Coach pushing team chemistry, hard-nosed play as goals

By Kyle Troutman [email protected]

The Purdy baseball team is entering this season with a strong returning core and loads of experience, hoping to put that combination to the test and build toward another postseason push.

“We have 8 varsity returners and 10 returning lettermen,” said Joshua Hughes, Purdy baseball coach. “We look forward to competing this spring. Our schedule is one of the toughest in class 2 in my opinion. We play most of the Big 8 schools and have a few Class 6 schools on our schedule as well. Our guys are really working hard and want to get us back to the district championship game.

“We want to be playing our best ball in May and give us a shot to be in the hunt for a district title and move deep into the playoffs.”

On the mound, Purdy returns multiple experienced arms to lead the rotation.

“Damon Mahurin has been in our rotation since his sophomore year and has a great arm,” Hughes said. “He pounds the zone and has developed a really good arsenal of pitches. Hunter Wormington is a big strong left hander with a lot of movement. Hunter can be very dominate from the left side.

“Grady Mahurin was our closer last year with a heavy fastball and is working on adding off speeds. He throws a lot of strikes and hits spots very well.”

Behind the plate, the Eagles will rely on a senior leader.

“Easten Goetz will lead us from the catcher’s position on defense,” Hughes said.

Across the infield, Purdy features a mix of returning starters and versatile options.

“Sophomore Grady Mahurin will be at third base, sophomore Daniel Aldabo will be at shortstop, junior Jackson Lee is our second baseman and junior Hunter Wormington is on first base,” Hughes said. “Senior Damon Mahurin and freshman Quentin Dodson will be our utility guys that can play any infield positions when guys are pitching.”

In the outfield, experience continues to be a strength.

“Senior Simon Walker will be in left field, junior Brennan Hawkins is in center field and junior Alex Stubblefield will play right field,” Hughes said.

Leadership will come from several key contributors across the roster.

“Damon will be our leader on the mound,” Hughes said. “Hunter and Daniel have taken over some leadership roles in our program also.”

Player development has also been evident during the offseason.

“Brennan Hawkins at this time last year was fighting for a spot in the outfield,” Hughes said. “Over last spring, summer and our fall season, he has earned our every day center field job and is a big part in our offense. He has worked extremely hard in the weight room and has become a big strong athletic kid.”

Team chemistry, Hughes said, is expected to play a major role in the Eagles’ success this season.

“Team chemistry is at a all time high right now with this group,” Hughes said. “We have added some off-season and in-season things to help build this and our guys love to be around each other on and off the field.”

As the season progresses, Hughes said Purdy will continue refining its approach on both sides of the ball.

“We will need to continue to build on our defense and offense,” he said. “We had a good fall where we implemented new ideas and philosophies and the guys bought in early. Now we just need to continue to fine tune the small things.”

The Eagles are aiming to establish a clear identity as the season unfolds.

“Hard working, hard nosed, tough,” Hughes said.

Purdy enters the season coming off a conference championship and a narrow district title loss.

“We won our conference last year and finished runner ups in the district,” Hughes said. “New Heights beat us 9-8 in a heart breaker.”

The Eagles started the season with a 13-3 home opener win over Exeter. Since then, they have played in two tournaments, going 2-1 in the Purdy Tournament and winning the Bill O’Dell Varsity Festival with three straight wins, culminating in a 7-4 victory over Lamar in 8 innings.