By Pat Dailey (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
Noah Briley has served as the primary play-by-play voice for the Reeds Spring video production class’ YouTube broadcasts of Wolves football and basketball games the past two years.
Briley has made for quite a story to be told himself as Reeds Spring’s ace on the mound. He’s had a hand in 14 of the Wolves’ 21 wins dating back to the 2016 season.
The senior right-hander will look to become the program’s career wins leader as the headliner for a deep pitching staff this spring. He has 17 career wins, three shy of Reeds Spring’s record.
“Noah was one of only three (All-COC Small Schools) First-Team pitchers last year,” Wolves coach Chris Funk said. “The other two were Connor Sechler, of Bolivar, and Mason Dickemann, of Catholic. They’re now both at Missouri State. So, Noah was in good company.”
Briley, who had a 6-1 W-L record with a 1.79 ERA and a 1.15 WHIP last season, is among six pitchers Funk is high on. That group also includes Collin Cross, Tyler Herzan, Logan Chambers, Cody Hughes and Blake Gronvold. Cross was 2-3 with a 4.30 ERA last year and Herzan 3-3 with a 4.83 ERA.
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“I think our pitching staff will be the strength of our team,” Funk said. “I feel confident those six guys will command the zone and throw strikes.”
Cross was an All-COC First-Team utility man last year. He was the winning pitcher in Reeds Spring’s 4-2 Class 4 District 11 win over Mt. Vernon, shut out Bolivar 3-0 and fired six scoreless innings versus Rogersville.
At-bat, Cross hit .271 with 11 RBIs. Two years ago, he batted .450 with 26 RBIs as a sophomore, despite dealing with a lingering shoulder injury. He has started every Reeds Spring game the past three years.
“He pitched some big games for us last year,” Funk said. “Without a doubt, he was a bright surprise. Offensively, it was a down year for him and he would be the first to tell you that.”
Almost all of the Wolves’ hitters are in bounce back mode. The team returns no one who hit above .300 last year. Shortstop Seth Stamps batted .270 with a dozen stolen bases, second baseman Collin Briley batted .255 after hitting .300-plus as a freshman and outfielder Carter Sadler hit .268.
Funk is optimistic his hitters will deliver more.
“We didn’t hit very well last year,” Funk said. “I feel a lot of the that can be attributed to the fact 70 percent of our lineup was first-year starters. Also, we faced some very good arms. We think our guys have matured and grown offensively.”
Funk likes his defense up the middle, with Gronvold in center, Stamps at short, Collin Briley at second and Cole Watson at catcher. They’re all juniors.
Stamps was an All-COC Second-Team selection last year.
“We feel like we’re pretty good up the middle,” Funk said. “Our junior class is a good class.”
