By Brennan Stebbins (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
After a pair of 11-win seasons, Mt. Vernon’s baseball team took a big step forward with a 15-11 record in 2019 and the Mountaineers were poised for big things last spring with seven starters returning.
Then the season was cancelled, and the Mt. Vernon team that takes the field will have a much different look.
“I’ve told my guys I think there’s a good chance with the schedule we play, with some of the larger schools, that we could start off slow as we gain experience because we’re going to be a younger team,” head coach Nick Swillum said. “The goal is to finish the season as strong as possible.”
Mt. Vernon returns just two players with varsity experience from two years ago: seniors Rafe Darter and Lane Pendleton. The 6-foot-3 Darter is one of the top athletes at Mt. Vernon and signed in February to play wide receiver at Missouri Southern. He was the Mountaineers’ leadoff hitter as a sophomore, the starting center fielder and a left-handed pitcher.
“He did an outstanding job for us,” Swillum said. “Great defensively, hit for average, good speed. Those two guys were really good additions to (last year’s) senior class so we would have had one of the best teams probably and all the kids know it that had come through Mt. Vernon. Rafe’s going to play a huge role. I’m going to move him to the three hole this year and he’ll be my best hitter. We’re going to rely on him on the mound as well.”
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Darter was a first team Big 8 East outfielder as a sophomore and a second team all-district honoree. He batted .410 with 13 RBI’s and 17 stolen bases.
Pendleton will hit first or second in the lineup this year while starting at second base and closing on the mound.
“He has some pop in his bat and he’s another really fast, good defensive player,” Swillum said.
The rest of the lineup will be determined this spring. There’s a lot of competition at the corner infield spots and in right field, especially.
Competing for time at third base are junior Tristan Jones, senior Jordan Collier and sophomore Dominick Harris.
Jones, Collier, sophomore Payton West and senior Chandler Ball are all in the mix at first base.
Senior Dalton Ball, Harris, sophomore Caleb Rinker, sophomore Trey Hill and freshman Layton Pendleton are all competing for the spot in right field.
The other two outfield spots will belong to Darter and Brady Brown, a junior. Like Darter, Brown will also pitch for Mt. Vernon so Swillum said he needs four outfielders.
Holding down duties at catcher is senior Stetson Moulds, who moved from Republic and was slated to start at catcher last year.
At shortstop Swillum said a freshman named Sean Raucher has the qualities he’s looking for at that position.
Filling out the pitching staff will be junior Matt Milsop and twin brothers Chandler and Dalton Ball, who are both at least 6-foot-3. The Ball brothers are new to the program but have looked good in open gyms and Swillum said Dalton could end up as the team’s No. 3 starter with Chandler pitching in relief.
“Two years ago we had a bunch of pitchers throwing in the 80’s and one throwing 90,” Swillum said. “I’ve never had a guy throw 90 before. This year our hardest thrower is 76.”
Offensively, Swillum said the Mountaineers will have to go back to playing small ball this season, learning how to move runners and manufacture runs.
“That process is probably going to take a little while for these guys to get a hang of,” he said. “I told them we do not have to have dominating pitching to win. We have to have guys that will throw strikes and we need to be able to put a defense on the field that will play behind them because the ball’s going to be put in play. I feel like we can put a pretty solid defense on the field. As long as we do those two things we’re probably not going to be the team that scores 10 to 12 runs a game but if we can throw strikes and play defense we’ll give ourselves a chance to win.”
Mt. Vernon opens the season in the Clever tournament and then plays in Carthage’s Bill O’Dell Tournament in early April. That makes for a tough schedule, including games with the other 13 schools in the Big 8.
“What I told our guys is the goal is to come out of each week with a win or two and continue to progress through the season,” Swillum said. “The good news for a school like us is Missouri went to six classes this year so when we get to district time we no longer have to beat Rogersville, Marshfield, Carl Junction, Monett. A lot of those schools are all going to bump up to Class 5. We’ll stay Class 4. The schools we play are going to be more our size. If we can get on a roll going into districts we would have just as good of a shot as anybody else in the district.”
Mt. Vernon will host a jamboree on Saturday, March 13 with Marionville and Pierce City.
