Trojans tally trio of wins in first dozen games

By Kyle Troutman [email protected]

The Southwest baseball team is sporting a mix of returning experience and young talent, aiming to build consistency and compete in the postseason.

Five varsity lettermen returned to a squad, and Coach Derek Mann said on the mound, the Trojans will rely on a senior leader and a group of developing arms.

“Senior Logan Gregory will be our No. 1 on the mound,” Mann said. “He throws it very well and competes every time on the mound. He mixes his pitches very well with a very good arsenal that keeps hitters guessing. Sophomore Ayden Flippo throws from a different arm angle than the rest of our guys which gives him some more unusual movement on some pitches that hitters don’t see normally.”

“We also have sophomore Domenick Sierra, junior Jason Foster and sophomore Hunter Patterson that will see a lot of innings. Domenick throws it well with a good mix of pitches and could see some varsity starts. Hunter is our change of speed guy who throws it a little bit slower than the rest which keeps hitters off balance. Jason is our main guy out of the bullpen and will see a lot of innings.”

Behind the plate, multiple players are competing for the starting role.

“We will be looking at Gregory, junior Aiden Barnett or sophomore Dakota Cotton to fill that role,” Mann said.

Across the infield, Southwest returns a young but experienced group.

“First baseman is Sierra, at second is sophomore Lincoln Keates, at shortstop is Gregory and at third is senior Jason Foster,” Mann said. “Patterson will fill in a utility role.”

In the outfield, the Trojans will rely on underclassmen, with additional competition for playing time.

“Flippo is at left field, sophomore Hayden Wilson is at center field and sophomore Andy Day is at right field,” Mann said. “Patterson, Barnett and senior Wyatt Taft are also fighting to fill some time out there as well.”

Leadership will center around a veteran presence who has been a fixture in the program.

“Gregory is a four year starter for us in the infield and on the mound,” Mann said. “The guys look to him to set the tone day to day. He leads by example and keeps our guys level headed.”

Mann said one player has made notable strides heading into the season.

“Sierra has become a very reliable defensive first baseman and a middle of the order guy for us,” Mann said.

Defense and situational offense are expected to be strengths for the Trojans.

“Defensively we are a very strong team,” Mann said. “We have a lot of guys who know and play their positions very well. We also play very good team baseball on the offensive side getting guys on, getting them over and getting them in.”

Limiting strikeouts will be a key focus moving forward.

“One of our biggest struggles is strikeouts,” Mann said. “As a team, we strikeout way too much, and I would like us to put the ball in play more often to put more pressure on teams.”

Mann said the team’s identity will center on a collective approach at the plate.

“Our identity this year is going to be a team baseball identity,” Mann said. “We don’t have any guys who are going to go up there and hit a lot of home runs so we are going to rely on getting guys on, getting them over and getting them in any way possible.”

The Trojans enter the season with familiar goals.

“Expectations are always the same, we want to keep playing into late May and early June,” Mann said. “Also, I just want our boys to compete every day, leaving it all on the field while also having fun playing the game of baseball.”

Southwest also brings added depth compared to previous seasons.

“We are a young team, but we have a lot more depth this year than we have in the past, and I am excited to go through this season with this group of boys,” Mann said.

Mann enters his fourth season at Southwest and ninth overall as a head coach. He also approaches a milestone in his coaching career, 14 wins away from 100 career wins.

Southwest defeated Exeter, 5-2, on Thursday to move to 3-9 on the season. The Trojans next host New Heights Christian on Thursday at 5 p.m.