After being road warriors in their inaugural season last spring, look who is opening a new home facility soon. Well, it’s not just any facility.
The new home of the New Covenant Academy baseball team is a $475,000 project not far from the southwest corner of Kansas Expressway and Battlefield Road. It’s fully sodded – even Springfield Cardinals groundskeeper Brock Phipps pitched in on landscaping – and has a lot of bells and whistles.
In fact, it opens Monday, March 21 with a 2:30 p.m. school-wide pep rally and then a 4:30 p.m. first pitch, with several contributors – or representatives of business sponsors such as Federal Protection – on hand to throw out ceremonial first pitches.
“If you build it, they will come,” NCA coach John Hartley said with a bit of a chuckle – and for good reason, given he began coaching in 1979 and the facility is one of the most assertive projects ever undertaken in high school baseball.
Hartley acknowledged that he may tear up – along with the school’s chief academic officer, Matt Searson – considering they both lost their dads over the winter and have seen the sweat put into making the ballpark a reality.
“Our dads made us the baseball men we are today. There will be some leakage,” Hartley said, referring to emotions. “That’s OK.”
As for his team? It has potential to be better than OK. A year after managing to squeeze out a 12-11 record, the roster is chocked full of players with summer experience.
It obviously excites Hartley, who spent 22 years at Willard High School and also had coaching stops at Billings, Seymour and College of the Ozarks as well as with a premier travel ball program, the Midwest Nationals.
The pitching staff features Searson’s son, Matt, along with Minnesota transplant Cody Malan and lefty Alan Ramsey. Searson was the No. 1 starting pitcher last year, played soccer last fall and plans to walk on at Liberty University in Virginia. Malan, a Summit Academy student by day, was part of Hartley’s summer travel ball team called 417.
“They’re both college-experienced athletes,” Hartley said of Searson and Malan. “And Alan, even though he is a sophomore, his dad played for (Coach Dick) Birmingham at Hillcrest. He’s a Midwest National, so he has a lot of experience.”
Ben Cannefax, a junior, will be the closer.
The lineup appears well-balanced.
Leadoff man Silas Siebert, who also plays center field, bats left. He hit .366 and finished with 26 hits, 16 RBI and 12 stolen bases a year ago.
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“He’s one of the fastest kids in southwest Missouri who can hit triples to the left-field corner,” Hartley said.
The rest of the lineup is: second baseman/shortstop Noah Phipps, catcher C.J. Fernelius, pitcher/third baseman Malan, first baseman Josh Isbell, pitcher/third baseman Searson, pitcher/outfielder Ramsey, middle infielder Ian Poe and left fielder Corbin Morgan.
Isbell led the team last year in average (.433), hits (31) and RBI (27). Searson batted .329 with 16 RBI, and Fernelius (160) and Ramsey (11) each had double figures in RBI.
The heart of the order could be dangerous.
“They’re going to rack up a lot of extra-base hits,” Hartley said. “They’ve got a proven track record. And all four of them can hit the long ball.”
A couple of freshmen will push for playing time in Ryan Carmack, a Midwest National, and Ryan Rodgers, who was with Team USA last summer before suffering a broken arm.
Hartley figures the upperclassmen won’t mind be being challenged.
“They’re not immune to someone pushing them,” Hartley said. “And it’s healthy.”
Besides playing home games in an immaculate new ballpark, New Covenant also will play at College Heights of Joplin three times – once at recently renovated and historic Joe Becker Stadium and twice in the new ballpark at Missouri Southern. Plus, New Covenant has a game at Hammons Field in downtown Springfield.
“I was really surprised last year. I didn’t know what we’d run into playing every game on the road and practicing in a parking lot/soccer field,” Hartley said, adding that the program has caught the attention of area families. “A lot of kids have enrolled at NCA after we added baseball, and (players) are stacked all the way down past middle school. Someone is going to be taking over a very good program one day.”
New Covenant Academy Warriors
Coach: John Hartley
Last year: 12-11, 3-1 in Mark Twain Conference
Pitching staff: RHPs Matt Searson (sr.), Cody Malan (sr.), LHP Alan Ramsey (so.), RHP Ben Cannefax (jr.)
Lineup: CF Silas Siebert (jr.), 2B/SS Noah Phipps (jr.), catcher C.J. Fernelius (jr.), P/3B Cody Malan (sr.), 1B Josh Isbell (sr.), P/3B Matt Searson, P/OF Alan Ramsey (so.), 2B/SS Ian Poe (sr.), LF Corbin Morgan (jr.)
Bench: Ryan Carmack, Ryan Rodgers, Timmy Smith, Cam Altena, Tedd Fraser
Schedule
March
21 – vs. Verona, 22 – vs. Niangua, 24 – vs. Everton, 28 – vs. Crane, 31 – at Spokane
April
9 – at Hollister Festival, 12 – vs. Central, 19 – vs. Dadeville, 21 – vs. Fair Play, 23 – at College Heights, 25 – at Catholic, 27 – vs. Galena at Hammons Field, 29 – vs. Fordland
May
2 – at Halfway, 3 – vs. Reeds Spring, 5-7 – Mark Twain Tournament, home, 9 – at Hurley, 13 – District tournament, home