By Dana Harding (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
Despite some adversity, Branson baseball fielded enjoyed success last season.
While the Pirates posted a 14-19 record in Kirk Harryman’s second season at the helm, the team was competitive throughout the season. Nine of Branson’s losses were by a single run, including a district semi-final loss to Willard.
“Last year’s team continued to help us lay the foundation for what we are building here at Branson High School,” Harryman said “I know the record ended up in a spot that we were not happy about, but I feel like the positives outweigh the negatives in our growth during the season. We played arguably one of the toughest schedules in southwest Missouri, and I felt we competed in all our games after a couple of early hiccups.”
A trio of seniors who earned postseason honors return to lead the Pirates in Collin Ross, Sam Adkisson and Hunter Jones.
Ross, a pitcher and outfielder, posted a 3-6 record and 1.47 ERA last season. At the plate, the all-conference and all-district selection hit .333 with 1 home run, 21 RBI and 12 stolen bases.
“Collin led the team in innings pitched last year,” Harryman said. “He gave us a chance to win any game he was on the mound and also led us in almost every offensive category. He is one of the most talented players in southwest Missouri, and I am excited to see how his senior year shakes out.”
Adkisson, an all-district infielder and pitcher, hit .315 last season with 7 runs batted in.
“Sam hit above .300 for us last year and was our second most consistent offensive weapon while playing a good second base,” Harryman said. “We are expecting him to continue to be a guy to produce for us at the plate as we look to improve our offensive numbers.”
Jones, a pitcher and infielder, recorded a 7-3 record on the mound with a 4.04 ERA. At the plate, the all-conference and all-district selection hit .232 with 2 home runs and 16 RBI.
“Hunter is another guy we had that pitched at a high level for us last year,” Harryman said. “He picked up half of our wins last season. Hunter is one of the top pitchers in southwest Missouri. Hunter, the returning starter at third base, will compete for the job and varsity at bats.”
Classmates Andrew Bristow (2-3-2, 1.17 ERA, .213 BA, 1 HR, 15 RBI, 4 SB), Jansen Poor, Marshall Storm and Kyler Lankton also return for the Pirates.
Juniors Tegan Asbury, Ryder Schroeder, Will Funderburk and Max Clifton round out Branson’s returning core.
Varsity newcomers include a pair of seniors who could make an immediate impact on the roster in Kaleb Vejraska and Gage Depee.
“We are excited to have Kaleb back this season after returning from a knee injury that limited him to four at bats last season after being the starter in center field as a freshman and sophomore,” Harryman said. “Gage comes to us from Ozark and he had an excellent football season and we are looking for him to continue his success in a Pirate uniform this spring on the baseball field.”
Brennan Phifer, Ethan Kennon, Doug Newlin, Nolan Carnelison, Adrian Truesdell, Dez White, Landon Makinster, Cam Ross, Carson Umbright, Haydon Wilson, Kason Kivett, Smith Quigg and Wit Miller will all compete for varsity playing time, as well.
“We are blessed to have a senior-heavy team that returns a lot of guys who have played a lot of varsity innings over the last three years,” Harryman said. “We are continuing to look to improve and find a way to get over the hump in some of those close games that were our achilles heel last season.”
For Branson to build on last season and make significant strides, Harryman believes a deep and talented pitching staff will lead the way.
We have a strong staff that will revolve around our six senior arms,” Harryman said. “We believe that our pitching staff will continue to put us in a position to be competitive in all our games as it has in the last two years.”
Branson opens its season March 15 at home against Parkview.
