By Chris Parker
Salem baseball had a break-through season in 2024 going 16-5 overall and tying for the SCA conference title with Mountain Grove.
Five starters and six lettermen return from that team.
“This spring will be one with lots of questions,” Salem head coach Tony Edwards, who was named SCA Coach of the Year last season, said. “We graduated five seniors last season, and those players will be greatly missed. We will have big shoes to fill this season as we lost three of our top four hitters in our lineup to graduation. With five returning starters back for this upcoming season, although promising, will need to step up and find a way to produce some offense for us.”
All six returning players are seniors in Cayden Moody, Blake Edwards, Roy Stevens, Corby Ball, Kash Howard and Bryar Bobbitt. The first five listed are the returning starters.
Moody, an outfielder, hit .305 as a junior. He was named first-team all-conference as a junior and will play baseball at Evangel University next season.
“Cayden has terrific speed and glove work in centerfield,” Coach Edwards said. “Cayden has gotten stronger this winter and has add some more pop hopefully to his bat this coming spring; very excited about the opportunities that await Moody this spring.”
Blake Edwards, an honorable mention all-conference selection, was 5-1 with a 1.83 ERA on the mound. He has committed to play in college at Hannibal-LaGrange University.
“Blake has very good control for a pitcher,” Coach Edwards said. “He has an 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 will look to be our ace with his past experiences leading up to his senior season.”
Stevens, an infielder, drove in eight runs last season.
“Roy Stevens is an athletic player who could play multiple positions,” Coach Edwards said. “This season we will look to him at shortstop, as we lost Tre Richter to graduation. Roy will also step in our pitching rotation as he earned several opportunities last spring and did a terrific job when called upon.”
Ball had 12 total hits and returns to the outfield. He will also be a key pitcher
“Corby is also considered one of our more valuable pitchers that will be called upon this season,” Coach Edwards said. “Corby finished last season 3-0 as a pitcher and has terrific off-speed work. He has also been working very hard on his accuracy and fastball placement. Corby will be an important key to our pitching staff this season and will look to make some waves hitting in the lineup as well.”
Howard, also an outfielder, hit .234 with 14 RBI in 2024. He was named honorable mention all-conference
“Kash will look to pick up right where he left off last season, as we will need his contact and power at the plate this spring,” Coach Edwards said. “Kash will be asked to be our three or four hitter in our lineup this season.”
Bobbitt is a pitcher who posted a 3.26 ERA last season.
“Bryar returns to Salem for his senior season and did a terrific job as a pitcher for us last year,” Coach Edwards said. “He posted a 2-2 record and did a great job of keeping the ball down against hitters. We will look to Bryar this season to be towards the top of our lineup in hitting as well as seeing some first base opportunities this season.”
Senior Jaxon Raulston along with juniors Hayden Ragsdale and Dannon Berry and sophomore Sylis DuBois will be newcomers to watch.
Coach Edwards on Raulston: “Jaxon plays the infield for the Tigers. Jaxon will look to get some reps hopefully this coming season for the varsity. He had a very productive season at the JV level for us last spring as Jaxon led the JV squad with a .368 batting average and only had two strikeouts last season. With some hard work and determination, we are hoping Jaxon can provide the varsity with some key hitting opportunities and potentially some infield work this upcoming season.”
Coach Edwards on Ragsdale: “Hayden Ragsdale will return for his junior year after having a very effective season for us as a JV pitcher last spring. Hayden was 4-1 with 32 strikeouts and had a 3.90 ERA as a sophomore JV pitcher last season. Hayden will look to possibly help us on the mound at the varsity level this season and contribute in our varsity rotation.”
Coach Edwards on Berry: “Dannon Berry will look to possibly help us in the rotation as a varsity pitcher this spring. Dannon has a unique delivery that tends to hide his pitch well versus hitters. Dannon will look to improve on his breaking pitches this spring to become more of an effective pitcher on the mound for the Tigers.”
Coach Edwards on DuBois: “Sylis DuBois will take on the catching duties as a sophomore this spring after losing four-year starter Haiden Sanders to graduation. Sylis is a very versatile athlete. He could play multiple positions for us the season. Sylis is athletic and works extremely hard at his position. We are excited to see Sylis take this next step as he will be our varsity catcher this season. There will probably be a few learning curves for him, but I know he will be up to the task.”
Overall, Coach Edwards expects pitching to be a strength.
“I feel like our pitching is our biggest asset as we have depth returning this season,” Coach Edwards said. “We are going to have to find a way to manufacture a few runs and hope our experienced pitchers will keep us in ballgames this season. With our pitching and experience from last season, I’m hoping we can battle for another SCA championship once again and have a better finish to the end of the season come districts.”
Salem opens the season on Mar. 22 at home.
