By Chris Parker
Billings baseball had its best season since 2013 posting a 14-9 record on the way to winning the program’s first district title since 2013. The Wildcats fell to Lockwood in the Class 1 state sectional round.
The Wildcats must replace a senior class that included three all-conference selections.
“They led us to our first district championship in eight years,” Billings head coach John Craig said. “They have set the bar for our younger guys to try and clear. Furthermore, each one of those guys accepted their roles no matter how big or small for the good of the team.”
Billings didn’t take any steps back in the fall by winning 13 games in that season as well.
“We returned a lot of talent including seven players who started games last spring,” Craig said. “We do not have any seniors, but our junior class is excellent. The returning guys really wanted to put their stamp on the program and went to work right away with a solid summer and carried that over into the fall. Obviously the key to success in baseball is pitching and after graduating our top two pitchers (Hayden Fender and Jacob Henry) there were questions moving forward. Brayden Garbee and freshman Dylan Edwards stood out, giving up a combined 11 earned runs in 66 innings pitched (in the fall). Juniors Zach Bos, Quentin Gold, as well as sophomores Noah Woody, Chase Verch, Grant Heimer and Kjelson Kenniston give us depth and will compete for innings moving forward.”
Garbee and Mason Ebert, both juniors, will be team leaders this year.
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“Brayden was expected to be our ace and he lived up to that expectation and then some this past fall. He has put in lots of time this offseason leading in the weight room, while still competing in basketball,” Craig said. “(Ebert) is one of the top players in the conference. He has a very strong arm, does a great job with the pitching staff and has one of, if not our best bat in the lineup.”
Ebert hit .343 with a .429 on-base percentage last year. He had 26 RBI. He improved those numbers to a .467 batting average and .500 on-base percentage with 31 RBI in the fall. Garbee hit .306 with 19 runs scored and 18 RBI.
Garbee threw 41.2 innings with 43 strikeouts and a 1.01 ERA in the fall.
Look for the following lineup around the infield: Quentin Gold (Junior, 1B), Kjelson Kenniston (Sophomore, 2B), Brayden Garbee (Junior, SS) and Levi Essick (Junior, 3B).
Gold scored 20 runs while hitting .375 with a .493 on-base percentage in the fall. Essick was right at .300 with a .391 on-base percentage last year.
Craig projects the outfield lineup to look like this: Jason Sekscinski (Junior, LF), Zach Bos (Junior, CF), Grant Heimer (Sophomore, RF).
Chase Verch will handle designated hitter duties and utility work around the field. He hit .365 with a .514 on-base percentage in the fall scoring 21 runs.
Bos was strong on the mound in the fall throwing 20.2 innings with 23 strikeouts.
Those are just the projected starters, as there are many players who will be competing for innings.
“Depth will be our biggest strength,” Craig said. “Our depth will create competition every day at practice. We will have as many as nine guys competing for innings on the mound. Our lineup 1-9 as well.”
Billings will look to improve both mentally and defensively to make a run back to the state tournament.
“The mental side of the game is where we have the most growth potential. Situational awareness from everybody on the field offensively and defensively at all times is a must,” Craig said. “As far as the physical side, we need to continue to get better at all facets of the game. However, defense might be our weakest attribute. Our pitchers are not the overpowering type so we have to hold up behind them. We showed signs last fall towards the end of our season of being pretty good defensively. However we will need to show that over the long haul and most importantly districts to be successful.”
Billings opens the regular season on Mar. 18 at home against Lighthouse Christian.
“My expectation is that we come every day with a desire to get better,” Craig said. “If we can do that, coupled with where are right now, we will have an excellent season.”
