By Michael Cignoli (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
Because the COVID-19 pandemic abruptly canceled the 2020 season before it began, many of the area’s baseball coaches have not coached a varsity game in almost two full years.
Rolla coach Kenny Hohe didn’t have to wait that long.
Hohe also serves as the school’s softball coach and was a fixture in the dugout as the Lady Bulldogs competed last fall. One of those games was officiated by a rival baseball coach, and Hohe recalled how the two discussed just how much things had evolved since March.
“It was so ironic,” Hohe said during a recent interview. “Last spring, none of us knew anyone that had COVID — and none of us even knew anyone that knew of someone who had COVID — and yet we shut down not only sports, but we shut down schools and businesses and the world that we knew. And yet this fall, here we are. We’ve got teams with players on their team that have it and they’re practicing and playing just like it’s a normal day.”
The new normal has changed even more since the fall, as schools have refined quarantine procedures and have a better understanding of what in-person instruction and athletics can look like during a once-in-a-century plague. Vaccines have been developed and are being distributed. In many instances, the light at the end of the tunnel grows brighter by the day.
“It’s nice to know that we’ve kind of somewhat got back to some normalcy,” Hohe said. “You know what? I think sports are important, just because it gives kids that sense of normalcy. Practice after school and games and bus trips and things like that. It’s exciting to get back.”
Yet so much about this season remains unclear.
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At this point of the year, Hohe typically has a good idea of what his lineup will look like. He’d know his aces and top hitters, certainly, and there would be a few starting jobs up for grabs.
But the Bulldogs graduated four seniors from the team that finished 13-12 in 2019, then lost another eight in 2020. They have just two players who were full-time starters two years ago.
Hohe can usually measure a player’s experience in seasons. This year he’s using innings.
“I can’t remember a season where there’s been so much uncertainty,” Hohe said. “You always have some idea from the previous year. Well, we didn’t have a previous year. It’s kind of interesting trying to figure out who’s going to do what.”
Rolla’s lone returning starters are seniors Brady Yarger and Ethan Stephenson. Yarger is an all-conference honorable mention at second base; Stephenson is a standout catcher.
Classmates Hunter Hoss, Andrew Henson, Luke Seest and Joey Spinaio and juniors J.J. Yoakum, Isaac Long, Troy Benson, Jake Fuller, Carter Kriete and Chase Lindsey are all slated to battle for starting jobs in what are poised to be exceptionally competitive tryouts.
“There’s competition at every position,” Hohe said. “Nobody is guaranteed anything. We have a lot of guys working hard, a lot of guys pushing each other during the offseason. That’s what you need if you want to have a successful season. Our guys understand it. It’s one thing that we talk about all the time. It doesn’t matter if you’re a freshman or a senior. If you show up every day and work hard, the best nine guys are going to be on the field.”
Another unique element to this year is that Hohe isn’t allowing any prospective players who are currently playing winter sports to participate in the team’s optional off-season workouts.
“The last thing I want is for them to be exposed and be quarantined or miss games because of off-season baseball,” the coach said. “Even when we get to tryouts — once we finally get everyone there, there are going to be guys that nobody has seen in a year.”
That means Hohe won’t know things like each player’s projected position, a potential batting order or a pitching rotation until the Bulldogs are just about ready to open the season.
“It could be a very intense preseason and I’m looking forward to it,” he said. “We’ve got good kids who want to compete. I think they’re going to be able to compete on a daily basis.”
Hohe is also expecting sophomores Kendall Johnson, Wyatt Lewis, Beno Ballard and Wyatt McCarter and some freshmen — though he declined the chance to mention any names — to push for varsity time. Given the way last spring went, the door may be more open than ever.
“You take that year off and you’ve got freshmen and sophomores that aren’t as far behind the juniors as traditionally they are because the juniors didn’t see any varsity pitching last year,” Hohe said. “When they were sophomores, they saw JV pitching. That gap has closed between the upperclassmen and lowerclassmen just based on the circumstances of 2020.”
While it is still feeling the effects of last year’s cancellation, Rolla is eager for the chance to play this spring. Though so much is unknown, the pandemic did provide some clarity.
“You know, we lost games — and that’s terrible,” Hohe said. “People lost seasons, but, you know, a lot of people have lost their lives. So to lose a season is bad. It’s upsetting, disheartening. But it puts in perspective what really matters and what’s really important.”
KEY DATES
Rolla opens the season with a March 16 jamboree against Bolivar and Washington, then travels to Columbia on March 20 for games against Rock Bridge and Grain Valley.
The home opener is set for March 23 vs. Owensville, while Rolla’s first Ozark Conference conference game of the season is a March 30 road game at I-44 rival Lebanon.
