The Jefferson City Renegades started the roster search for their first MINK League season in the immediate area.
The fruits of that search will be on display the next three games as the Renegades open their home schedule starting tonight at Vivion Field.
"We wanted to get a lot of local kids because we know the level of baseball is very high and there are a lot of guys playing college ball," Renegades manager Mike DeMilia said.
Austin Sachse, a Helias High School graduate, will get the start on the mound tonight against the Sedalia Bombers. Travis Hennessey and Adam Grunden, both Jefferson City High School products, are scheduled to start games Saturday and Sunday against Chillicothe.
"They are some of our better pitchers, but we also want three Jeff City guys to go right off the bat at home," DeMilia said.
Sachse was 9-3 with a 3.05 ERA at Longview Community College this season. He struck out 72 batters through 65 innings in 14 games, including 12 starts, and has signed with Southeast Missouri.
The Renegades will be watching Sachse's innings this season.
"I'm not sure how many starts he's going to get, but we know we will be competitive when he's on the mound," DeMilia said.
Hennessey pitched at Butler Community College in Kansas this season. He was 3-1 in 16 appearances, including two starts, with a 5.30 ERA and 27 strikeouts.
Grunden also pitched at Longview this season, finishing with a 4-5 record and a 5.29 ERA in 68 innings. He appeared in 15 games, including 11 starts.
"We will be counting on Travis and Adam for some quality innings this summer," DeMilia said.
Grunden has already made his debut for the Renegades. In Wednesday night's opening 5-4 win at defending league champion Sedalia, Grunden picked up the save, allowing one hit and striking out one in a scoreless ninth inning.
Jacob Voss is another local pitcher on the roster. DeMilia first saw Voss when he was the head coach at Lincoln and Voss was pitching at Linn High School.
"I saw him in high school topping out at 78 (mph) and now he's throwing 94," DeMilia said. "He's a guy with skills to play at the next level and he's motivated.
"His words to me were, 'I topped out at 94 and that's not good enough.'"
Voss worked out of the bullpen this season at Jefferson College, recording 37 strikeouts in 171/3 innings. He has signed to pitch at Creighton next season.
There are 17 pitchers on the Renegades' roster.
"We picked up a lot of guys who are good, but because they're good, they've already thrown a lot of innings," DeMilia said. "We had one guy we were planning for our rotation that his college coach has shut down for six weeks."
Following recommendations by college coaches is important, DeMilia said.
"We're trying to build relationships with those guys, so we will listen to what they have to say," he said. "If we don't, we'll never get another pitcher."
The Renegades are also working with players having other commitments. There is a pitcher who can only play in home games, while another will only play in games in Southwest Missouri.
Commitments are just not limited to pitchers. The Renegades are opening season without two potential starting outfielders due to family vacations.
"It's just something you have to work around," DeMilia said.
Ryan Mantle, another Linn High School graduate, will miss the first three weeks of the season to play in another league. Mantle, who played third base at Jefferson College and has signed with Creighton, hit .370 with 11 home runs as a sophomore.
Another player the Renegades are expecting to see this season is Grant Wood. But Wood has a good reason to miss the start of the season as the Jefferson City High School senior is playing with the Jays in the Class 5 Final Four tonight and Saturday in O'Fallon.
Wood has signed to play at Murray State.
One player DeMilia is very familiar with is catcher Jackson Walker. Walker, a Jefferson City High School graduate, played as a freshman for DeMilia at Lincoln before the program was shut down after the 2016 season. Walker did not play in college this spring.
"He hasn't lost a step, in fact, I think he might be a little better," DeMilia said.
DeMilia thinks the Renegades are poised to be successful in drawing fans in their first season.
"They're talking possibly 2,000 people here (tonight)," he said. "If we treat people right, we get kids and families involved, I think this can be an every summer thing."
Today's game is scheduled for a 7 p.m. start.