SE: K-State BSB Looks to Overcome Youth with Gritty Play in 2018 Season

SE: K-State BSB Looks to Overcome Youth with Gritty Play in 2018 Season

Feb 15, 2018 | Baseball, Sports Extra

By Corbin McGuire

Baseball slang is full of obscure terms, often consisting of skewed logic at face value. Being called "filthy" as a pitcher might be the only scenario it can be taken as a compliment.

Similarly, K-State baseball wants to embody a term only viewed as a positive on the field. The Wildcats want to play, as sophomore pitcher Kasey Ford said it, like a bunch of "dirt bags" this season, which starts Friday at Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.

"We have a lot of guys who are gritty, a lot of 'dirt bags' as we like to say," Ford said. "Hopefully we're a scrappy team this year."

Some scrappy play could go a long way in helping the Wildcats overcome a youthful roster. K-State's features a combined 19 freshmen and sophomores, compared to 12 juniors and seniors.

"We do have some youth and we'll make some youthful mistakes, but we bring some youthful energy, which is kind of fun to be around. Now it's just a matter of learning the game a little bit and reps," K-State head coach Brad Hill said, entering his 15^th season. "We need some games to get some repetitions, get some experience going."

Last season, K-State received key production out of some its youngest players.

Will Brennan and Cameron Thompson both earned Freshman All-America honors in 2017, each hitting over .300 and recording on-base percentages above .400. Ford, in six starts last season, posted a 3-1 record with a 2.73 ERA that included becoming the first Wildcat freshman to be named Big 12 Pitcher of the Week.

"You just have to get out there and play," Brennan said of overcoming youth. "We're young and bring a lot of energy. We don't have a lot of expectations, which is kind of a good thing. It kind of makes us play like there's nothing to lose, so just come out every day to the ballpark and give it everything you have and maybe something good will happen."

In other words, be a dirt bag.

"I feel like we'll be really scrappy this year," Thompson said. "If we just play the game of baseball the right way, things will just fall our way."

With only four position starters returning from a year ago, K-State looks to define roles in its 10-day, eight-game road trip to start the season.

In the outfield, Brennan returns to left after hitting a freshman school-record .350 in 2017. Seniors Kyle Barfield and Hanz Harker add experience to the outfield mix, collecting 54 starts between each other last season. Hill said junior transfer Drew Mount, coming off a season of hitting .333 with nine homers, 29 RBI, 39 runs scored, 11 stolen bases and 12 doubles for De Anza College in California, should also vie for a starting position.

Thompson, who started at center field last season, has moved back to his natural spot at shortstop to help fill an entirely new-look infield. Jake Biller and Trent McMaster saw some time in the infield last season, while a number of newcomers, such as freshman Brett Owen and junior Rainer Ausmus, should be factors as well.

Hill said catching duties to start the season would likely be a rotation between redshirt junior TK McWhertor, sophomore Connor Rule and freshman Jordan Maxson.

"We just need to go play," Hill said. "We have a couple of freshmen that are going to start, that have earned the right to start. Just like Cam and Will last year, those guys earned it. We have a couple who have earned that start but I also think we're going to play a lot of people because there's a lot of positions right now that are very equal, so we need to play a lot of games quickly to really sort some things out."

Regardless of how roles shake out, Hill said this team would need to utilize its speed more this season to make up for an expected drop in power. K-State lost more than 80 percent of its 51 home runs from last season.

"Hopefully we'll have a little more team speed but you're going to miss (Jake) Scudder," Hill said of last year's Second Team All-Big 12 first baseman, who hit 13 homers as a senior. "I think we have a little more team speed and maybe we can put a little more pressure on some guys. That's something we're going to have to work through and figure out what our team's going to be."

On the mound, Ford will start in K-State's season-opener against No. 20 South Alabama on Friday. Junior-transfer Gabe Littlejim will take the bump on Saturday vs. No. 23 Indiana, while senior Justin Heskett is slotted to start on Sunday against Coastal Carolina, the 2016 College World Series champions, in Conway, South Carolina. Back in Myrtle Beach, freshman Quinton Potter is set to start against Virginia Tech on Monday to close out K-State's four-game set in South Carolina.

The bullpen will include returners such as Tyler Eckberg, Jared Marolf, Brogan Heinen, Mitch Zubradt and Hudson Treu, as well as some newcomers. Like everywhere else, Hill said permanent roles would be defined as the season progresses.

"We're going to be on the road for 10 days, so it's a lot of action, a lot of games quickly where the learning can really take place," Hill said, as K-State will finish its road trip with four games — one at Elon and three at Old Dominion in Norfolk, Virginia. "The guys are obviously together a lot. I think that's a big deal when you start to develop team chemistry. We'll try to mix the older guys with younger guys for rooming assignments so those guys can talk and learn. There's a lot of things that happen on the road early that can be very beneficial for us."

K-State's home opener is scheduled for March 2, the start of a three-game set against La Salle.