EAGLES EYE CONSISTENCY

STORY BY JOSH BOUTWELL

The Goshen Eagles return the majority of the 2022 roster for year No. 2 under head coach Chandler Avant.

Avant took over the job at Goshen in 2022 after the Troy native’s stellar college career at the University of Alabama, where he earned the seventh most career assists, 10th most double plays and eighth most doubles in school history. After a year as a graduate assistant at Alabama, Avant led Goshen to a 9-9 record in 2022.

“(Offseason) practices went pretty good,” Avant said. “We’re looking pretty solid on defense and I think we can swing it a little. It will all come down to pitching, like normal.”

Among Goshen’s returning pitchers are Peyton Stamey, Andrew Galloway and Hunter Nobles. Stamey led Goshen on the mound last season, striking out 34 batters with a 4.345 ERA in 19 1/3 innings pitched. Nobles also fanned 19 batters with a 1.105 ERA in 12 and 2/3 innings toeing the rubber.

Avant also expects a solid infield to help lead the defense behind the pitching staff.

“Defensively, we have to be solid in the middle of the field, so we’re looking to lean on guys like Tyler McLendon, Peyton Stamey and a couple of our outfielders like Brody Wilkes and Andrew Galloway will have big roles, too.

“Cade Edwards will be the first baseman and a power (hitter) for us. Hunter Nobles is another guy that we’ll lean on pretty hard.”

McLendon is Goshen’s leading returning bat as he earned a .346 batting average last season with 11 RBIs and a team-high 21 runs. He also stole a team-high 10 bases and is Goshen’s starting catcher. Stamey also boasted a .313 batting average with 12 RBIs and 12 runs, while Galloway earned a team-leading two triples, eight RBIs and 17 runs.

“Most of our guys are back, we only lost three guys (from last season),” Avant said. “We have six seniors and those seniors are going to need to play a big role in carrying this team. Andrew Galloway, Brody Wilkes, Hunter Nobles, Peyton Stamey, DJ Walters and Jacob Saupe are those seniors. Those guys will have to play big roles as older guys on the team. The younger guys look up to the seniors, whether seniors are the best players or not.”

Offensively, Avant is emphasizing the need to be smart at the plate this season.

“We have to have quality atbats and not get ourselves out,” he said. “Taking what (the other team) gives us and take our walks and sacrifices is big for us. We have to do all the little things to put us in position to be ahead and win games.”

On the defensive end, Avant said the key is to being consistent on the mound and behind the pitchers.

“We have to make the routine plays. We’re not asking them to make extraordinary plays, just the routine plays,” he said. “That’s what will help us on the field. On the mound, throwing a bunch of strikes or letting them get themselves out and hit into our solid defense is the key.”

While all teams hope to reach the postseason, Avant is emphatic that the goal for 2023 is to have that level of consistency more than anything else.

“The main goal is to take each game at a time and concentrate on winning each pitch, win each game,” he said. “We don’t want to look too far ahead but we do want to be in the playoffs. I think if we keep working, we’ll have a chance to reach that goal. The main goal, though, is just to play solid baseball. Not to play the score, play the game. I always tell them if we do that we should be fine.”