2020 Spring Preview: Licking Baseball

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By Chris Parker

Licking baseball has big goals this year after finishing 13-5 last year. The Wildcats earned the district’s No. 1 seed, but were upset by No. 4 seed Mountain Grove in the semifinals.

“We expect to contend for the Frisco League championship and a District championship. Those goals are the same every year, what it takes to achieve those differ from year to year, but we always strive to win our conference and win the district,” Licking head coach Harv Antle said. “We have the talent to achieve those goals this year. We have a younger look to our lineup this year starting three freshmen. We balance that with three senior starters and a couple of juniors that will need to make it an environment where all players can succeed in support of the team. The sum of our parts must be greater than the individual pieces.”

That senior group is led by reigning Frisco League MVP and first-team all-state outfielder Gideon Antle. Antle, who hit .481 with 22 RBI and 27 runs scored last spring, will patrol centerfield. He will also see some time at shortstop with pitching appearances in the late innings a possibility.

“Gideon is the most dedicated player I have ever coached. He has to be made to take a day off (and that is in the off-season). Unless he is sleeping or in class at school, there is a good chance you will find him in one of three places: the weight room, the ballfield, or in the indoor facility working on his swing. He turns the barrel well at the plate, has good pitch recognition, and a mature hitting approach. He has a plus arm in the outfield and gets great jumps on the ball. He is aggressive on the bases and has good instincts. He is a throwback player: hard charging, dirt bag, aggressive, whatever-it-takes ballplayer,” Coach Antle said.

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This fall, Gideon hit over .600 with 13 home runs, eight doubles, five triples and 55 RBI in just 24 games.

Levi Cantrell returns for his senior season as a pitcher and outfielder. This past fall, he threw 26 innings and posted a 1.60 ERA.

“Levi was probably our most consistent starting pitcher this fall. We expect him to continue to assert himself on the mound. At the plate, he has some slug, three homers and six doubles in the fall, in his bat. If he can control the strike zone better, he will be dangerously productive with plenty of extra base hit potential,” Antle said.

Senior infielder/pitcher Seth Farris will step up on the mound this year. He didn’t throw any varsity innings last spring, but struck out 46 batters in 34 innings pitched this past fall.

“Seth is a high energy player. His stuff on the mound is as good as anyone on our staff. He just needs to be more of a strike thrower and develop the consistency to put guys away with two strikes,” Antle said. “Offensively, Seth has been a .300 hitter for us in the past and we expect that to continue. He has an ability to drive the ball the other way and is at his best when he stays with that approach.”

The most experienced pitcher will be junior Wilson Murray. Murray threw 33 innings with a 2.10 ERA last year.

“Will is our most experienced starting pitcher. He has logged varsity innings since his freshman year. His height (6-4) allows him to throw the ball with good downward plane when he is on time and synched up. A more consistent breaking pitch will separate him from the rest of the staff. Will’s bat is starting to emerge as he hit .288 this fall. Pitch selection is key for him at the plate,” Antle said.

Easton Ice will man first base and pitch this year, but one of his most important roles is protecting Gideon Antle in the lineup.

“Easton provides protection for Gideon in our lineup. He is our lone lefty bat and arm on the mound. At the plate, when Easton gets his pitch, he is learning to do damage, as evident of his five homers and 10 doubles this fall to go with 38 RBIs. On the mound, Easton provides left-handed relief for us, and we count on him to be a strike thrower,” Antle said.

The freshmen trio of Malachi Antle (catcher), Cole Wallace (utility) and Keyton Rinne (infielder) will all see varsity time this year. Malachi will hit leadoff after hitting .554 with 13 doubles this fall. He was on base nearly 60% of the time and scored 40 runs in 24 games. Wallace is a versatile weapon that can play anywhere. He hit .338 with 40 runs scored in the fall. Rinne earned the starting job at second base in the fall and hit .314.

Junior Landon Medlock (pitcher/outfielder) along with sophomores Spencer Rogers (infielder) and Kaiden Wantland (pitcher/outfielder) will be counted on to contribute this year as well.

Offense will be a strength for Licking baseball this year.

“We have shown a good ability to score runs. We will lean on our offense, as we have some guys that are starting to figure it out at the plate. When we show discipline and get good pitches to hit, we have been able to inflict damage,” Antle said. “In 24 games this fall, we hit 22 home runs as a team. We are aggressive on the bases and always look to get the next 90 feet. For the most part, we play good defense, making the routine play and avoiding the big inning.”

The offense may have to carry the team in some games as the pitching staff seeks more consistency.

“Our pitching staff needs to be more consistent. We don’t possess that shutdown guy and instead rely on being able to pitch down in the zone, use both sides of the plate, and change speeds. We must eliminate the free bases and pound the strike zone,” Antle said.

The overall goal remains unchanged: conference and district titles.

“We will contend for a conference title. We figure to be right there in what amounts to a three-team race along with Dixon and Iberia. The goal is a district title, and we have the ability. We just have the burden of not being able to break through in such a long time that the monkey on our back is more like a gorilla. Many of our players had not been born yet the last time Licking won a baseball district,” Antle said.

Licking opens the season Mar. 23-27 at the Houston Tournament.

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