By Dana Harding (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
Springfield Catholic baseball enjoyed a successful season in 2025.
The Fightin’ Irish finished with a 19-11 record, falling to Marshfield in the district tournament.
For head coach Courtney Spitz, the season marked a pivotal point in the development of his players and program.
“I believe we met our expectations as a program,” Spitz said. “For the second time in Class 5 districts, the team that beat us went on to the final four. The biggest key for our success in 2025 was our improved culture and team chemistry. Our players bought in more with coaching, invested in each other, and had a lot of team chemistry that kept us going in tough moments.”
Spitz’s optimism has reason, as a majority of the lineup returns, including senior all-state, all-conference and all-district catcher Nate Lask.
An Angelo State University commit, Lask hit .416 with 4 home runs and 29 RBI.
Senior utility Nic Ruter; senior pitcher Jack Smith; senior pitcher Cole Hunt, senior all-conference infielder/pitcher Rhett Layne; senior first baseman Bennett Otto; junior all-conference and all-district shortstop/pitcher Elye Henderson; junior all-conference and all-district center fielder Sam Boster; junior all-conference and all-district outfielder Conner Fenske; junior infielder/pitcher Hudson McLean; junior infielder/pitcher Charlie Fairchild; sophomore all-conference and all-district infielder/pitcher Gavin Strecker; sophomore outfielder/pitcher Jack Belz and sophomore outfielder/pitcher Kennedy Brown also return for the Irish.
“All these players saw starting time and contributed last year,” Spitz said. “A lot of them, if not all of them, have been playing varsity since they were freshmen. The experience and playing Class 5 baseball the last two seasons will help them. They are hungry and ready for this season as we will move back down to Class 4. We have leaders amongst all classes and positions. These players have seen post season success from the previous seasons before them and they are hungry to leave their own legacy of that.”
Spitz believes a pair of varsity newcomers will make an immediate impact, as well, in senior outfielder Easton Gifford, junior first baseman/pitcher Gage Wells and junior outfielder/pitcher Ayden Isley.
Spitz on Gifford: “Easton Gifford was varsity ineligible as a junior after coming from New Covenant. Easton is a very fast, athletic outfielder that will impact our defense, offense and base running. We are excited to have him at the varsity level!”
Spitz on Wells: “Gage Wells saw limited varsity action last season. Gage is a big and strong first baseman that can impact us in the lineup and on the mound. Gage has a nice left-handed bat that shows power and we are excited about his opportunities.”
Spitz on Isley: “Ayden is a tall athletic outfielder and pitcher that will provide us depth in those areas. Ayden continues to get stronger which will help him make the jump to varsity competition!”
With a host of experience and talent returning, Spitz believes his team will be ready to compete for postseason success.
“We have a chance to be a talented team,” Spitz said. “We have an extremely fast outfield, four returning starters on the infield, and a pitching staff that has pitched at the varsity level since they were all freshmen. We were 19-11 last season while missing our top two arms for the entire season which allowed young players to step up, and they did. We are focused, determined and understanding one thing: It is not who we play, it is what we play. We will focus on playing baseball as fundamental and aggressive as we can.”
On the mound, Catholic will benefit from two seniors returning from injury in Smith and Hunt.
“The pitching staff has a chance to be deeper than the past two seasons,” Spitz said. “More experienced arms and depth as some young arms stepped into the rotations last season. The main difference is getting back to senior arms that did not pitch for us last year. Jack Smith had Tommy John and missed 2025. Cole Hunt missed 2025 with elbow discomfort. Getting both of these guys back will be a massive difference for our staff and season trajectory.”
At the plate, the Irish will feature a deep, versatile lineup capable of putting pressure on opposing pitchers.
“The strengths of our lineup are experience and speed,” Spitz said. “We will have a lot of speed up and down the lineup with plenty of pop in the middle. Out of the eight position players from last season’s starting lineup, we return seven. Plenty of players will see time at multiple positions, as pitching rotations impact the lineup.”
Following a March 16 jamboree at Logan-Rogersville, Catholic opens its season March 21 with a double-header at Lee’s Summit against Pleasant Hill and the host school.
