By Chris Parker
Southwest baseball won double-digit games and finished above .500 for the first time since 2016 last year. The Trojans welcome back seven starters from the 2023 team that went 13-11.
Leading the way will be senior pitchers/infielders Brendyn Paulsen and Charlie Pippin according to head coach Derek Mann.
Mann on Paulsen: “He is our ace on the mound and one of our big bats in the middle of the lineup. He gives us a chance to win every game he pitches and teams really have to gameplan for him at the plate.”
Mann on Pippin: “Chuck is our No. 2 on the mound. He gives us a chance to win every time he is on the mound. He also is a big leader for our team. He helps the team get through the ups and downs of a game and season. He is a lead by example kind of guy that every team needs.”
Sophomore Logan Gregory will also throw key innings for Southwest.
“He (Gregory) is dominant on the mound and pitches in a lot of big games for us,” Mann said. “Logan’s best pitch is his change-up and he gets a lot of swings and misses from it.”
This trio along with the other arms on the staff will drive the success of Southwest Baseball.
“Our biggest strength will be our pitching,” Mann said. “We will start the season out healthy and with a deep pitching rotation and bullpen. I believe we have three guys that can beat any team we play this spring and a bullpen that complements each other well. We have a lot of games on our schedule and even though we are deep in pitching our depth could be tested some weeks. Another strength we have as a team is just our overall depth. Last spring and even this fall we dealt with quite a few injuries so it allowed some guys to get playing time and succeed when they probably wouldn’t have gotten those chances.”
Junior Tyler Meek will catch most of the innings with freshman RJ Cutberth sliding in behind the plate when Meek has to pitch.
Pippin will also see time at first base along with Paulsen. Paulsen will play shortstop when not pitching or playing first. Senior Caleb Ayer will be at second base. Tristan Morgan will hold down third base in his junior year. Gregory will see time at shortstop.
The outfield will feature Aiden Barnett (freshman), Wyatt Taft (sophomore), Braden Garcia (senior) and Elijah Keeney (freshman).
Mann will look for his lineup to be more consistent on offense this season.
“I would say our biggest weakness is consistency at the plate,” Mann said. “We struggle with guys being able to produce on a consistent level. We improved on that a bit this fall with some guys, but I would like to see more consistency through our whole lineup. Our lineup is very capable of this and if we can improve on this, we should have a lineup 1-9 that no one sees as an easy out.”
Southwest opens the season Mar. 16-19 at the Purdy Tournament.
“I believe this team has a lot of potential,” Mann said. “We are one of the top teams in our conference but there are a lot of good teams in it, and we will have to play well to be able to come out on top. When it comes to postseason, I think we have a team that is built to make a good run but again we will have to play well day in and day out when we start seeing every team’s best. We have a tough schedule with conference and district opponents but also playing schools above our class. I expect us to compete in every game we play in from the first pitch to the last.”
