Members of the Triad varsity baseball team are from left, front row, Wyatt Cole, Ayden Spriggs, Diego Hernandez, Logan Braun and Derek Bails; second row, Drue Instine, Gage Heitman, Michael Warner, Ty Thomas and Devin Bradley; third row, assistant coach Jason Meeker, head coach Jon Roberts and assistant coach Steve Bruce. (Journal-Tribune photo by Aleksei Pavloff)
Triad’s JV baseball squad is pictured from left, front row, Russell House, Brayden Hoffman, Reid Todhunter, Kyle Walborn, and Ty Miller; second row, Brant Bollack, Adler Perry, Alex Tackett, Karson Meeker and Hayden Beswick; third row, assistant coach Dylan Warner and head coach Seth Collier. (Journal-Tribune photo by Aleksei Pavloff)
As long as the team remains a unit, there is no telling how far Triad’s varsity baseball squad can go during the 2022 season.
The Cardinals ended the 2021 campaign with a 14-13 overall record. While hovering over .500, the team went on to lose nine seniors, who were the core of the unit, to graduation.
However, every day is a new day, and every moment is a new moment.
Coach Jon Roberts shared his thoughts on who the next starters would be.
Senior Logan Braun is set as the team’s next catcher with senior Derek Bails at third base, senior Ayden Spriggs at shortstop, senior Wyatt Cole at second base and junior Michael Warner at first base.
Junior Drue Instine, senior Diego Hernandez, junior Devin Bradley, junior Ty Thomas and sophomore Gage Heitman are designated to take the outfield.
In terms of who is on the hill, Spriggs, Cole, Thomas, Bails and Heitman are Roberts’ top five pitchers for the season.
“I am confident in the five guys I have listed as starters,” Roberts said. “They’ve come a long way.”
Heading into the season, Roberts said the team would go through some growing pains before it finds footing.
“We lost some team speed from last year,” Roberts said. “This year we have a little more pop at the plate.”
The head coach said the Cardinals struggled to get solid hits last season.
However, they boasted 153 team steals and Roberts is hoping to see more of that this time around as well, along with better hitting.
The team is young, and Roberts knows this. He only has four returning varsity players, making maturity a vital aspect of the team’s work this season.
The rest of the crew, however, are looking to get their feet wet in their first varsity season.
“With this young group, since I’ve been in the program for three years, we’ve been implementing a new style of training just to see where they’re at,” Roberts said, regarding the new varsity players on the team.
While Roberts is confident in his pitching staff, he noted the team may still have to play “small ball” in order to remain competitive in the Ohio Heritage Conference.
The head coach reiterated the keys the season will fall on how much the team matures in 2022.
“My juniors have to grow up a lot,” Roberts said. “Most of them all played junior varsity the last couple of years and they’re going to be the key this year. The seniors just need to lead.”
In the North Division of the OHC, Mechanicsburg is slated to be one of the tougher opponents, along with Northeastern and West Jefferson.
All three units show senior leadership and depth this year.
“I think Northeastern is loaded with seniors this year,” Roberts said.
If the Cardinals can find a way to jell, the coaching staff is confident they will be a force to not underestimate.
“We are a fundamentally defensive team,” Roberts said. “If you are going to beat us you are going to earn it.”
In his third year under the helm, Roberts stated that the culture has changed quite a bit since he first arrived.
“We pretty much have the guys working out year-round now,” Roberts said. “It’s nice when you get to see it all come together.”