By Chris Parker
Salem baseball returns eight starters from last season’s 8-17 program. Tony Edwards enters his third season as head coach of the program with eight starters and 10 lettermen returning.
The eight returning starters are Kaiden Dubois (infield/pitcher), Trethan Richter (infield), Haiden Sanders (catcher), Owen Hamilton (first base), Kash Howard (outfield), Cayden Moody (outfield), Corby Ball (outfield/pitcher) and Roy Stevens (infield).
Edwards on Dubois: “Kaiden Dubois played third base and pitched last season. Kaiden has a good glove, good eye/contact at the plate, and will be asked to give us some quality innings this season on the mound after losing Senior Bronson Crocker to graduation. Kaiden should serve as our No. 3 hitter this season.”
Edwards on Richter: “Trethan Richter started at shortstop as well as pitched a few games for us last season. Trethan has a great eye for the ball at the plate and is a solid contact hitter. He has blazing speed on the bases but has to find ways to get on base more so that we can use that special gift to his advantage.”
Edwards on Sanders: “Haiden Sanders is our returning catcher from last season. Haiden made huge strides from his sophomore year to his junior year this past spring. Last spring, Haiden’s velo on throwing out baserunners was impressive. He threw out 14 baserunners last spring and started to find his comfort level at the plate. Haiden is very much a leader on our team and will be depended on this season for that leadership in order for the Tigers to have success.”
Edwards on Hamilton: “Owen Hamilton played first base for us last season and pitched a few innings for us late in the season. Owen is returning for his senior year as an All-SCA Honorable Mention first baseman. Owen is very strong and has some good power in his bat that we need desperately this spring.”
Edwards on Howard: “Kash Howard, who was selected as First-Team All-SCA outfielder, started in right field for us last season. Kash had a remarkable sophomore year as he led the Tigers in average, total hits, and was third on the team with six extra base hits. Kash will look to pick up right where he left off last season batting .319 with 22 total hits and 8 RBIs. Kash will be asked once again to give us solid contact and some added power in our lineup this spring.”
Edwards on Moody: “Cayden Moody played centerfield for us last season. Moody had a terrific sophomore season as well. Cayden was selected to Second-Team All-SCA outfielder. He batted .306 which was second on the team and tied Howard with 22 total hits for team high. Cayden has terrific speed and glove work in centerfield. Cayden should continue to get stronger and add some more pop hopefully to his bat this coming spring. Very excited about the opportunities that await Moody this spring.”
Edwards on Ball: “Corby Ball is our returning left fielder for us this season. Corby is also considered one of our more valuable pitchers that will looked and called upon this season as we lost our ‘ace’ Bronson Crocker to graduation last spring. Corby has terrific off-speed work and has been working very hard on his accuracy and fastball placement at the varsity level. Corby will be asked to step up and be an important key to our pitching staff this season.”
Edwards on Stevens: “Roy Stevens saw a lot of varsity action last season as a second baseman. Roy is an athletic player who could play multiple positions, as we will look to him to play up the middle once again for us this season.”
Blake Edwards and Landen Richter also return after earning letters last season.
Coach Edwards on Blake Edwards: “Blake Edwards is another returning starter for us who pitched several innings and played some third base for us last spring. Blake has very good control for a pitcher. He has the arsenal of about four different pitches he uses to keep hitters off balance. Blake will be an important part to our pitching staff once again this spring and in hope that we can get that bat going this season, as he led the JV team last year for us with 15 RBIs and had a .333 batting average which was second-best behind Landen Richter (.444 avg).”
Coach Edwards on Landen Richter: “Landen is very much a utility player for us. Landen’s primary position is catcher, but last season he played the outfield, as well as infield in a few varsity games for us last year as a freshman. Landen will kind of look to do the same for us this spring season. Depending on who is pitching, Landen might be asked to play some outfield, as well as any of the three infield positions (3rd, SS, 2nd) for us this season. He has a bright future ahead of him and is a very talented sophomore who can swing the stick a little as well.”
Bryar Bobbitt, Hayden Ragsdale and Dannon Berry are three more players who could see expanded varsity roles this season.
Salem opens the season on Mar. 16 at home against Cuba and Vienna.
“This upcoming season has a lot of promise for us hopefully, as we only graduated one senior,” Coach Edwards said. “We have approximately 14-15 juniors and seniors on this year’s squad and eight or nine of them are returning starters from last season. Last year, we played a lot of sophomores and juniors in our varsity contests with only having one senior. These kids got to receive a lot of experience for us on the diamond. We need these returning players to take another step forward this season.”
