By Chris Parker
Weaubleau baseball has a new head coach in Calab Kauffman this season. He spent the past five seasons as an assistant coach at Fair Grove and returns home for his first head coaching job.
“Weaubleau is where I’m from,” Kauffman said. “I’ve always wanted to come back home to teach and coach and I knew that the time was right.”
He inherits a program that has won three straight district titles and at least 16 games in four straight seasons.
“I’m pretty blessed to be coming into a program that has accomplished so much in the last few years,” Kauffman said. “It definitely makes my job a lot easier. The biggest key for our program to keep moving in the right direction is for the players to keep working hard. The boys have big goals for this upcoming season and they’re going to work hard to achieve those goals.”
Six starters return including two all-state selections in junior Blane Durnell and sophomore Lee Lambeth.
Durnell was a first-team all-state outfielder as a sophomore. He hit .456 with 32 RBI.
“Durnell has the mentality that every ball in the air is getting caught,” Kauffman said. “I expect him to continue to be one of our leaders on the team. He’s a guy I expect to make the crucial play and clutch hit when the team needs it. Durnell is a versatile player. Depending on lineups, he can play outfield, infield and will pitch some.”
Lambeth was named second-team all-state as a freshman. He hit .426 with 16 RBI.
“Lee’s work ethic had everything to do with his success last year,” Kauffman said. “He’s a competitor. Lee has locked down the third base position. Lee will also pitch quite a bit too.”
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Zach Brown (junior) and Clayton Ginnings (sophomore) will be two more key pitchers for Weaubleau. Brown was 2-0 on the mound with one save last year while hitting .345 with 14 RBI. Ginnings posted a 3-1 record with two saves last year while hitting .382.
Brown will also serve as the team’s primary catcher.
Joining Lambeth on the infield will be Gunner Freeman (sophomore first baseman), Dawson Stewart (junior middle infield), Ginnings (middle infield and first base) and Landon Chaney (junior second base).
Beau Tucker (junior left fielder) and Owen Hicks (junior right fielder) will join Durnell in the outfield.
Kauffman will look for his team to compete from the first pitch to the last.
“(Our identity will be) play all seven Innings,” Kauffman said. “There will be games where we’ll either be winning, losing or tied with the opponent and we’ve got to find a way to win. That chance may come in the seventh inning. We could down one with runners on and we have to find a way to get those runners in or when we’re winning, and the other team has a chance to win. I preach to my guys that no lead is safe in high school baseball. There is no clock that we can run down to end the game. Whichever team is losing in the last inning has a chance to make a comeback. That’s why we have to play the full seven innings.”
Weaubleau opens the season on Mar. 17 at Climax Springs.
“My expectations for this year is to compete and get better every game,” Kauffman said. “I want the guys to be playing their best baseball at the end of the year. We have no seniors, so I expect our juniors to step up and take on that leadership role. Obviously, one of our goals is to make it back to the district championship, but we have to focus on one game at a time.”
