Cassville bags pair of Big 8 wins over Monett, Lamar

By Kyle Troutman [email protected]

The first half of the season has tested the Cassville baseball team, but recent results suggest the Wildcats are beginning to find their footing as conference and district play intensifies.

“I think first half of the year was tough because we had a lot of guys who hadn’t really gotten the reps during the offseason in order to get their arms in shape and ready to go,” said Simon Beeson, Cassville baseball coach. “We had a lot of basketball players that came out, and a lot of them saw varsity basketball time, so they didn’t get a lot of time in the offseason to get into the bullpen or get swings in the cage. A lot of it was just kind of trying to play catch up.

“But I think our kryptonite the first half of the year was just the ability to throw strikes. We were walking a lot of guys, had a few hit batters and kind of dug ourselves holes.”

Cassville (6-12) has shown improvement in recent weeks, picking up key conference wins and playing competitive games against Big 8 and non-conference opponents alike.

“We’ve made quite the turnaround recently,” Beeson said. “We’ve been much more competitive. We beat a couple of conference opponents last week, Lamar and Monett, so those were a couple of big wins there. Outside of that, we’ve made some adjustments in the lineup. We’ve seen some guys take a lot better at-bats. 

“We’re finally starting to get small ball played and get bunts down, and we’re making plays on defense now. Things have really cleared up for us, and we just have to keep building on the momentum that we’ve got.”

Injuries also impacted Cassville early, particularly on the mound.

“We were dealing with some shoulder injuries at the beginning of the year with several guys that we kind of expected to eat quite a few innings,” Beeson said. “They just had some shoulder injuries and weren’t necessarily able to get on the mound, and that kind of hurt.”

Despite those challenges, Cassville has remained competitive, including a pair of one-run losses at the Pleasant Hill tournament on Saturday.

“We lost both [game against Wellington-Napoleon and St. Michael the Archangel] by 1 run, but they were extremely competitive,” Beeson said. “We’re starting to get healthy, and things are looking up for us. We’re playing some really competitive ball.”

Cassville is also battling through a recent injury to a key contributor.

“Easton Hughes kind of pulled his groin on Thursday against Monett, so not having his bat in the leadoff spot kind of hurt us,” Beeson said. “Not having him in the lineup kind of threw things off, but the guys have been fighting.”

That resilience has stood out to Beeson as players continue to compete for roles.

“Guys that have not found themselves in the lineup as much as they want have been a good heartbeat for the team,” he said. “Every time they get an opportunity, they’re fighting and scrapping to the best of their ability, and it’s been fun to watch the turnaround this second half of the season.”

The wins over Lamar and Monett highlighted Cassville’s recent progress.

“It’s always fun to beat Monett, and that hasn’t happened very often in baseball,” Beeson said. “I think that was only the second time we had beat Monett in the last 14 or 15 years.

“Tyler Matthew just went out there and absolutely dealt on the mound and was able to keep guys off balance with his off-speed. We made a lot of really good plays on defense, and it came down to the ability to throw strikes and not give them free outs.”

Against Lamar, the Wildcats’ offense set the tone.

“As far as Lamar goes, we just came out and absolutely crushed the baseball,” Beeson said. “We were hitting the ball all over the place and were aggressive on the base paths. Guys are really starting to get into a doubles mindset and are looking to take an extra base on any kind of bobble or misplay on defense. Any way that we can find ourselves taking an extra base, we’re going to try to do it.”

Even in losses, Beeson said the team’s approach has been encouraging.

“The Pleasant Hill games were scrappy ballgames,” he said. “It was back and forth all game long, and the biggest takeaway was our willingness to stay in there and keep fighting no matter what happened. No matter what the other team did or what kind of mistakes we made, we just kept fighting. We never gave up and were ready to get back up there and keep scrapping at the plate and find ways to win.”

Beeson said that mindset extends beyond baseball.

“Sometimes it’s not going to go your way, no matter how hard you fight,” Beeson said. “But that’s a life lesson — no matter what, you’ve got to get back up the next morning and do it all over again and keep fighting.”

In conference and district play, Cassville remains in contention.

“We are 2-1 in conference and 1-0 in district right now,” Beeson said. “The bounce back that I’ve seen and the willingness to come back and keep fighting and get ourselves into close ballgames with opportunities to win has been the biggest takeaway for me.

“The guys have not gotten down on themselves. Their shoulders don’t sink, and their chins don’t fall into their chest. No matter what happens, they just keep bouncing back and trying to find ways to win.”

Cassville faced East Newton on Tuesday, with the result not available at presstime and hosts Aurora Thursday. Beeson said the focus remains on maintaining momentum.

“We’re just going to keep doing what we’ve been doing and building on the good momentum and good baseball that we’ve been playing,” he said. “Right now, conference is kind of up for grabs. I think everybody has at least one loss, so nobody’s out of it yet.”

Several players have stepped into larger roles this season, including a group of freshmen.

“We’ve had a couple of freshmen starting for us the last four or five games,” Beeson said. “Spencer Drollinger, Kellen Weldy and Bodie Hodge have stepped up and taken some really good at-bats. They have good speed and are pretty good in the outfield defensively. They’ve really helped shore things up for us.”

Veteran contributors and pitchers have also made an impact.

“Easton Hughes was always going to do what he does, and Masin Bryan has been pretty good overall and cleaned some things up at shortstop defensively,” Beeson said. “Tyler Matthew and Jaren Stearns have kind of surprised me on the mound. They get up there and throw strikes and force the other team to beat them.”

Beeson also noted additional contributors.

“Grant Varner and Lawton England have done surprisingly well in the field on defense and have made it really hard for me to take their bats out of the lineup,” Beeson said. “Logan Williams has turned things around on the mound and had a really good outing Saturday at Pleasant Hill.”

As the season progresses, Beeson said the team’s collective approach has been key.

“Overall, the entire team has really bought into a team concept,” he said. “No matter what your role is, the most important thing is trying to help the team find ways to win. Whether you’re running bases or called upon to lay a bunt down, they’re really starting to buy into the concept of whatever your role is, find the best way that you can to help the team win. That should be what matters most.”