By Michael Cignoli (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
After the COVID-19 pandemic wiped out the entire 2020 baseball season, the Marshfield Blue Jays looked to their most experienced players to guide them when they returned to the field.
That’ll still be the case this season, but with a noticeable twist.
“The leadership we have this year is different because it’s not solely on our seniors,” Marshfield coach William Pate said. “Due to COVID, we didn’t return many varsity experienced players last year — which put a lot of the leadership responsibilities on our seniors who did have experience. This year, we have a good group of seniors and juniors who have experience at the varsity level and we look for them to be our leaders.”
With four college signees leading the way, the 2021 Blue Jays reached the district championship game for a third straight season but fell to eventual state champion Willard and finished 16-9.
Like all teams, the Blue Jays accomplished that despite their leaders playing exactly zero games the previous spring. The juniors and seniors who’ll lead them this year had the chance to play 25.
Pate doesn’t read too much into that, noting the team is still feeling the effects of 2020.
“I feel that we are really in the same spot as far as experience goes because everyone lost out on a year of playing,” Pate said. “Until we graduate every grade that was in high school during the shutdown, we will have groups who missed an entire spring season of high school baseball.”
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Marshfield’s most recent graduating class included four players who earned postseason honors and are now playing at the next level. Catcher Logan Crum and infielder/pitcher Jackson Vestal are at St. Louis Community College, first baseman/pitcher Hayden Curley is at North Arkansas College and pitcher/outfielder Ethan Grace is competing for Central Methodist University.
Vestal, Curley and Grace were all named to the all-state, all-conference and all-district teams. Crum was an all-conference selection in his only season as a varsity starter.
“We obviously have some spots open from graduating a big senior class last year,” Pate said. “Early in the season it will be about figuring out who is going to fill those spots — and that ultimately comes down to who has the hot bat. We lost a lot of offensive production due to graduation, but you have to find a way to replace them. We won’t be the team that can drive the ball gap-to-gap this year as a whole, so we will have to use a little more small ball and move runners to manufacture runs.”
As the Blue Jays figure out where their newcomers and returning players best fit in the lineup, they will look to Owen Curley, Jackson Rovig and Wyatt Brockman to continue their success.
Owen Curley, who has committed to Moberly Area Community College, is an all-conference and all-district pitcher/infielder who hit .299 last year. He also drove in 17 runs, tops among returners.
“He will play a bigger role in our pitching staff this year due to the work he has put in,” Pate said of the senior. “We will look for him to take a big step in the lineup as well and make a big impact.”
Brockman and Rovig are juniors coming off all-state, all-district and all-conference seasons.
Brockman (.365 average, 14 RBI) will take over catching duties and see time on the mound.
“He will be a presence in the lineup for us with his ability to drive the ball out of the yard,” Pate said.
Rovig (.347 average, 13 RBI) is an infielder/pitcher who will see a vastly increased role this year.
“He will be one of our top pitchers,” Pate said. “He will also be one of our better bats in the lineup. He has the ability to drive the ball gap to gap and is a very disciplined hitter.”
Owen Curley, Rovig and Brockman are the only three Blue Jays who threw more than eight innings last season, finishing with just 46 between them. But with juniors Andrew Beckner and Kyler Massie and sophomore Easton Arthur joining Brockman in the bullpen — and junior Bryant Bull completing a three-man rotation with the others — Pate feels confident about the staff.
“I see our pitching to be our biggest strength right now,” the coach said. “We return some really good arms who may not have the most experience but are competitors and we are really excited about. We’ve got some younger guys who will compete for spots in the bullpen and we know (they) have the potential to be good, but it’s seeing who competes the best and executes pitches.”
Senior Kyle Jones will look to be the starting centerfielder after seeing significant time at the position last spring, though there is a great deal of competition for jobs in the outfield.
Tommy Mynatt earned a varsity letter as a pinch runner and could play an expanded role in his junior season. Senior infielder/outfielder Jacob Sheffer is back in the fold after missing last year with a broken collarbone, while classmate Sheldon Espy will also battle for playing time.
“There are a lot of jobs open right now and nothing is set in stone,” Pate said.
Marshfield will host a March 11 jamboree featuring Lebanon and Marion C. Early.
The regular season begins exactly one week later when Fair Grove comes to town.
Marshfield’s annual Military Appreciation Night game is set for April 21 against Nevada.
“No matter who the team is, we always want to be known as competitors,” Pate said. “Every year you’re going to lose seniors and really good players but — no matter what — you always want to compete, no matter who you have on your team.”
