The table will be set this week for the 2008 Seymour Eagles baseball team as tryouts are held that will trim an impressive turnout of approximately 45 prospective players to an official roster number of around 30 (including both JV and varsity).
The Eagles’ veteran coaching staff faces the challenging task this week of piecing together a lineup that will be minus six players that graduated from last year’s state tournament team, including five standouts from the 2007 club that are currently playing at the college level.
The holes that Norman and staff will be trying to help fill this week are considerable, considering a large portion of the ’07 team’s total RBIs and more than half of last year’s team’s starting pitchers are now donning college uniforms.
Kyle Koeneman, who broke Seymour High School’s all-time home run record with a memorable run of late-season heroics in ’07, in now clearing the fences at Walters State. Cody Church, a top starting pitcher and heart-of-the-lineup hitter; Derek Sise, a steady corner infielder and proven clutch hitter; Chase Fellin, a reliable middle-infielder and smart baserunner; and Riley Finch, an acrobatic middle-infielder and a clubhouse favorite, are all four playing at Roane State this spring.
The upcoming version of the Eagles will not be devoid of talent though.
SHS head coach Scott Norman, entering his 9th season as the Eagles’ skipper, said he and his staff do indeed have a lot of work to do before the March 13 season-opener against Bearden, but judging from the off-season workouts and the level of participation in fall and winter conditioning, this year’s group could end up being just as special as last year’s school-record setting 31-win team.
“We had a really good off-season program,” Norman, who was named the 2007 TCBA Coach of the Year, stated. “We had 28 or 30 kids working hard during the off-season. That gives you a lot of confidence after losing six players from a team that made the state final four last year, including five of those players who are starting on a college team right now.”
Norman said he expects several sophomores, who helped last year’s junior varsity Eagles accomplish 23 wins against nine losses, to step it up a level and compete to fill some of the holes left from last year’s graduated class. The SHS coach said he anticipates as many as 14 freshmen to go through tryouts this week.
Whatever the makeup of the 2008 Eagles ends up being, Norman said he wouldn’t expect anything less of them if they were a lineup of all 9th graders.
“Gosh, every year we have huge expectations,” said Norman, who has helped guide the Eagles to three state tournament appearances in his nine total years as the SHS head coach.
“These guys work very hard. We have a lot of question marks (this year) but we’ve also got some guys returning with experience from last year’s team that won 31 games and hopefully we’ll have some young guys step up and contribute too.”
Among the players returning who played significant roles on last year’s run to the state semis are: senior catcher Wes Walker, who has already signed a four-year baseball scholarship to Tennessee Tech; senior outfielder/utility player Drew Fox, a rangy speedster blessed with enough athletic ability to play practically anywhere in the lineup; senior pitcher/infielder Todd Ogle, a heady player who was the starting quarterback on the school’s football team and brandishes the heart and leadership ability that coaches covet and younger players seek out in tough times; and senior pitcher Matt Lynam, a fiery competitor who was called on to perform on the pitcher’s mound (both as a starter and in relief) in several pressure-packed, do-or-die situations during last year’s SHS run to Murfreesboro.
Some other upper-classmen who figure to play prominent roles for the 2008 Eagles are: Andrew Escalonia, a senior transfer student from Florida with a strong baseball background, according to Norman; Spencer Smith, a senior who Norman said has nice all-around baseball skills and should wind up helping the 2008 squad; Fields Foust, a junior who was thrust into much playing time last year as a sophomore because of his live bat and athleticism.
Norman said the Eagles are also fortunate to have some quality sophomore pitchers set to make their marks this year on the varsity level after shining last year on the junior varsity squad.
With all the tradition and rising baseball talent at SHS, the Eagles’ best asset could very well be their veteran coaching staff.
Once again assisting Norman will be: Robert Curry, the Eagles’ varsity pitching coach and JV head coach who is entering his 10th season on the SHS staff; Daryle Randles, a former SHS player who is entering his fifth season as assistant JV coach, assistant varsity coach, and infield coach; Bruce Wilson, a former SHS head baseball coach (1979-1989,’02) who is entering his fifth season as an assistant to Norman, who will also serve in the roles of outfield coach and compliance administrator; and Matt Ballard, a former All-State SHS catcher who brings both knowledge and intensity to the program while working primarily with the team’s catchers.