Joplin baseball finished last season with 20 wins for the first time since 2013-14 as the Eagles made a run to the district title game.
After graduating seven seniors who contributed heavily to the success a year ago, the four returning starters with the addition of several returning lettermen will be tasked with continuing the success seen in recent seasons for the Joplin program.
“I think every team is a little different and the dynamics of how you get to where you want to go may have to be done a little differently,” Joplin coach Kyle Wolf said. “Our goal is always to be playing our best baseball by the end of the season. I think last year’s group was able to figure that out through the course of the season. They took on some different roles than maybe they were expecting to or even accustomed to. I think the same thing will be true this year. Guys will have to fit into their roles and get comfortable with them. Hopefully, we are playing our best at the end of the year.”
RETURNERS
Joplin’s list of returning starters is led by senior all-conference and district pitcher Ethan Guilford, who will also spend time at either corner infield spot when he isn’t on the bump. Joining Guilford with plenty of starting experience is senior IF Bodee Carlson and junior OF/P Justin McReynolds.
Senior UTL/P Joe Jasper, senior UTL/P Isaac Meadows and junior OF/P Brady Mails also return with varsity letterman experience.
“Ethan, on the mound especially, was our workhorse last year,” Wolf said. “We tried to get him in as many big games as we possibly could, and I don’t think that’s going to be a lot different (this year). … We are going to be looking to (Bodee Carlson) for a little more leadership as a senior. He has been there and done it. … We moved (Justin McReynolds) from the outfield to the infield last year because we needed a little extra punch in the lineup and he accepted that role and quite honestly excelled in it and helped us to have the year that we did. So, we are expecting some big things from him.”
Senior OK Kyler Stokes returns and is joined by junior UTL/P Byler Reither, who saw spot action predominantly at shortstop last season, also returns with varsity starting experience.
“Byler is just a dynamic athlete and has the ability to hit anywhere in the order and I think we are going to see him be a very good defensive player for us,” Wolf said. “Kyler does some things in the outfield that not a lot of people can do. He gets to some balls that I don’t know very many guys can get to. In the lineup, he runs well, has a little punch and can hit the ball gap to gap.”
NEW FACES
Junior IF/P Landon Maples, junior OF/P Layten Copher and junior P Alex Isbell are expected to make an immediate impact at the varsity level. Senior C Tyler Schumann and junior C Jackson Queen will compete for innings behind the dish.
“I talked to (Schumann and Queen) the other day and told them they are kind of a team within a team,” Wolf said. “Those guys are obviously competing for the big innings throughout the course of the year, but I think those two will be able to lean on each other and really give us a good look behind the plate.”
TEAM STRENGTHS
Heading into the season, Coach Wolf is excited to see what his team can accomplish on the diamond. He feels the strengths to this year’s club is largely its athleticism as a program, which will be on display defensively.
“I think defensively we have an opportunity to be very good,” Wolf said. “The guys just need to understand that it’s not the Olympics—we don’t get style points, we just need to get outs. It’s the old cliché of ‘do simple better.’ If they use their athleticism to ‘do simple better,’ I think this is a group that will be very difficult to score against.”
Offensively, that athleticism will give the Eagles plenty of options to put runs on the scoreboard.
“I think the athleticism in our lineup provides the opportunity to be pretty creative and diverse with what we can do up and down the lineup at any given time,” Wolf said.
When it comes to pitching, depth may very well be the biggest strength for Joplin this year. In terms of the starting rotations, behind Guilford, filling out the rotation will be a combination of Reither, Copher, McReynolds, Isbell and Mails, among others in competition.
“I think our depth is probably as good as it has been on the mound,” Wolf said. “We have arms. They need to mature, grow and be consistent from day to day, but I think that just comes with getting innings. … We have a lot of really good arms that just need time to develop and figure out what it takes to collect varsity outs for seven innings.”
ON DECK
Joplin hosts its jamboree with Carthage and Monett on Tuesday before opening up the regular season by hosting Hollister in a noon matchup on Saturday at the JHS Athletic Complex.
