By Bart Moss for the FCT

As basketball winds down, baseball is beginning across the county.

Belgreen

The Belgreen Bulldogs hope the experience of maturing team and the energy of a community getting excited about baseball can help propel them to a playoff run this year.

Belgreen is coming of a 3-14 record year last year but return a lot of players with varsity baseball experience, and that will be helpful as Coach Clint Isbell takes the reins of the program for the first time.

“This year’s team brings back a lot of experience,” said Isbell. “We are excited about trying to make a playoff run. We have a great community that has put a lot of effort into our baseball program by helping renovate our facilities. We have a totally renovated field that our guys can be proud of and a community that supports them.”

The Bulldogs return key starters in Peyton Scott, Jake Taylor, Seth Taylor, Kostner Bryant, Mason Donahoe, and Jacob Mayberry. Some key newcomers for the Bulldogs include Isac Willingham, Chad Gentry, Scout Bragwell, and Luke Henson.

“There is lots of excitement around this group of kids,” said Isbell. “We have a chance to take this program in a direction we would like for it to go. We feel like with the youth of the team and the work that has been put in in years past developing these kids, we are ready to make some real strides toward the playoffs.”

Phil Campbell

The Phil Campbell Bobcats have been nurturing some young baseball players for a few years, but now those young guys are veterans and more is being expected of them. If the Bobcats can avoid the injury bug that has continually plagued them for the last two years, they can be a team that could make some noise on the diamond this spring.

“We have the toughest schedule since I’ve been at Phil Campbell,” said Bobcat Coach Jonathan Raper. “We have scheduled several 3A and 4A teams. The only 2A teams we play are in our area. The 1A teams are traditionally-solid teams like Hackleburg and Marion County. I wanted our guys to see quality pitching all year long to help prepare us for the playoffs.”

The bulk of Raper’s squad will be returning from last year, including Hayden Copeland (1B), Nick Swinney (2B), Gage Roberson (3B), Peyton Thomas (SS), Nick Taylor (LF), Colby Baker (CF), Mike Wrona (RF) and (C) Joe Hardy.

“We have a chance to be a decent team offensively,” said Raper. “I think we are already solid defensively. We are a veteran team, and that will help. Hopefully we’ll play smarter because of the experience we have. We will need to be smart in the field and at the plate.”

Don’t expect to see a lot of offensive fireworks from the Bobcats though. Raper expects his team to score runs the old-fashioned way.

“We will play a lot of small ball,” said Raper. “We will bunt, try to move runners over and look for solid hitting where we need it. We are not blessed with a lot of speed, so we are going to have to play smart and strategically.”

Because of injuries to some key players last year, Raper said his team struggled to score runs consistently.

“Peyton (Thomas) was hurt much of the year and couldn’t pitch for us. Joe (Hardy) was coming off a serious leg injury from football where he broke his femur. Those are two of our key position players, and it made it tough,” said Raper.

The Bobcats have not completely escaped the injury bug this year. Hardy is coming off another football injury, this time his ankle. Key utility player Jacob Anthony is lost for the year from a basketball injury.

“In some ways, I think Joe’s ankle is bothering him more than the femur did last year, especially at a position as demanding as catcher. We are going to see how well he holds up. The rule changes that will limit the number of games we are able to play will help him,” said Raper. “We are really going to miss Jacob. He could play anywhere on the field if we needed him to. That is hard to replace. Someone is going to have to step up in his absence.”

On the mound, Copeland, Thomas, and Chase Hutchens look like the top three throwers for the Bobcats. Nate Owens and Daniel Smith will also see some quality innings for Phil Campbell. Having a lot of guys who Raper can rely on on the mound will be an added benefit with the new pitch count rules put in place by the AHSAA.

Red Bay

The Red Bay Tigers are going to have to replace big bats and big arms this year, but that does not lessen the enthusiasm Coach Richard Maggerise has for his team.

“We lost a lot of seniors that played a lot last year,” said Maggerise, who has a career record of 48-40 as the Red Bay coach. “I am confident in the group we have this year. There is a lot of chemistry with this bunch. The like to hang out together; they like to work; and they love the game of baseball. I think we will surprise some people this year.”

The Tigers will have to replace top pitcher and hitter Troy Borden. The Tigers will miss players like Nick Thorn, Colby Knoblock, Houston McKinney and Josh Wilson.

“We won’t have the big bats this year,” Maggerise said. “That means we will have to play smarter. We don’t have a lot of power, so we will have to be more situational and strategic. We will have to pick our battles and get runs where and when we can.”

Red Bay’s top returning hitter is sophomore shortstop Kolby Bragwell. Bragwell hit .370 with four home runs and 32 RBIs. The Tigers’ top returning pitcher is senior Chandler Allen, a Blue Mountain College signee who had an ERA of 2.95 last year. Allen also serves as the team’s shortstop. On top of those two players, the Tigers return a wealth of experience in senior first baseman Bevill State signee Landen Burgett; senior third baseman Kaleb Burroughs, who batted .298 last season; junior left fielder Max Bullen, who hit .250 last season; and junior right fielder Skylar Brazil, who hit .225 last season.

“I like where our team is defensively,” said Maggerise. “We didn’t have a lot of turnover in the outfield. We play three juniors and one senior in the outfield rotation. They have experience.

“The infield will be a work in progress. We have some big holes to fill, and there will be a learning curve. I just want our team playing their best by playoff time.”

“On the mound we have the potential to do well,” Maggerise added. “We have two pitchers who have already signed college scholarships in Landen Burgett and Chandler Allen. If we can get solid innings out of those guys and others step up, we will be okay.”

Some key newcomers Maggerise is expecting to play key roles this year are junior second baseman Hayden Murray, senior catcher Blake Hester, senior pitcher Levi McNatt and senior Jacob Lane.

“We play a tough schedule,” said Maggerise. “I try to do that every year. Sometimes it comes back to bite us. Our record might not look that good, but we are playing quality teams to get us ready for playoff time. That’s what counts.”

Tharptown

Second-year Coach Shannon Benford knows he has a big task ahead of him this year and will have to bring his Tharptown baseball team along slowly to get them in a positions to succeed at the end of the year. The Tharptown Wildcats lost their top four hitters to graduation and key pitchers Max Nolen, Heath Hatton and Gabe Lawler.

“This year’s team will be extremely young and have very little varsity experience,” said Benford.

The Wildcats return four starters in senior catcher T.J. McDonald, sophomore outfielder Carson Petree, freshman second baseman Britton Kennamore and eighth grade outfielder Hunter White.

“If we are going to have success this year, we are going to have to rely on a lot of newcomers and some junior high players,” said Benford.

Some of the newcomers Benford will have to rely on are senior outfielder Dakota Nolen, senior second baseman Matt Hall and seventh grade shortstop Jayden Mitchell.

“Our junior high players will be called on a lot to play various positions,” said Benford. “We will probably start four guys who are either in the seventh, eighth or ninth grade.”

The Wildcats dropped a class from 2A to 1A this year, but Benford doesn’t expect that to be any easier on his young team. “Even with the drop from 1A to 2A, I don’t expect our area to be any easier,” said Benford. “Hackleburg is always a playoff contender. Vina and Belgreen have a lot of solid talent as well.”

Benford is encouraged his program is heading in the right direction because of the increased interest in the program.

“Our number of kids participating is up from last year, and that is encouraging,” said Benford. “We are getting our youth program started back up, and that will help too.”

“This is a great group of guys that come to work every day. I am looking forward to watching these guys grow and mature throughout the season.”

Vina

New Vina baseball Coach Jake Ward knows his task is tough, but he’s not afraid of big challenges. Ward, a standout baseball player himself at Russellville High School and the University of North Alabama, believes in his team despite their small-school status.

“We play in a tough area,” said Ward. “I believe our team’s expectations are high even though we are usually viewed as an underdog due to our small school enrollment.”

The Red Devils are coming off a 15-12 season, and they will return two of their top pitchers and top hitters. The pitchers Ward will be relying on will be James Barnes and Tyler Renfrow. The top returning bats are Austin Childers and Justin Gravitt.

“I can’t wait to get started with this group of guys,” said Ward. “I know they want to win, and my job is to put them in a position to succeed. They have been working hard. They love the game of baseball.

“Hopefully, we will build each day as we approach playoff time and be ready to compete for an area title.”

Other players on the Vina roster expected to contribute are Andrew Upton, Austin Harper, Chris Brewer, Blake Hardin, Jacob Lewis, Isaac Harper, Chance Kennedy, Jackson Landers, Clay Allison and Braden Moomaw.