As Junction City begins to defend its 2A state crown, the Dragons are counting on several newcomers to fill the void with the graduation of five senior starters.
But with Keelan Hodge and Ty Disotell back to lead the rotation, Junction City has a pitching staff that has showed its mettle in big games.
“You’ve got to produce once the season starts, but on paper, Keelan will be our No. 1 starter and Ty will be our No. 2,” Junction City coach Joe Paul Hammett said. “Both of them have pitched a lot, and have pitched in big ballgames, so we know what to expect when they’re on the hill. They’re going to throw strikes, and Ty more than Keelan pitches to contact, while Keelan is more of a power pitcher and strikes out a few more.”
As has been the case with many teams across the state, weather has greatly hampered efforts to get consistent practice outside.
“Getting ready for the upcoming season, we’ve had the same trouble I imagine everyone in the state of Arkansas has had with rain,” Hammett said. “We’ve probably been outside seven times in seven weeks. It’s been three or four weeks since we’ve had two days in a row outside, but we’ve got an indoor facility, so we still do a lot, not everything you can outside, but it’s better than not having anything. We’ve progressed pretty good. At this time of year, we like to scrimmage to get our pitchers some work, and we definitely haven’t been able to do that as much as we usually do. We’re probably behind pitching-wise than we normally are just from the standpoint with the weather not being good.”
With Jack Smith’s graduation, the Dragons are looking at a potential platoon at first base with senior Kyle Kidwell and junior Jacob Orr.
“I think both of them will do a good job defensively, it just depends whose hot with the bat,” Hammett said.
Junction City has a returning starter back at second base in senior Kelly Graves.
“He did a good job for us in the field last year,” Hammett said.
When he isn’t pitching, Hodge, a senior who has signed with Arkansas Rich Mountain, will play at shortstop.
Graves will move to shortstop when Hodge goes to the mound, and Hammett believes his team will be strong defensively at those spots.
“It’s definitely a plus having him and Kelly coming back up the middle. You always want to be pretty strong in that area, and we definitely feel good about those two,” Hammett said.
Third base could also be a platoon with Disotell, a senior, and junior Gabe Richard in the mix, although Disotell could also move behind the plate.
“Both of them will play some. It just depends on if I have to catch Ty. We’ll just have to see as the season unfolds,” Hammett said.
Junior Trey Walker is slated to handle the catching duties after serving as the junior varsity catcher for the last two years.
“He has greatly improved his blocking skills, and we hope it translates to ballgames,” Hammett said. “We’ll have a few growing pains just from the fact he doesn’t have a lot of experience, but we’ve got a lot of confidence in him, and think he’ll do a good job for us.”
The Dragons will have some new faces in the outfield with senior Jakiron Cook a candidate to play in left field.
“He played back when he was smaller,” Hammett said. “He’s got a lot of skills, he just hasn’t played baseball in a long time, so it’s going to take him a little time to catch up.”
Senior Tanner McLelland will be in center field, although Richard could see playing time there as well.
“Both of them have a lot of experience, so we feel pretty good about our leader in the outfield,” Hammett said.
Junior Logan Pepper is slated to play in right field.
“He’s been waiting his turn and it’s here,” Hammett said. “He’s a pretty good defensive player and he has good speed. I really don’t know what to expect hitting-wise because he doesn’t have a lot of experience.”
Junior Coyt Sellers brings plenty of versatility to the Dragons by playing both the infield and outfield.
As far as the pitching staff is concerned, Hodge and Disotell give the Dragons a solid 1-2 punch, but over the course of the 2019 season, Junction City got big contributions from other members of their staff, and that depth could play a key role in 2020.
McLelland, who threw 2 2/3 scoreless innings against Parkers Chapel in the finals of the regional tournament, will be counted on to throw key innings this year.
“We found him last year,” Hammett said. “We really used him in relief a lot. I think he’s going to do a good job starting for us.”
Richard will also be in the mix to get plenty of work on the mound, and the Dragons also could turn to Orr, Sellers or Graves for innings.
“We’ve got several guys that give us some depth,” Hammett said of his staff. “I think that’s definitely one of our strong points.”
The 8-2A provided both the state champion and state runner-up a year ago, and Hammett said the league again will be very difficult to navigate.
“We proved last year how tough our conference was because we had three teams out of our district in the quarterfinals,” Hammett said. “That tells you how strong our conference is, and I think it will be that way again. There could be some surprises in there too. Harmony Grove is still in there, and they have a lot of talent. You’ve got to contend with Parkers Chapel and Woodlawn to not just win the district, but to get out of the regionals and to get to the state finals, you’re going to have to usually play one of them to get there or play them in the finals. We’re excited because we like playing good competition, and just playing a single round-robin means a lot more because you’re playing them only once. It will be tough again as usual, but we’re looking forward to it.”
If the Dragons are to enjoy a successful season, Hammett said the pitching staff must deliver.
“I know everybody says it, but it starts on the hill for us,” Hammett said. “We’ve got to throw strikes, field the routine balls, make the routine plays. If we do those two things defensively, we’ll be in the ballgame. We lost a lot of sticks from last year that knocked in a bunch of runs for us, so we definitely are going to have to have some kids step up and swing the bat and get some timely hits for us.”