offseason with the guys,” said skipper William Wise. “I have had 16-to-20 guys show up to all of the workouts. They seem very committed. It should be an exciting year for us.”
Character resonates, and Wise said having the strong offseason numbers is a good place to start when playing in the Ozark Conference.
“Pretty telling to you that these guys want it. They want to get better and are trusting the process of developing into a team,” Wise said. “Wins are great, but we have to change our mentality and learn how to become a ball club first. It definitely shows.”
Last year, the Tigers went 2-22. But returning a plethora of upperclassmen should yield more wins this spring.
“I am excited to see these guys go out onto the field — what they have done this offseason … putting it all together,” Wise said.
The Tigers return three seniors to the fold. Those seniors being Weslee Dye (P/1B), Jackson Goforth (SS) and Hunter Althuisius (P/3B).
Goforth was all-conference honorable mention as an infielder last year.
The juniors include Justin Zuber (CF), Ethan Heberling (P), Mason Thompson (1B) and Luke Cassidy (2B).
“I have six or seven returners,” Wise said. “Jackson is going to be a player who is fun to watch. I am not going to say he is the best player out there, but he is going to be fun to watch because he brings 100 percent to the games in everything he does.”
On the bump this year, the battle comes down to three players, Wise said: Dye (senior), Dylan Pelkey (soph.) and Heberling (junior).
“Since he is a senior, I am shooting more towards Weslee. I am trying to get him into that leadership role,” Wise said.
Outside of the seniors, there are players that are flying under the radar who are looking to make a statement this spring.
Added Wise: “Heberling is another guy to watch. He is young. Last year as a sophomore, he proved that he will be my varsity catcher this year. He has a nice swing from the lefthanded side, and his baseball IQ is going to take him somewhere. He is very smart.”
Waynesville has undergone a cultural shift the past two years, and the younger players have heeded the call.
“I think the younger players are really jumping on board with how I am trying to change the culture here, and those older guys are starting to buy in. Those younger guys are going to lock in on that process.”
The preseason jamboree is slated for 4 p.m. Tuesday, March 12.
The Tigers are scheduled to face Dixon, Camdenton and Crocker at Dixon.
The identity is a work in progress, Wise said, but another intangible the Tigers are taking to heart is scrappiness.
“We are going to be scrappy,” Wise said. “We are going to have to be on point in all aspects of the game. Defensively, I think we will be okay. Offensively, we are going to be small ball. We are going to be moving guys around.”
Returning starters include Dye, Pelkey, Heberling, Goforth, Althuisius, Zuber, Isaac Martinez and Carson Sutphin.
Martinez was all-conference honorable mention as the DH.
