By Chris Parker
Liberal baseball is poised to make a run at a third consecutive district title with four all-state players returning.
The four returning all-state players include Justin Payne (senior pitcher/shortstop), Brodie Wilson (senior third baseman), Kaleb Coleman (senior catcher) and Kole Wiles (junior pitcher/first baseman).
Senior Brett Leibbrand (outfielder) is the fifth returning starter for the Bulldogs.
Payne and Wiles are the top returning pitchers from last season. Payne led the team with 50.2 innings pitched with a 2.07 ERA and 35 strikeouts. Wiles threw 33.2 innings with 39 strikeouts.
“Justin does a great job mixing it up and hitting spots and Kole is a big lefty that really came on at the end of last year,” Liberal head coach Travis Walton said. “We will look for them both to really control the mound and give us a chance to compete every time they step on the mound.”
Both were also strong hitters with Payne posting a .510 batting average and 1.344 OPS with two home runs and 57 runs scored. Wiles hit .389 with a 1.033 OPS including 34 RBI and 24 runs scored.
Wiles came on at the end of the year last season and is poised for a breakout junior year.
“The one player we are most excited to see the level of improvement from is probably Kole Wiles,” Walton said. “Kole was a young sophomore, only 15 last season, and did a lot of great things for us. He competed very well on the mound at the end of the year throwing a gem against the eventual state champions in our quarterfinal game going 5 1/3 giving up three runs, one earned, on four hits before running out of pitches. If he continues to progress like he did last year, I think he could be in line for a monster junior season.”
Coleman returns behind the plate to provide stability for the pitching staff. He is also a strong hitter who posted a .429 batting average and 1.012 OPS scoring 28 runs and scoring 31 more.
Payne, Wilson and Wiles are locked in as returning starters on the infield. Wilson hit .371 with 35 RBI and 35 runs scored.
Leibbrand is the lone returning outfield starter with junior Cooper Trout looking to claim one of the open spots after earning all-district honors last season.
While the returning core is experienced, the Bulldogs will need to find new players to step up for graduated players.
“We will definitely have some inexperience on the field this year,” Walton said. “We have had the same starting nucleus of nine for pretty much the past three years so there hasn’t been much inexperience. Losing the four seniors we lost last year leaves some pretty big holes to fill so our upcoming athletes will need to step in immediately and buy in to our concepts. If they can fill those roles and do the little things, then we have a chance at making another special run.”
Consistent offense will be key for Liberal this season.
“We want to continue being tough outs at the plate and put the pressure on the defense,” Walton said. “We focus on getting the bat on the ball every time up to bat. We also don’t want to make anything easy on the offense. We focus on filling up the zone, and making the easy play when the ball comes to you.”
Liberal opens the season on Mar. 18 at home against Drexel.
