2023 BASEBALL AND SOFTBALL PREVIEWS

Beardstown Baseball

Coach: Brian Dour

Last year’s record: 22-4

Returning starters: Aaric Brown, Micah Wink, Derek Lopez, Ethan Heller

Newcomers: Evan Wells, Trent Murray, Sergio Feliciano, Ryan McClenning, Gustavo Cortes

Key losses: William Davidsmeier, Jacob Pate, Allen Villegas

Pitching staff: Returning pitchers with most innings are Micah Wink and Aaric Brown. Hoping to get major contributions from Evan Wells and Ethan Heller.

Hitters: Micah Wink is returning as last year’s leading hitter. Big year expected from Aaric Brown, Evan Wells and Ethan Heller.

Beardstown Softball

Coach: Kaitlyn Dodson

Last year’s record: 12-15

Returning starters: Center fielder Emma Hymes. She’s quick, smart base runner, and a great leader.

First baseman Jaelyn Simpson. She’s a great hitter and puts the ball in play when needed. Catches about anything thrown at her. She sets a great example for the younger girls as to how a teammate should act and be.

Pitcher/third baseman Marlee Brown. She’s dangerous with a bat, and has great speed on her fastball.

Catcher/outfielder Bella Palmer. She’s more confident this year and has a great approach at bat. She’s quick in the field and very aggressive on the bases.

Pitcher/third baseman/outfielder/shortstop Shelby Goodrich. This girl can do it all. Great hitter and plays wherever I need her.

Second baseman Tanna Coats. She brings experience to the field and has been getting stronger by the day. She can hit the ball hard and put it in play when needed.

Second baseman/shortstop/ outfielder Vanessa Nunez. She’s quick, dives for balls, and is a team player. She’s going to make some tough plays in the field and have crucial at-bats for our team this year.

Key losses: Shortstop Hayley Sloan (an important part of our lineup; we’ll miss her defense); catcher/center fielder Kourtney Logsdon (Kourt was one of our quickest girls in the field and on the bases; we are going to miss her aggressiveness and contagious smile); pitcher/outfielder Rachel Hager (Rach was our ace pitcher, and someone we could count on to throw strikes and be consistent; she also had a great stick and will be greatly missed).

Key newcomers: We have quite a few new underclassmen who can help contribute to some wins this season.

Hallie Lawson (3B/OF). She has power in her swing, and has shown the ability to be coached into being a great player.

Autumn Bowman (SS/OF/1B). She shows promise to be a great offensive player with her power. She’s also aggressive in the field, which will help her make some tough plays.

Kylynn Maltby (C/OF). She has knowledge and a lot of experience at catcher, and will become a vital player.

Alora Logan (OF) and Cami Coats (2B/OF) have shown real promise in the cage and will most likely see some varsity time.

Pitching: Marlee Brown will be our ace pitcher this year. She has a lot of experience in the circle and pitches year round. Shelby Goodrich also will see quite a few varsity innings and will most likely be our go-to after Marlee. Both girls bring speed, movement, and a variety of pitches to throw.

Tanna Coats, Vanessa Nunez and Lauren Coats are also pitchers on the team who might see some varsity innings, especially during our busy weeks and clusters.

Hitting: Marlee Brown, Jaelyn Simpson and Shelby Goodrich are three of our most powerful hitters. They are disciplined and have a good read on every pitch.

Emma Hymes is our lefty who can slap if needed. When she puts a ball in play, it’ll be hard to get her out. Bella Palmer, Vanessa Nunez and Tanna Coats have all gotten stronger since last season, and will be key hitters in our lineup.

Fielding: Defensively, the Tigers stack up like this right now: first base -- Jaelyn Simpson; second base -- Tanna Coats; third base -- Shelby Goodrich; shortstop -- Vanessa Nunez; pitcher -- Marlee Brown; catcher -- Bella Palmer or Kylynn Maltby; center field -- Emma Hymes; left and right field -- Emily Nava, Autumn Bowman, Hallie Lawson, Alora Logan, Cami Coats, or Lauren Coats.

Vanessa Nunez is going to have to step up and be a leader at shortstop, which she is completely capable of. We’re going to need some underclassmen to step up and help fill spots in our outfield.

Season outlook: This season I expect a lot of good things. I expect our girls to play great defense and put the ball in play. What I’m looking for is leadership, playing as a team, and having fun!

Brown County Baseball

Coach: Jared Hoots

Last year’s record: 28-5 (IHSA State Final Tournament second place)

Returners: Senior Colby Wort (.416 BA, 48 runs, 17 RBI), senior Sam Carr (.386 BA, 36 RBI), sophomore Tyce Fullerton (.319 BA, 25 RBI), sophomore Maverick Henry (.172 BA, 5 RBI), senior Gavin Montgomery (.267 BA, 36 runs), senior Hayden Weise (.303 BA, 22 RBI)

Key losses: Gabe Blakley, Ma-

son Henry, Will Groesch, Ethan Howell, Tate Fullerton

Key newcomers: Cole Behymer (OF), Joe Miller (OF), Jack Buss (C), Eli Blakeley (OF), Sterling Lenover (INF), Dylan Resiche (INF), Trey Fullerton (INF)

On the mound the staff will be anchored by Wort and Fullerton. Carr, Miller, Montgomery, Henry, and Behymer will all see time on the mound.

At the plate, it all starts with Wort at the top, Other guys need to fill the RBI role of last year’s graduates and have the ability to do so. We will go as our seniors will go. We will have guys in different roles this year in the lineup.

We have athletes in the field, so defense should be our strong suit.

Overall, our goals don’t change: win the conference, win a regional and go from there. Our conference has been very competitive for years, and we have a high level of play in our conference. We graduate a lot of good players, but we have good players back.

Brown County Softball

Coach: David Woodruff

Last year’s record: 29-2, conference champions two years in a row, regional champions two years in a row, undefeated at home two years in a row

Returning starters: Senior pitcher Taryn Moorman (20-1 record, 2 saves, 140 K, 1.87 ERA, Second Team All-State). She’s our ace -- most dominant pitcher in program history.

Senior shortstop Katey Flynn (.464 BA, .505 OBP, 49 runs). Katey Flynn, our leadoff hitter, led the team in stolen bases, swiping 27 in 28 attempts. She is the most competitive player I have had – hard-nosed, wants to win and will out-work everyone.

Senior center fielder Klare Flynn (.408 BA, over .500 OBP, 43 runs). Klare Flynn won the team award for outstanding defense last year. She is hard working -- just as competitive as her sister. She is a stolen base threat, has great power to all fields and is a great bunter. Her defense is spectacular in center field. Also will out-work everyone. The Flynn girls are great to coach because they want to win, are great leaders, and they motivate (that’s the word I’ll use) each other.

Senior catcher Cyrah Dunlap (.422 BA, .520 OBP). Dunlap is going to Culver-Stockton this fall to play softball. She loves softball. She can hit, and is rock solid behind the plate with a good arm and good instincts. She’s a great kid to coach. She’s funny.

Sophomore Ashlee Markert (.515 BA last year with a .608 OBP). Ashlee Markert got overlooked for all-conference after hitting over .500. She hits for power. She had four home runs and hit at least six balls off the fence. She is fast and aggressive; she probably has the best arm on the team, and can play any position.

Sophomore pitcher/first baseman Brooke Gaurthaus (.351 BA). She drove in 21 runs from the sixth spot in the order and had an on-base percentage of over .400. She will pitch some more this year and has the potential to be dominant in the circle. She also plays a great first base. She’s a great kid -- very smart and easy going.

Someone to keep an eye on this year will be Kierney Nash. She is a junior who transferred in last year but was dealing with some injuries so didn’t get on the field much. She is going to push for a starting position. She hits left-handed. She’s a contact hitter, she’s quick, smart baserunner, good glove and a good arm from wherever she is playing on the field.

Other returners: Melanie Loehr. She didn’t go out last year. She’s a senior who will be pushing for playing time along with Leah Houston -- also a senior who is going out for the first time. Sydney Brierton is going out for the first time also. Sophomore Isabel Duarte will be looking to crack the starting lineup in the outfield somewhere.

Key newcomers: Olivia Martinez (C/IF), Addi Jones (P), Alivia Akins, Morgan Logsdon. I expect some of the freshmen will see some varsity time this year.

Key losses: Cortni Law (the heart and the soul of the team last year), Karsyn Moorman (had one of the absolute best offensive seasons in program history), Grace Groesch (an unsung hero who was constantly on base and played great defense), Savannah Rogers (played a solid right field and had huge hits for us all year), MaKenna Post (our No. 2 pitcher who had a sparkling senior year in the circle), Kaci McKeon (outstanding pinch-runner who started quite a few games for us), Peyton Wegs (back-up catcher) and Mary Frank (outfielder).

Season outlook: It will be hard to replicate what we did last year, starting off 26-0. We have a great core of the team back this year, and the expectations for this group will not be lowered. We have a talented group, and we should be competing with most teams in the area. I am very excited for this season!!!

CALHOUN BASEBALL Coach:

Casey Longnecker

Last year’s record: 8-22

Returning starters: Senior Jacob Lamarsh (DH/P), senior Auggie Squier (IF/P), junior Cade Sievers (IF/P), junior Davis Wilson (IF/P), sophomore Pat Friedel (OF/P), sophomore Cooper Klocke (OF/P), sophomore Jacob Kress (P), sophomore Drew Wallendorf (C/P), sophomore Jack Webster (IF/P)

Key losses: Luke Wickenhauser (C/P), Nick Baalman (OF)

Key newcomers: Junior Will Hurley (OF/P), junior Logan Tepen (OF/P), sophomore Jake Hillen (IF/P), sophomore Bo