2018 Spring Preview: Plato Baseball

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By Dana Harding (For OzarksSportsZone.com)

Plato carried a third-straight 20-win campaign into districts last season and hoped for a return trip to the state final four; however, things didn’t go exactly as planned. The Eagles were upset by Hartville 5-0 in the title game.

Entering his 17th season at Plato, Frisco League Coach of the Year Mark Vaughan will look to prepare his team for another shot at a deep run through the postseason.

“We took one on the chin in the district championship game,” Vaughan said. “Hopefully, this will make the kids work even harder this spring.”

The Eagles will first look to replace a pair of pitchers in departed seniors Wiley Miller and K.J. Stafford.

Miller, a two-time all-state pitcher who now plays for Drury University, posted an 8-1 record and 1.56 ERA last season. He also hit for a .427 average with 38 RBI and 20 stolen bases.

Stafford’s record last season was 5-3 with a 2.77 ERA. His .366 average at the plate included 22 RBI.

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“Wiley will be very hard to replace,” Vaughan said. “He had an outstanding four-year career. K.J. will also be hard to replace. He pitched a lot of innings during his three years as a starter and was a very big bat in the order.”

While the roster will have some new looks, Plato also returns seven starters from last season’s 20-win squad, none of whom are seniors.

Juniors Caeden Hathaway (P/OF), Gaven Vaughan (P/INF), Jack Morrison (P/C), Marshall Pittman (P/INF), Andrew Hoover (OF) and Matt Daniels (P/INF), along with sophomore Hayden Smith (P/INF), are all multi-year starters who will look to anchor Plato’s lineup this season.

Hathaway (.377, 14 RBI, 5 SB), Vaughan (.405, 15 RBI, 22 SB) and Morrison (.382, 24 RBI, 11 SB) were all-conference selections, while Vaughan and Morrison received all-district honors, as well.

Plato also welcomes a pair of newcomers to the varsity roster in senior Ty Humphrey (OF) and junior Josh Metro (INF).

The new roster experienced some success during the fall season, which could bode well for Plato’s spring plans.

“We won 14 games this fall and weren’t completely healthy as a team for the most of it,” Coach Vaughan said. “If we want to be really good, everyone will need to stay positive, work even harder than this fall and stay healthy this spring. Hopefully, my young talent will make up for the rest.”

The Eagles also hope the experience from three successful seasons, plus a 2016 trip to the state final four, will provide a blueprint for the 2018 pursuit.

“I think we will be very competitive this year,” Coach Vaughan said. “They have been tested and have big game experience. We are still very young but the bulk of this year’s team has been starting since freshman year. We always have very high expectation here at Plato and with a preseason ranking of 10th, it shouldn’t change.”

Plato’s season begins March 16 with the Eminence double-header tournament.

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