Cassville baseball wraps up season at 8-20

By Kyle Troutman [email protected]

Wrapping up the season at 8-20, Cassville Baseball Coach Simon Beeson said his squad showed great flashes this season as they laid a foundation for campaigns to come.

The Wildcats’ season ended in the first round of the Class 4, District 12 Tournament with a 6-5 loss to East Newton.

Beeson said throughout the year, he saw many strides forward, but also recognized areas still needing attention.

“I think we saw a lot of positives that laid a solid foundation for us to continue building on, but we definitely saw a lot of things that we need to continue to improve upon as well,” he said. “I think overall, it just goes to show how much harder we have to work throughout the offseason to get where we want to be moving forward.”

Beeson said improvement on the mound was noticeable, as Wildcats pitchers were throwing more strikes and forcing batters to put the ball in play.

“Granted, we started the year with several injuries to guys who we thought would eat up a lot of innings for us on the mound, and unfortunately, it didn’t happen,” he said. “But, we’re not losing many players as we move forward, and we’ll be able to get those guys healthy during the offseason and hopefully be able to lean on them more next season.”

When that time comes, ho the Wildcats perform at the plate will be a key focus.

“[Areas we hope to improve include] approaches at the plate, particularly two-strike approaches, and cutting down on strikeouts,” he said.

One game where it came together was the rivalry contest against Barry County foe Monett, with the Wildcats turning out a 4-2 result at home.

“The Monett game was a big game for us,” Beeson said. “It’s always fun beating your rivals and seeing the guys be excited and pumped up that way. Coach Michael Calhoun’s a great guy and great coach, and Monett’s a solid team, so that was definitely a big win for us.”

Cassville graduates four seniors in Colton Roark, Tucker McCorkle, Logan Williams and Jadon Castleberry. Roark, Beeson said, played a significant role for the team as catcher.

“[Colton’s] unmatched energy and excitement in the dugout all year long, and his incredible athleticism and presence behind the plate, will be missed,” Beeson said. 

Returning nearly all its starters, Beeson said commitment to improvement is what’s next.

“[Our underclassmen will bring back] a lot of athleticism and desire to work hard and get better every day,” he said. “They learned a lot this year from our upperclassmen, and I believe all of our players will come in to next year with a fire in their bellies to make everything a competition during everyday routines.

“We just have to continue to focus and improve on our character development skills, which will, in turn, help us develop and improve on our daily processes to help us find the success we desire.”

Beeson said ultimately, it’s good to have goals and that desire to win more games, but the game is about more than the results.

“I prefer to focus on developing the right character skills and the proper process it takes to achieve and obtain any goals we might decide to lay out for ourselves,” he said.

Three Wildcats earned All-Big 8 awards this season. They included: Masin Bryan, Second Team infield; Easton Hughes; Honorable Mention infield; and Roark, Honorable Mention DP/DH.