Tears are often shed during graduation ceremonies. Choctaw County baseball coach Andy Young certainly had reason for getting misty eyes during his school graduation last year with all the diamond talent receiving diplomas.
The Chargers return only one starting position player – catcher Calvin Talley – from last year’s team that finished 14-8 and second in Region 4-3A. Among key players lost to graduation is Austin Telano, who led the Tigers in batting with a .500 average and was the most effective pitcher with a 4-1 record and 1.01 ERA.
The hope is that good defense and strong pitching will keep the Chargers in games. “I have five pitchers I’m going to depend upon heavily,” Young said. They are senior Dawson Jones, junior Landon Wells, sophomore Justin Jenkins, sophomore Zavier Coleman and freshman Richard Ricardo.
“We’re hoping they can kind of even things out for us and make it hard for the other team to score,” Young said. But he added “We don’t have a lot of pitching like we did last year. Last year I had 10 guys who could pitch for me.
“We’re going to have to limit our errors and limit the number of pitches our pitchers throw. We need to be really, really good defensively.”
Jones was in the starting rotation last year, going 3-3 with a 4.42 ERA. Wells was 2-0 before his season was cut short by a shoulder injury. He returns at 100 percent following labrum surgery.
Young has penciled in Jenkins as the third starter, joining Jones and Wells. “I have three solid arms.”
Jenkins will man centerfield when not on the mound and the other pitchers can expect to see action in the field when it isn’t there turn to pitch.
Other players who are counted on to step up as infielders or outfielder include senior Ques McNeil and sophomore Tylan Carter. “I’m not sure about a set lineup because so many of the kids are new,” Young said.
He said the key to success will be how well the younger players do, how they respond to the challenge of varsity ball. “There’s a big difference between playing in a JV game and moving up to play in a varsity game.”
Joining Choctaw County in 4-3A are defending champion Houston, South Pontotoc, Nettleton and Aberdeen. “I feel like anybody can beat anybody on any given night,” Young said.
Houston finished 23-9, 10-0 in region play, and reached the third round of the playoffs last year. Like Choctaw County, Houston suffered heavy graduation losses.
Young said Nettleton might have the region’s best player in Davis Oswalt. “And he‘s only a sophomore.”
The Chargers will kick off the season Saturday Feb. 16 against Louisville and Nanih Waiya in a jamboree at Louisville. A highlight last year was an 11-10 victory over Nanih Waiya, one of only two losses the Warriors suffered while repeating as 1A state champions.
Choctaw County will host classic games with Winona and Eupora Feb. 19.
