By Denise Tucker
The Weaubleau Tigers are looking to bounce from an 8-17 season in which they finished sixth in the Polk County League before falling 9-1 to Hermitage in the Class 1 District 8 tournament.
The Tigers lost four key players to graduation.
Kaulin Cutbirth was second on the team in innings pitched with 43.2 and had to play several different positions defensively.
Gatlin Freeman led the team in innings pitched with 47.2, tied for the team lead in runs batted in with 16 and led in doubles with eight.
Kaleb Minica led the Tigers with a .412 batting average, 24 stolen bases, 28 hits and tied for the team lead in RBIs with 16. “Kaleb was also our team’s most positive influence on and off the field,” Weaubleau coach Chad Foster said.
Rhett Burkhart was second on the team in hits with 24 and second in batting average at .312. “Rhett was our most dependable defender,” Foster said.
The Tigers will be a young and inexperienced team this season, but do have three returning starters.
Colton Lambeth – senior – infielder/outfielder – .220 average; 12 runs batted in; 5 stolen bases. “Colton will be our only senior who has playing experience. Colton is a hard worker who will be asked to contribute more in multiple roles this year.”
Tate Dennis – junior – pitcher/infielder/outfielder – .222 average; 8 RBIs; 5 SB. “Tate’s first year at Weaubleau was last season and he was the team’s hardest worker. He has worked hard in the off-season to improve and will be asked to contribute more in all areas this year for an extremely young team.”
Cameron Ott – sophomore – pitcher/catcher/infielder – 1.22 earned run average; .278 batting average; 22 hits; 7 RBIs; 6 SB. “Cameron stepped in as a freshman and started and did a good job. He hadn’t ever caught before, but logged the most innings behind the plate on the team and has a lot of potential. Cameron was also one of our most consistent pitchers in limited innings, and earned second-team All-Polk County League and all-district honorable mention honors.”
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Weaubleau will be looking to 10 newcomers to make an impact and produce immediately.
Senior – Thomas Queen – infielder/outfielder.
Juniors – Chris Ritter – infielder/outfielder; Owen Lambeth – infielder/outfielder; Chris Helms – infielder/outfielder.
Sophomore – Brandon Miller – infielder/outfielder.
Freshmen – Tucker Hillard – infielder/outfielder; Cadan Kauffman – infielder/outfielder; John Caufield – infielder/outfielder; Tate Burkhart – infielder/outfielder; Briar Tucker – infielder/outfielder.
“With only three returning starters, we are inexperienced with limited varsity playing time,” Foster said. “As the season progresses, I believe these boys will be competitive by the end.”
Weaubleau opens the season by hosting Skyline at 11 a.m. March 18.
“We are going to be a very young, inexperienced team,” Foster said. “This group of young men are hard-working and will do what they can to improve their skills. I expect us to improve as the season progresses as we get more experienced. I believe if we work hard and play unselfish, this group will be very competitive by season’s end.
“The conference will again be very tough with several teams highly state-ranked, as was the case last year. The district tournament will be even tougher than our conference, with the winner having a good chance to (make a deep run) in the state playoffs.”
