2020 Spring Preview: Liberty Baseball

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By Pat Dailey (For OzarkSportsZone.com)

Mountain View-Liberty coach Allen Hedden ideally would like his catchers not to also be his top pitchers. But once again the Eagles enter a season with that being the case.

Zeb Cornman and Dylan Cooper, both catchers, project as Mountain View-Liberty’s top two hurlers.

“I’d rather not have our pitchers catch,” said Hedden, who has been with the Eagles for 18 years. “You worry about them getting bumps and bruises behind the plate and getting tired. We’ve been fortunate not to have had any situation arise in which hurt us. Zeb is a strong kid. His older brothers, Cale and Zayn, also played for me and they’re all big, muscular kids. Zeb’s done pretty good catching and pitching. His conditioning is always good.”

Hedden says either Cornman or Cooper could assert themselves as the team’s ace.

“Zeb’s got a little pop on his fast ball,” Hedden said. “He can throw strikes consistently. Dylan is more about control and hitting spots with off-speed (pitches). He does a good job keeping hitters off balance.”

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Others who will see time on the mound are Kaden Daniels, Coltin Weldon, Noah Jester and Jacob Weaver.

“We’ve got some arms,” Hedden said. “We feel like we have a little (pitching) depth, from seniors all the way down to one of our freshmen who may be able to throw. We hope pitching becomes a strength and we’re more consistent throwing strikes and getting ahead of the batters.”

Cornman was 2-3 with a 3.12 ERA last season, while Cooper was 1-2 with a 4.11 ERA.

Cornman was an All-South Central Association Second-Team choice last season. Weldon, who also returns, was an honorable mention selection. Cornman hit .278 and Welden .260. They combined for 24 stolen bases.

The Eagles will feature a mix of veterans and youngsters. Their lineup could be made up of just four upperclassmen.

“We bring back a fairly young team,” Hedden said. “For starting three freshmen and three sophomores last year and finishing with nine wins, we had a decent year. Throughout the year, we were working on jelling. We started to come together at the end of the year.”

Weldon, a shortstop, fills the lead-off role.

“Coltin is a table-setter for us,” Hedden said. “He’s got good speed and is a contact hitter.”

Cornman and Daniels, a first baseman, will bat in the 3-4 holes.

“They’ve got a little pop,” Hedden said. “We won’t hit a lot of home runs. But they can hit to the gaps and get doubles. We’ll mix and match from there and have different people in different parts of the lineup.”

Center fielder Kevin Ledgerwood anchors the outfield

“He’ll run down and catch balls,” Hedden said. “Hitting-wise, he’s shown improvement the last couple of years.”

Weaver, who hit .326 last year, will be in left field and Jester at second base.

Kal Acklin and Jaden Anderson could see playing time as freshmen. Acklin is a catcher and pitcher, while Anderson is a third baseman.

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