WARDSVILLE, Mo. - The Blair Oaks baseball team has discovered a formula that's worked the past couple of years, and the Falcons are hoping it does so again this season.
"We've been fortunate the past couple years in that we've been senior-dominated," Blair Oaks coach Harv Antle said. "The flip side of that is we've had good kids behind them who have been patient enough to wait their turn. They pushed those older kids to higher performance levels and then when it's been their turn, they've stepped up and won the job and held the job.
"We're in the same situation this year, we graduated nine seniors a year ago and seven full-time starters. Now we've got another nine guys who are going to be seniors this year, and they're all ready to step in. Where they go and how much they contribute remains to be seen. That will be played out over the year."
And once again, there's players behind those seniors pushing them for playing time.
"The thing I think will be a little different this year is we'll have a little bit of a younger flavor," Antle said. "We've got some sophomores who are ready to push their way into the varsity lineup."
The Falcons are coming off a 22-9 season where they lost in the district championship game to Fatima, which went on to finish third in the state in Class 3. Blair Oaks gets this season started today with home games against Camdenton at 1 p.m. and with Eugene at 5 p.m.
"The amount of time we've gotten on the field has been a little spotty, we haven't been as regular as we have been in years past," Antle said. "And to speed things up even further, we were in a Jamboree last weekend, which pushed things forward.
"It was our first time in an event like that and it went well ... but it took away some time we would have spent on the field ironing out some of our preseason issues."
Antle added the team is like a puzzle and he's trying to figure out where the pieces go. Today is a good example of how crowded the Falcons' schedule is, giving them plenty of time to do that figuring.
"If the weather holds, and it never does, we could play 31 games before districts," he said. "That's a lot of baseball. So it's a lot of opportunities for guys on the mound, in the field, at the plate.
"We feel it's very important to have depth. I don't think baseball is a once-a-week event, baseball is a daily game, as much as it can be at the high-school level."
One area where depth might be a concern is on the mound, where Bryce Pritchett returns as the No. 1 starter. Last season, he went 7-3 with an ERA of 2.22 and he struck out 57 batters in 63 innings.
"We know what we're going to get out of Bryce every time - it's going to be a solid performance, he's going to throw strikes, change speeds and pound the bottom of the zone," Antle said.
The No. 2 starter is Clayton Graessle, who is the second-most experienced returnee after throwing 171/3 innings last year. He compiled a 2.83 ERA and went 2-2.
"Beyond that, it will be new faces who either pitched at the JV level or the freshman level," Antle said. "We will have nine to 12 guys log varsity innings this year. While the depth may not be there in the beginning, it will be at the end. That has a way of fleshing itself out so that when you get to the first or second week of May, you know who your 1 is, who your 2 is, you know which guys warm up quickly and pitch effectively in relief, you know who is solid to come in at the end and lock it down."
Others who will see time on the mound include two players who will spend time at shortstop, Jacob Wilbers and Ryan Paschal.
"Jacob is more of a reliever, Ryan is more of a starter, but those are a couple of power arms that you'll see on the mound at various times," Antle said.
Others who will pitch include Jason Rackers and starting left fielder Alec Sieg.
"I think our pitching is going to be our key," Antle said. "With our lack of varsity experience, we need to prove that we can get varsity outs. I think we'll play good defense, while it also remains to be seen what kind of varsity at-bats we turn out, since there will be some new guys in the lineup."
Antle added that lineup will have a little less power than last year's squad.
"We always tell the kids that you can manufacture offense, but you cannot manufacture defense and you cannot manufacture pitching," he said. "You've got to be able to throw it and catch it to have a chance. Then you're going to be in the game and we'll find a way to score runs."
The rest of the lineup includes Dalton Fifer at catcher, with Adam Schell backing him up in doubleheaders. Schell will also see time in the outfield.
Brent Heckemeyer, who led the team with 31 runs scored last year while hitting .374 with three home runs and 16 RBI, will play first base. Dylan Hoelscher will play second and James Reinkemeyer will start at third.
"Dylan is very solid defensively, he turns the double play very well," Antle said. "... James played quite a bit for us last year. He has good hands, is a good contact hitter, goes the other way very well. He's one of those guys who are good in hit-and-run situations. He handles the bat well."
Expected to log lots of time in the outfield are Jordan Hair in center field and Mason Gipe in right.
"Jordan will probably hit leadoff, he has some quickness and a little bit of pop in his bat for a leadoff guy," Antle said. "Mason Gipe is a big, strong, right-handed hitter who's got some speed. He's got all the tools, it's just a matter of him making that transition to the varsity level."
Pritchett could also play some outfield when not pitching.
"Bryce swung the bat well for us in limited plate appearances - he had 20-some at-bats and hit nearly .500 for us. So that's poor coaching not to have him in the lineup more," Antle said with a laugh. "We'll try to get him some more at-bats this year and let him do some more damage."
Cole Stockman will see time for the Falcons as a designated hitter.
"The lineup for the first month, month and a half will be pretty fluid," Antle said.