By Chris Parker
Parkview baseball finished with a 4-24 overall record last season.
The Vikings enter the third season of the Bret Gallion era hoping a cultural shift in the program will help Parkview climb the Ozark Conference standings.
“Strengths of our team will be our work ethic and approach. With our cultural shift towards character and effort, one of the main focuses has been on how we respond to adversity,” Gallion said. “I believe this will be one of our strengths this year in that regardless of opponent or score, we are going to play “Parkview Baseball” until the last out of the game.”
Cabett Altis (senior catcher), Ethan Walker (junior pitcher and corner infielder), Delton Orcutt (junior pitcher/utility) and Gehrig Eoff (sophomore utility/catcher) will be the team’s leaders.
Gallion on Altis: “Cabett’s senior leadership will be a foundation of our team this year. Through leading by example and behind the plate, I expect him to continue our cultural transformation as a player leader this year.”
Gallion on Walker: “Ethan has established himself as a leader the team through his work ethic and character. Ethan is one of those guys our younger players can look up to, as Ethan plays the game the right way.”
Gallion on Orcutt: “Delton’s arm will be an integral part to our success this season. Being No. 1 in our rotation, Delton’s leadership will set the tone in the games he pitches. The team will follow him in however he responds to situations while he is on the mound.”
Gallion on Eoff: “Gehrig is another lead by example guy. Like Ethan, he has established himself as a leader on the team through his work ethic and character. We can count on Gehrig to be a positive role model for all players on the team, even those older than him.”
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Eoff and Orcutt both earned all-conference honors last year. Eoff was a second-team all-conference utility player. Orcutt was an honorable mention all-conference pitcher.
Orcutt and Walker will reside atop the Parkview rotation. Dylan Mahan, Kris Young, Hunter Meek, Cabett Altis, Gage Shivers, Gehrig Eoff, Klayton Conrad, and Caleb Handley are all looking for time on the mound as well.
Altis will be the primary catcher with Eoff filling in from time to time.
The rest of the alignment around the infield and outfield is an open competition.
“With a lot of turn over this year, we have not established our positions yet,” Gallion said. “There will be a need for guys to fill in positions they may have not played last year. It’s going to be all hands-on deck at the beginning of the year to see who steps up and wins positions and then putting the puzzle pieces together to create our best overall defensive team.”
Parkview opens the season on Mar. 18 at Branson against the host Pirates and Chouteau (Okla.).
