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Baseball Previews: South Putnam, Cloverdale look to turn around tough 2021 seasons under new coaches
There were moments when South Putnam looked like it might finally make a breakthrough on the baseball diamond in 2021 but too often one or two innings took a game that was manageable and put it out of reach for the 5-15 Eagles.
Now under management of Kurt Kyle this season, South Putnam returns plenty of experience but will need to find some bats to work with.
“This year we should be a good team,” Kyle said. “We have seven or eight returning starters from last year.
“We have a couple of guys returning from injury last year as well. We have three freshmen that will see playing time this year. Both catchers are back from last year.
“We’ve got five pitchers right now and working in our sixth, Kyle added. “We just have to play together a little bit.”
Seniors Trystan Smithers and Donald Scruggs are joined by Ayden Battin with Luke Switzer, Gavin Eyster and Kyle Glasson among the returning underclassmen looking to make strides this year.
“The three seniors have really stepped up into leadership roles,” Kyle said. “It will be a fun year this year watching this team grow.
“We’ve got some jokesters and some serious guys, so we have to figure out how to make sure we have a bit less of the former and more of the latter come game time. The good news is when I’ve said they need to get serious and it’s good for me that it only takes one or two words and they’re ready to go.”
Though not having a long time to work with the players, Kyle said the team was relaxed and responding well to the coaching staff and believed with some work in key areas, the Eagles could start building up a head of steam in 2022.
“It took a week to get to know the kids and see how they adapted to how they were being coached,” Kyle said. “They’ve really adapted to what I’ve come in with and tried to teach.
“We just need to go play. We’ve got some experienced guys here and I feel good about where we’re going this year.”
Cloverdale
Consistency was never in the Clovers’ favor in 2021 as the team lost two chunks of the season to contact tracing, leaving Cloverdale with just 10 total games played and a 1-9 record overall.
With only two seniors on the squad last year, however, the Clovers return most of their lineup and have several additional faces out to try and turn the ship around under new head coach Gerry Hoffa.
“Practices are going pretty well,” Hoffa said. “Everyone has been showing up and we’re excited about our prospects for the year.
“We’ve had optional practices over break, working on the field to get it ready for the season and getting some hitting done in the cage.”
Cloverdale has three returning seniors in Ethan Wright, Isaac Maldonaldo and Nate Nees and are joined by fellow seniors Brady Koosman and Xavier Evans.
Juniors McGuire Lee and Levi Hilton return alongside newcomer Jayden Sturges while Layton Allen and Caiden Watts are sophomores.
A bevy of freshmen give the Clovers depth with Corey Branigan, Drake Hoffa, Kory Galloway, Benjamin Campbell and Landyn Shaw joining the roster.
“We have two seniors that haven’t played in high school but they’re coming around and will be a big part of our team this year,” Hoffa said. “We have six freshmen as well as we’re hoping to build our numbers up in the future.
“We have almost all of our letter winners back from last year and we’re looking forward to the season.”
With options often limited last season, Cloverdale struggled to keep scores down, allowing double-digit runs in the first eight games played, only keeping Sullivan and North Putnam under the 10-run plateau.
Hoffa said work during the offseason, particularly with bats in hand, would be helpful to take some of the stress off the pitching staff as the 2022 season begins.
“Our defense is going to be OK,’ Hoffa said. “Last year, we felt the defense was holding up well and not making a lot of mistakes.
“Hitting has been an issue we worked on over the winter. We look to be ready to score more runs this year.”