By Brennan Stebbins (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
While the Joplin baseball team was far from satisfied with its overall record last season, there were some positives for the Eagles and head coach Kyle Wolf.
“The thing I was probably the most proud of about that group is as the year went on we continued to show up to practice with a good mentality and continued working to get better,” Wolf said. “It didn’t always show up on the scoreboard, but we continued to get better at some of the things we needed to and by the end of the year we match up with the number one seed Glendale in the opening district game and it was a very competitive game that we had an opportunity to win. It took a 2-run home run in the sixth to put them up and win that game.”
That 3-1 district loss gave the Eagles a 7-22 record, but Wolf is hoping the varsity experience gained by several young players last season will help the team “flip the script” on some of the late inning and other close losses that hampered Joplin. The team graduated four seniors and returns 12 letter winners and nine players who started in some role.
At catcher the team returns junior Daniel Rose and senior Dom Leesman, and Wolf aims to get both players into the lineup.
“Daniel Rose hit .308 last year and led off a large majority of the year or was at least second,” Wolf said. “He’s a very athletic catcher that does a good job handling our pitchers and controlling the run game. He had a good year at the plate as a sophomore. He was injured for part of the season but the times he was in there he certainly made an impact in our lineup.
“Both of these guys are going to have a role somewhere in the lineup whether it’s an alternative position from catching or as a DH. Dom works really hard at being the best he can be, and he was really hot early in the season at the plate. We’re hoping that experience will carry through this year.”
Senior Brock Waghorn will play at first base and is a middle of the order bat with the potential for extra bases at any time, Wolf said. In the field he’s a strong defensive first baseman who could also play at third.
“He’s been a full-time starter since he was a sophomore, so he’s got probably more experience than anybody else on the roster and we’ll look to him for a lot of leadership as well,” Wolf said.
Peyton Swenson returns as a senior at second base and is another “very good” defensive player.
“At the plate he’s a really good contact guy who runs well,” Wolf said. “He came up with a lot of clutch hits throughout the course of the year. That’s a good sign that he was comfortable in those situations. He just puts the ball in play consistently and gives himself a chance to get to first base.”
On the left side of the infield the Eagles return junior David Bhend at shortstop, and Wolf expects him to bat in the middle of the order this season.
“He’s a really good athlete that does a good job defensively and we expect him to continue to improve in that position,” he said.
Senior Kutler Schwarting will be listed as a utility player and has a lot of experience defensively. He could play third base, shortstop, second base or in the outfield.
“He’s played a lot of baseball and understands the game,” Wolf said. “You can put him in different situations and places and he’ll handle it well.”
Junior Brecken Green can play anywhere on the infield and is a “very good athlete and very rangy type of player,” Wolf said.
“I think with a year of maturity and strength and quite honestly confidence we expect him to be more consistent at the plate, as well.”
Junior John Jasper could play at third or first, with “the potential at the plate to be a guy who can drive the ball in the gap and go for extra bases.” He’s currently recovering from an injury but “we expect him to make a difference when he’s healthy,” Wolf said.
Senior Landry Wilson has “earned his time” and will see an expanded role as a first baseman and pitcher and junior Hayden Wolf will provide depth in the middle of the infield, primarily at second base, and “will go out there when called upon and get the job done for us.”
Junior Isaac Yust will primarily serve as a pitcher but is another good first baseman in competition for time there, Wolf said, and he has the potential to hit for extra bases.
Junior Layne Royle returns in the outfield and started primarily in left field last season but could transition to center field this year.
“He runs extremely well, gets great jumps on the ball defensively and does a good job at running balls down in the gap and commanding the outfield,” Wolf said. “He and Daniel Rose flipped back and forth between leadoff and the two hole. With his speed and ability to put the ball in play it creates a lot of pressure on the defense. He had 11 stolen bases last year which I believe led us.”
Senior Braxton Gough played primarily in right and has learned how to play what is a “tricky position” at Joplin.
“Because of the wall we have in right field, it takes a little bit of getting used to playing at our place and he’s done a good job learning the different bounces and different ways to play right field,” Wolf said. “He’s a left-handed hitter and there were glimpses of a really good high school hitter last spring, we’re just looking for him to be a little more consistent.”
Senior Cooper Williams returns as an outfielder and the team’s primary pinch and courtesy runner.
“He’s an athletic guy, very aggressive, kind of that confidence guy that no matter what’s going on he’ll make a play,” Wolf said. “He’s another guy that when he gets on base he can put a lot of pressure on the defense.”
On the pitching mound the Eagles will feature Green, who was a second team pitcher on the All-COC team last spring. He finished with a 5-5 record and a 2.48 ERA in 56.1 innings after logging 15.1 varsity innings as a freshman.
“He’s got a good mix of pitches and we’re really expecting him to be our go-to guy this spring,” Wolf said.
Waghorn could play another “pivotal role” on the mound and has added some velocity, Wolf said. Schwarting has adjusted his arm angle and could pitch in high leverage situations out of the bullpen or as a starter. Bhend threw a lot of innings as a sophomore and will be another key contributor.
Left-handed pitchers Gough and Yust both bring experience as relief pitchers, with Gough capable of throwing some “pivotal innings” and Yust returning as one of last year’s primary relievers who also has the ability to start.
Wilson had a “really good summer” on the mound and Wolf is excited to see what he can do this spring. Senior Aiden Siebenthal is relatively new to baseball, having only played last season, but showed potential as a junior and will help fill out the pitching staff.
Joplin will host Monett and Carthage for a jamboree on March 17 and won’t play a team from Missouri until April, with games against St. James (Kansas), John Hersey (Illinois), Pittsburg Colgan (Kansas) and then four contests in the Tiger/Zebra Classic in Oklahoma.
“This is probably the oldest group I’ve had in a while, looking at 16 or 17 juniors and seniors,” Wolf said. “Any time you can have not only older players but guys with some experience you go into it feeling like you know what to expect. They understand the grind and the difficulty of our schedule, and you hope that translates into some success on the field.”
