By Dana Harding (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
2024 proved to be a successful campaign for Aurora baseball.
The 14-13 Houn’ Dawgs captured a district championship before falling to Nevada in the Class 4 sectional round.
“The biggest element that stands out from my perspective is the fact that after Heath Hoffman (Aurora’s number one arm) was unable to pitch for the back end of the season, they were still able to win a district title,” head coach Heath Fortson said.
Entering his first season at the Aurora helm, Fortson will look to field replacements for Hoffman, an all-state outfielder; however, he’ll also reap the benefits of eight returning starters from last season’s district championship squad.
A pair of senior starters return to lead the Houn’ Dawgs this season in Matthew Cutbirth and Jayden Carpenter.
Cutbirth, a catcher, hit .243 last season with 1 home run, 20 runs batted in and 7 stolen bases.
“Matt is a leader with a lot of experience and a personality that bonds our team,” Fortson said. “He’s a tough defender at the catching position and will be a big contributor to our team’s power at the plate.”
Carpenter, an all-district pitcher and infielder, hit .276 with 20 runs batted in as a junior. On the mound, he recorded a 4-5 record with a 2.63 earned run average and 59 strikeouts.
“Jayden has a wealth of experience and is growing in his leadership role as a senior and looks to lead our pitching staff this year,” Fortson said. “Also, an athletic defender at first base.”
Classmate Brody Seitz, an outfielder, also returns for Aurora.
“Brody is a fantastic teammate and leads with great effort and character,” Fortson said. “He has a lot of speed that we hope to use as much as possible.”
Junior all-conference and all-district infielder Max Holland hit .320 last season with 13 runs batted in and 6 stolen bases.
“Max is returning off a good year at the plate and will be a big contributor offensively,” Fortson said. “He has great hands at third base and will be a good arm on the mound for us.”
Sophomore Sean Creasey, an all-conference and all-district pitcher and infielder, hit .337 with 18 runs batted in and 10 stolen bases as a freshman. On the mound, he finished with a 6-1 record, a 2.28 earned run average and 42 strikeouts.
“Sean is one of the best leaders of our team,” Fortson said. “He will be a large part of our success this season.”
Casen Brown, a sophomore pitcher, shortstop and center fielder, hit .272 last season with 12 runs batted in.
“Casen is a plus defender both in the middle infield and outfield,” Fortson said. “He has great speed and will be a threat offensively.”
Sophomore Kaden Cole, a pitcher, second baseman and outfielder, round out Aurora’s returning players. He hit .220 with 11 runs batted in as a freshman.
“Kaden is another guy with good speed,” Fortson said. “He is a gamer at second base and will be a great utility in the outfield at times.”
Fortson also expects a quartet of varsity newcomers to compete for playing time in Juan Guido, Memphis Mooneyham, Parker Blackburn and Cooper Brown.
“Returning eight starters from a district championship team and adding some freshmen that will compete for playing time at the varsity level means that our expectations for this season are to at least win another district title, and I know these guys believe they can make a run into state,” Fortson said.
Aurora’s pitching will be a significant team strength this season due to both depth and experience, according to Fortson.
“We have six to seven arms on the mound that we believe we can depend on every day to go out and compete,” Fortson said. “A key factor on the mound will be our staff managing pitch counts and being able to go deep into games. We play 32 games this regular season, so our pitching will be tested.”
At the plate, Fortson is looking to improve the team’s approach and consistency.
“One of the biggest challenges I’ve noticed from last year’s stats is the amount of strikeouts we had as a team,” Fortson said. “We can’t live up to the expectations we’ve set for our team and continue to strike out at the rate we did last season. We plan to practice against live arms as much as possible and figure out which guys find barrels on a consistent basis.”
Following a March 14 jamboree at Kickapoo with Willard and the host school, Aurora opens its season March 21 against Northland Christian at Branson.
