Many baseball teams in Southwest Missouri are struggling to find players with varsity experience for the 2021 season.
Carl Junction is not one of them.
Even though a number of area teams have rosters filled with juniors and seniors, very few of them have experienced varsity baseball because of the lost season a year ago because of the COVID pandemic. For the Bulldogs, however, half of their 10-strong senior class returns with significant varsity experience, particularly when considering the circumstances.
“I think a lot of teams are in a unique situation when figuring out the dynamics of their team,” Carl Junction coach Jake Stevenson said. “We feel fortunate that we have had some of those players experience game speed at the varsity level.”
Of course, a year lost is still a year lost. So, also like nearly every other team in the area, Carl Junction tried to make up for that lost time with summer games.
“We still missed out on that action last year,” Stevenson added. “We were fortunate to still have a full summer and play 30-plus games. That kind of helped to round them out. In addition to playing last summer, getting that experience as sophomores will certainly help out this season. We are fortunate those guys got to experience that game speed at the varsity level.”
The five seniors returning with varsity experience are OF/P Alex Baker, IF/P Carson Johnson, IF/P Drew Beyer, UT Dylan Eck and C/P Noah Southern.
Joining them in filling out the senior class IF Keaton Johnson, OF/P Cole Stewart, P/OF Jaxson Mackney, IF/P Lance Smith and IF/OF Brendyn Downs.
“We have 10 seniors, and that’s the biggest senior class I have experienced as a coach,” Stevenson mentioned. “It is a testament to those guys buying into the program.”
Pitching might be the Bulldogs’ biggest strength this season, with Baker, Johnson, Beyer, Eck, Southern, Mackney and Stewart all projected to contribute in some capacity on the mound.
“We feel like we have guys who have worked hard since their sophomore year,” Stevenson said. “They’ve gotten bigger, they’ve gotten stronger and their velocity has gotten better. Really, they just seem to be more comfortable on the mound and are doing a good job of throwing strikes. This big thing is we don’t want guys to press. We want them to settle into each game and fill up the zone. It’s so important to throw strikes, and that is going to be our biggest emphasis this year.”
Offensively, Johnson, Beyer, Southern, Baker and Eck bring the most experience back to the plate. Downs and Stewart also figure to see regular at-bats, as will juniors IF/P Dalton Mills, IF/P Kyler Perry, OF/P Jordan Woodruff and OF Cole Wilson.
“I think our key offensively is just being scrappy,” Stevenson said. “We need to limit strikeouts and put the ball in play. If the opportunity presents itself to have a quality at-bat, even if that is sacrifice fly, scoring a guy from third with a ground ball or laying down a bunt, whatever it is going to take, we have to be selfless at the plate to score guys when we have the opportunity.”
The biggest key for Carl Junction to have success will be playing complimentary baseball. For Stevenson, that means focusing on the fundamentals of baseball.
“My philosophy for baseball is you have to be able to pitch and defend to win games,” Stevenson said. “To accomplish the goals we have for this team, we have to pitch and defend. Offensively, we have to find ways to compliment our pitching and defense and capitalize on those opportunities.”
Expectations are certainly trending up for the Bulldogs this season. With Carl Junction having one the few teams with players who hold meaningful varsity experience and a large group of upperclassmen, the players and coaching staff are anticipating good results in 2021.
“That senior class has done a really good job of leading in the offseason and moving into practice this season,” Stevenson said. “Not just from them sharing their knowledge, but to reiterate the fact of not taking this game for granted. … That has been the mindset of these seniors, and our juniors have done a good job of listening to those guys.”
