New coach, same ol' Jays. For the most part.
"There hasn't been too many changes made as far as execution and situational stuff," first-year head coach Kyle Lasley said as the Jefferson City baseball team gets set to open the season today against Fatima and Borgia at Borgia. " As far as practice goes, it's a lot of the same stuff."
But there will be significant changes to this season's lineup and pitching staff compared to last season.
The inexperienced Jays, along with the returning players, make sure to squeeze in time for their IDP, or individual development plan. It's a quick, but hopefully very useful, adjustment from past seasons.
"It's basically like a chalk talk where they kind of break down what they want to do when they go back out," Lasley said. "It's more or less a classroom session of question-and-answer where the guys can kind of open up a little bit and coaches can kind of explain stuff on a board. That's a 5-10 minute session and then they are right into their individual stuff like we've done in the past."
Another change for this season is a trip south for a week-long stay in Fort Pierce, Fla. With it only being a week into the season, Lasley will use that time for some evaluation.
"Kind of mix and match some lineups and see where we're at," Lasley said, "and hopefully have a better idea when we come back who are the 11, 12 guys that we see playing the most."
One of the crowded position competitions is behind the plate. Sophomores Joe Hoerchler and Nick Williams, as well as junior Cole Gresham, are vying for playing time at catcher.
"My kind of philosophy is whoever is kind of hitting at that time is going to be the one playing as long as they've been solid behind the plate,"Lasley said.
When Lasley took the job, he said he made it a point to the team, especially the sophomores, to spend as much time in the weight room as possible. Lasley said it's certainly shown they listened.
"Nick and Joe are probably the strongest kids in the weight room as sophomores," Lasley said. "It's just good to see that competition in the wight room. They were ready to prove themselves."
Tucker Schwartze, a senior, will make the move from catcher to the outfield.
"We've had a couple sophomores step up and got strong in the weight room and got better in the summer, so we felt we could utilize him a little more in the outfield," Lasley said.
Returning to right field is senior Jack Shinkle. Dawson Schulte, a junior, is slotted as a corner outfielder with sophomore Wyatt Fischer also in the mix.
"He has really made some strides in the last couple weeks and kind of proved himself," Lasley said of Fischer.
Juniors Grant Straub and Trevin White add depth to the Jay outfield.
Lasley said he's still figuring out how the infield will be pieced together.
Blake Terry, a senior, and sophomore Taylor Hopkins could both see time at shortstop and second base.
"He has really surprised us," Lasley said of Hopkins. "He got a lot stronger in the weight room in the offseason. We're looking for a big year out of him."
Dawson Schuemann, a junior, will return to third base but could also play second if needed.
Justin Wood, one of seven seniors, can play first or third base. Junior Brenden Hoener and Jacob Roettgen could also see time at first when Wood takes the mound.
Wood and Terry lead the pitching staff.
Wood struck out a pair and walked one in a hitless inning against Blair Oaks in last Monday's Jamboree at the American Legion Post 5 Sports Complex.
"He's a mid-80s guy," Lasley said. "He's just a pitcher. He hits spots and he's a competitor."
Terry got the start against Fatima in the Jamboree, striking out two in a perfect inning.
"He's one of those sneaky fast guys," Lasley said. "He's kind of real slow in delivering it to the mound but then all of a sudden it gets on you really quick. His offspeed is pretty good."
Fischer was the first pitcher to see action in the Jamboree, allowing a run and a hit with a strikeout in an inning against Helias.
"He'll throw a lot of innings for us this year," Lasley said. "He had a pretty good outing against Helias in the Jamboree. We think he can kind of hold his own out there."
Also available to pitch will be Shinkle, who Lasley said can reached the upper 80s.
Another righty in the mix will be White.
Jefferson City will also have a few left-handed options in freshman Case Hager, sophomore Jacob Roettgen and Straub.
Lasley said Hager reminds him of former all-state pitcher Jacob Weirich.
"As far as his body and his mechanics," he said. "Kind of his competitiveness on the mound. He's a very competitive dude and he's really not scared of anything. He did a pretty good job against Helias. Case will throw some innings for us. We're looking forward to seeing what he can do this year."
As far as the Jays bats, Wood, Shinkle and Scheumann are expected to hit from the middle of the order. Lasley mentioned Schwartz, Schulte and Fischer as possibilities at leadoff or in the eight or nine spots to add production at the bottom of the order.
"I don't see us being a team that's just going to overpower you with home runs and gap shots and doubles and triples," Lasley said. "I think we're going to be a team that will get a couple guys on and we'll try to move them over with a hit-and-run or a bunt. We're going to try to create as much chaos as we can."
Postseason opponents will be different for the Jays this season in Class 5 District 9. Lebanon, Rolla and Waynesville replace Battle, Hickman and Rock Bridge. Camdenton and Sedalia Smith-Cotton are also in the district.
"You always want to set your expectations high," Lasley said. " There's always that big goal but my thing is to get to that big goal what are things we can do in practice and in games to be successful. I expect us to compete with anybody.
"I told the guys remember one thing, and you'll hear me say it a lot before games, is play everyday like its opening day. There's no prior stats, you're just playing for that day and that day only."