Area baseball squads have growing to do

Similar to the Warriors, Rivet wasn’t hit hard by graduation, though several upperclassmen have opted to sit out or focus on another sport. That makes the Patriots young once again.

Rivet and South Knox start Monday. The Spartans visit Sullivan at 5:30 p.m., while the Patriots entertain Princeton at 6 p.m. Lincoln goes Tuesday, hosting Southridge at 6 p.m., and North Knox begins Thursday, also at Sullivan, at 5 p.m.

The Alices were best in the area last season at 20-8, followed by South Knox at 15-11, North Knox 8-17, and Rivet 6-14.

LINCOLN

During the first season under coach Daniel Ashby, Lincoln found plenty of success with a 20-win campaign, and the Alices pushed state power Jasper to the brink in a sectional loss.

An encore performance could prove more difficult this year, as the Alices graduated eight, including Sun-Commercial Player of the Year Raden Benson, who’s now playing at Rose-Hulman.

But expectations remain the same.

“The best thing to happen to this group is that they got to see last year’s team. All these guys were around and got to watch that group of seniors set the standard,” Ashby said. “We’ve told them that the expectation at each position doesn’t change because of who’s there. If everybody does what they’re supposed to do at their spot, there’s no reason we can’t be in every game. Obviously our expectation is to win every game, but it’s going to take some experience to get there.”

The only full-time returning starter is sophomore catcher Cooper Collins. He hit .298 with 17 RBIs, leading the team in walks and throwing out 37% of base runners. He earned all-area and all-conference notice for his freshman campaign, and last fall, Collins suited up for Team USA’s 15U National team.

“The kids follow him, and he’s a special player,” Ashby said. “He’s got a chance to be one of the best to put on a (Lincoln) uniform, and I tell everybody, he’s as good of a person as he is a baseball player. That’s part of what makes him special. He’s more than just your ordinary, good player.”

Junior Brady Anderson is the top returner on the mound. A strong No. 2 last year behind Benson, Anderson is the unquestioned ace at this point.

The rest of Ashby’s starting defense, though he said things could change, has junior Daniel Henderson at shortstop, junior Landon Johnson at second base, Anderson or junior William Burgess at third, and either seniors Luke Hall or Will Hambrick, or junior Paxton Smith at third base. Hall and Hambrick started some last season but also dealt with injuries.

The outfield has juniors Gavin Kelso and Colton Wonning in left and center, and sophomore Brody Phillips in right. Hall can also play the outfield, and Ashby said junior Tyson Gillis and sophomore Justice Johnson are pushing for playing time as well.

The pitching staff behind Anderson is primarily Burgess, Wonning, Justice Johnson, and Smith. A few others are capable, including Henderson, though Ashby would prefer to keep his shortstop at his position.

“This group has played a lot of baseball, but they haven’t played at this level. So the key is to just put them in game situations. We’ll have to live with learning on the fly,” Ashby said. “I can say for certain that the improvement we’ve shown since the start of practice has been impressive. We have a long way to go, and they know they have a lot to learn, but the key is that they’re eager to learn."

The rest of the varsity roster is seniors Phoenix McCrary and Aidan Lindauer, juniors Maverick Betsch, Blayton Lockhart, and Cam Meadows, and sophomores Donta Henderson, Sam Lindsey, and Connor Hahn.

Memorial, Castle, and North are expected to be at the top of the Southern Indiana Athletic Conference, and the sectional moves to Southridge, where Gibson Southern and Jasper will be formidable, and Princeton and Washington each have at least one strong pitcher.

“The SIAC starts with Memorial. Any time you have a pitcher (Matthew Fisher) that’s committed to IU and may even go straight to the pros, that has to be the frontrunner,” he said. “Sectional wise, until someone knocks off Jasper, they’re probably favored, but Gibson Southern is loaded. They return everyone and will be a tough out.

“I’m sure we’re a team that might be looked at as rebuilding. I’m not a fan of that word. It sends the wrong message to this team that’s put in so much time in the offseason. There’s no reason that, if we don’t beat ourselves, we can’t be in every game.”

RIVET

The Patriots are still a young team, but they’re gaining experience, and after doubling their win total from three in 2023 to six in 2024, coach Stephen Holka is optimistic his team can continue the improvement, despite the youth.

Rivet had no seniors a year ago, but several upperclassmen chose not to play. The roster of 18 is still larger than last season, though Holka was expecting around 20, but many starters from last season return.

“Everything we’ve been working and building towards the last five years, now we feel like it’s go-time,” Holka said. “I’m not saying we’re going to win 20 games, but I hope we win more than we lose, which would be a first here in a while. Last year I thought a .500 record was realistic, and we came up a few games short. This year, winning more than we lose is realistic, and I definitely think we can be in the mix come sectional time.”

Highlighting the returnees are a pair of sophomores that earned all-area notice as freshmen. Catcher-pitcher Brody Shots hit .357 last season with a homer and 10 RBIs, and he struck out 35 in 26 ⅔ innings. Ransom, a lefty who will be at first base or outfield when not pitching, hit .340 last year with 14 RBIs and 12 runs.

“Bo (Shots) is super talented, and he’s a leader out there,” Holka said. “He anchors our defense, but when we get the opportunity, we need him on the mound too. Nash is so fast, and he’s got a big arm. He’ll get a lot of innings on the mound, but I like to have his speed at one of the corner outfield spots.”

The three seniors are outfielders, Walker Lane, A.J. Bilskie, and Harnoor Multani, though Bilskie can also play the infield, and utility Hunter Bilskie is the lone junior. A fourth senior, Fisher Lemon, recently rejoined the team, though his primary sport is golf. The rest are sophomores and freshmen.

Among the sophomores, Miles Gardner is likely in centerfield; Max Weiss is at first base; and Jayden Thacker will be somewhere in the infield, depending who’s pitching. The other sophomores are Levi Brown, Blaze Boger, Brody Patton, and Xavier Poyser. Weiss and Patton are still recovering from injuries and have not yet been cleared, and Gardner, Patton, and Poyser also run track for the Patriots, but baseball is their primary sport.

The freshmen are Henry Holka, Miles Holka, Bracey Morron, and Cooper Stricklin.

“The boys have been working hard the last few months getting some swings in. Unfortunately with spring sports, baseball in particular, we only get two weeks of practice, and then it’s kind of a sprint through the season,” coach Holka said. “This is the first time since I’ve been at the helm that we’ve had multiple spots with competition and more options. That gives us so much more flexibility with the roster.”

Pitching options, along with Shots and Nash, are Brown, Thacker, Gardner, and a few others. Stricklin, Morron, and Henry Holka are all possibilities among the freshmen.

Rivet has beefed up the schedule a bit this year, including round-robins at Hanover College with Roncalli and Southwestern, and at Bedford North Lawrence along with Mitchell.

Barr-Reeve is still the favorite in the Blue Chip Conference, but the Vikings are up to 2A due to the success factor. The North Daviess Sectional is down to five teams, Rivet, the host Cougars, Loogootee, Orleans, and Shoals.

SOUTH KNOX

Though not hit quite as hard by graduation as Lincoln, the Spartans aren’t far behind. Six starters graduated from last year’s team, including the area’s top hitter Kaden McKinney and 2023 S-C Player of the Year, ace pitcher Jacob Allen, both of whom are playing at Vincennes University.

“They know they’ve got big shoes to fill from those seniors last year,” South Knox coach Mike Bezy said. “It’s a humongous jump from playing JV to now being the main guys on varsity. We may have three sophomores on our infield at times, and that’s asking a lot. The schedule doesn’t really allow us to tiptoe into the season either, so we’ll find out a lot about our team in the first two weeks. I know every team can say they’re going to be better later in the year, but I think that holds especially true for us.”

Returning starters among the seniors are utility Kole Vash, catcher Justin Siewers, and shortstop Mavrick Benjamin. The other seniors are Brooks Goodman and Chandler Nelson.

Vash was an all-area pick last year, hitting .372 with a .474 on-base percentage, 32 runs, and 13 steals. A natural outfielder, Vash is likely to slot in this year at the spot of whoever is pitching. Siewers was an outfielder last season but moves to catcher, and he’ll also pitch. Benjamin and junior Evan Hartwick return with most pitching experience.

“Justin hasn’t caught since middle school, but he’s been working hard to get back into it,” Bezy said. “Kole is my Swiss army knife, and all of those seniors have been fantastic leaders. We’re counting on Kole for a lot.”

Bezy said the lineup is likely to change, but to start the season he’s got sophomore Brody West at first base, sophomore Tate Staggs at second, Benjamin at short, and sophomore Maddox Sargeant at third. Around the outfield are Goodman in left, Hartwick in center, and junior Ross Holscher in right.

Junior Kohl Frye and sophomore Coen Marvel will back up Siewers at catcher. Otherwise Frye is the likely designated hitter, as Bezy wants his bat in the lineup.

Rounding out the roster is junior Isaac Shelton, and freshmen Turner Dobbyn, Henry Lafferty, Hunter Mischler, Bentlee Ravellette, and Owen Robinson.

Backing up Benjamin and Hartwick on the mound are Siewers, Staggs, and West, and several others will get the opportunity as well.

“(Hartwick) hasn’t had as long, coming in from basketball, so Benjamin is probably a step ahead right now. But Hartwick is working his way there, and they’re probably 1 and 1A,” Bezy said. “By the end of the year, they’ll probably have equal opportunities against the top teams. Staggs’ arm has really improved, and Siewers and West are both big, strong kids that can really bring it.”

Bezy pointed to Barr-Reeve, Northeast Dubois, and Loogootee as teams to beat in the Blue Chip, and he knows the sectional will be much tougher.

“Barr-Reeve moved up, West Vigo dropped down. Sullivan is good again, and Linton is strong. It’s an extremely strong sectional, probably stronger than some 3A sectionals,” Bezy said. “What we’re looking forward to, like everyone else, is that we want to keep getting better and better, and by the end of the year, we want to be able to compete and knock off some good teams.”

NORTH KNOX

Like a year ago, the Warriors have just one senior on their roster. Braxton Yenne is back, and he was an all-area pick last season, hitting .387 with eight doubles, six RBIs and 13 steals. On the mound, he notched a 5-4 record with a 3.32 ERA.

As the team’s only returning all-area selection, Yenne will be asked to do a bit of everything. He’s the team’s most reliable pitcher, and when he’s not there, he’ll be at shortstop or centerfield. Sophomore Eli Elkins was also an all-area pick a year ago, but he’s out for the year with an injury.

“Braxton is our top pitcher, and he’s going to have to be a leader,” North Knox coach Paul Jones said. “He’ll help us get everything in line, and we graduated our catcher (Kaleb Archer), so he’ll have to get with those kids and make sure they’re on the same page. I know he was a leader in basketball and had a good season, and hopefully that carries over for us. We’re going to need him to have a good year, on the mound and at the plate.”

Returning juniors are utility Tyler Clark, middle infielder Rylan Oxby, first baseman Korbin Jones, outfielder Camden McCory, and infielder Brandon Mincey. A junior newcomer is outfielder Ricci Walker.

The sophomores are infielders Levi Pahmeier and Coy VanMeter, and corner infielder Kobe Hennessy. The freshmen are infielder Kason Oxby, and outfielders Carter Becher, Gavin Miller, Quaylin Jackson, Kolby Groteguth, and Gabe Riker.

Clark and Pahmeier will get the first crack at replacing Archer at catcher.

“We’re hoping we’ll hit a little better as a team (than last season), have a little bit more power,” Jones said. “We had a good sophomore class last season, and now they’re juniors, and they’re bigger and stronger. Some of our freshmen seem pretty athletic, and Walker is really athletic. He just hasn’t played baseball in a while.

“We feel good about our pitching. As long as we throw strikes and keep the pitch count down, that’s the big thing. We have a lot returning, and we’ll look for the freshmen to help us too. We’re still working on getting everyone to the right position. We’re needing a catcher, but Pahmeier catching takes him away from third base. Right now, (defense) may be our weakest point until we get kids used to positions that can help us.”

The 2A sectional will be as challenging as ever. Sullivan is the host, Linton is always a power, and newcomer West Vigo, down from 3A, is likely among the favorites. The addition of Barr-Reeve, the defending Class A state champion and Blue Chip favorite according to Jones, makes it even more formidable.

“West Vigo is new to the sectional, and they didn’t show a whole lot in the other sports we played them. But they always have a good baseball program,” Jones said. “I’m sure Barr-Reeve will be good, and Sullivan’s in there too. We’ll see them early and get a good test of where we stand.”