By Chris Parker
Fordland baseball will be a senior-led team coming off a 10-9 spring season and a 10-3 fall season.
Five seniors in Cameron Crowe (pitcher/infield), Carson Koster (pitcher/infield), Bryce Fries (pitcher/infield), Khristian Sommerfeld (pitcher/outfield) and Logan Swanson (utility/pitcher) will be those leaders according to head coach Sam Waterman.
“We will rely heavily on our five seniors this spring,” Waterman said. “They have been in the program since junior high and will be the backbone of our team. All five will play a big role in our success.”
Crowe will play for Baptist Bible College next season. He hit .452 with a 1.395 OPS driving in a team-high 22 runs in the fall. Swanson has accepted an offer to play college baseball as Central Methodist. He posted a 1.310 OPS with a team-high 24 runs scored.
Trey Bellue (junior infield), Carter Kindall (junior outfield), Logan Venable (sophomore catcher/pitcher), Cole Davidson (sophomore DH), Luke Waterman (freshman infield) and Matt Hart (freshman utility) will also be players Fordland will rely on.
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The pitching staff will be senior-led with Crowe, Koster, Fries and Sommerfield along with sophomore Loan Venable all seeing time on the mound. Crowe was dominant on the mound in the fall with a 0.48 ERA and 47 strikeouts over 29 innings pitched. Koster threw 21 innings with 20 strikeouts. Fries had 25.1 innings on the mound with 25 strikeouts.
The defensive alignment will be dictated by who is pitching. Venable will be the main catcher with Swanson seeing time behind the plate as well. Bellue and Crowe will see time at first base. Second base will be held down by Luke Waterman. Fries and Hart will see time at shortstop. Koster and Crowe are players to watch at third base.
The outfield will feature Sommerfield, Swanson, Hart and Kindall.
“Our entire team has improved from last year,” Waterman said. “Our entire pitching staff is back and has shown much improvement in velocity and command. Our pitchers will throw a lot of strikes and put a lot of pressure on the offense. Our defense will make routine plays and not give extra outs. I was really surprised how well we hit this past fall season and I attribute a lot of our success to our kids becoming more involved in the weight room. Our kids are strong and moving the ball with a lot more authority at the plate.”
Returning seven of nine starters will bring familiarity to the varsity game for the Eagles.
“Our team’s strength will be our overall consistency and experience,” Waterman said. “Seven of our nine starters are back from last year. We have a lot of kids that can play multiple positions on defense, a consistent pitching staff and kids who put together competitive at bats each night. If we can stay healthy, I expect us to be very competitive this spring. We finished 10-3 this past fall and look to build on that this spring. Our kids like playing together, team chemistry is good, and they genuinely root for each other.”
Fordland opens the regular season Mar. 18-25 at the Pleasant Hope Tournament.
“I want our identity to be that we will be a tough opponent to anyone on any given night,” Waterman said. “I want our kids to be tough outs all the way through the lineup. I want our pitchers to pound the zone and put pressure on the offense. Defensively, we want to make the routine play and not give extra outs. If we can do those things, we will be very successful this spring.”
