FORTVILLE — There was a little more comfort when the Mt. Vernon Marauders began getting ready for the 2019 baseball season.
The 2018 squad was filled with freshmen, sophomores and other first-time varsity players. Youthful as they were, the team still was able to finish 16-12 and reach the sectional championship game.
Expectations for 2019 will be different. The 2018 season can be chalked up as a learning experience.
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“I feel like we have a lot more guys that are experienced and now have a couple years on varsity,” senior outfielder/pitcher Dylan Cole said. “I feel like that is going to help us a lot going into the season.
“It puts you at ease. You have seen the faster pitching and you have seen the pace of the game. It makes it easier. Your first year on varsity you have some butterflies and it helps being able to be relaxed now that you have been there before.”
The team is still young, too. Many of those that received ample time in 2018 are still just sophomores and juniors.
“We were a really young team last year and I think we are finally going to get over the hump and be a contender against anybody,” senior outfielder Thomas Obergfell said. “We had a bunch of guys that were younger that are now junior and sophomores and are a lot bigger and stronger and just a lot better.”
Cole, Obergfell and all-county catcher Sam McCarty are the only veteran seniors, but the team returns 13 players that were regulars or part-timers from a year ago.
“We need the young guys that got experience last year to build on that and really mature as ballplayers,” fifth-year coach Ryan Carr said. “Hopefully, getting so many young guys experience last year is going to help us.”
McCarty is the veteran of the group. He earned his all-county spot by hitting .337 a year ago. He only fanned three times and had six extra base hits and eight stolen bases.
You can’t underscore his worth behind the plate, either. He handled pitch-calling duties and that expertise behind the plate will be crucial again in 2019.
The one spot where the Marauders have not logged a lot of time is on the mound. The team’s top two pitchers, Caleb Rush (6-5, 2.43 ERA, 59 K, 51.2 IP) and Cole Cain (3-4, 2.80, 37 K, 40 IP), have graduated.
Carr believes the 2019 staff is very talented. It just isn’t as established at the varsity level.
A.J. Swingle, the team’s only left-hander, Eli Clodfelter and Payton Bovard are the most experienced returnees and all three are sophomores. Swingle threw 29 innings and went 2-1 with a 2.65 earned run average. Carr said Clodfelter has the stuff to be the Marauders No. 1. He went 2-0 a year ago with a 5.52 ERA in 12.2 innings. Bovard was 1-0 and threw 17 innings.
Carr expects more help on the hill from Cole, who had one save last season, freshman Landon Clark, and a pair of juniors he describes as inning-eaters, Matt Lood and Will Nelson, will also add to the staff’s depth.
No group will be more veteran than the outfield. Along with seniors Cole and Obergfell, in left and center, respectively, sophomore Jake Stank will man the spot in right field. Stank hit .329 as a freshman and led the Marauders with 25 RBI.
In the infield, Jake Stadler moves in at first base. He missed some of last season with an injury and was the backup to now-graduated starter Jaden Cappelletti (.388). Juniors Jackson Dunlavy (second base) and Nolan Bowser (shortstop) handle the middle. Bowser was the team’s co-leader in batting average last year, hitting at a .400 clip. Sophomore Hunter Dobbins is at third base. Bovard, who hit .367 with three doubles, can also play third base.
Juniors Shaun Shipley, in the infield, and Austin Sumner, in the outfield, will add depth to their spots. Both can play multiple positions. Sumner will also see time on the field as a pinch-runner.
Along with maturing, Carr hopes his club can stay healthy. Stadler missed time last year. Graduated designated hitter Dino Tharp, missed time with an injury, and still hit. 400.
The biggest loss, though, may have been shortstop Mason Montgomery.
Montgomery was well on his way to having an all-conference season when a back injury put him on the shelf after just 13 games. He is still out and his return to the Marauders lineup is unknown.
“Staying healthy is a big deal,” Carr said. “We need to stay away from the injury bug and we need to have the guys that played last year learn good lessons.”
The schedule will be challenging, too. The Marauders went 6-8 in a very strong Hoosier Heritage Conference, a league that both Carr and players say will be as strong or stronger this season. Defending state champion Fishers is also on the slate.
“We have to be ready every night. The schedule is ripe with opportunity,” Carr said. “You get to go out every night and play the best teams in the state. I think that is pretty exciting.”
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Mt. Vernon Marauders
Coach: Ryan Carr (fifth year)
Last season: 16-12, 6-8 HHC; lost 11-4 to Pendleton Heights in 4A sectional championship.
Key returnees: C Sam McCarty (.481, 13 RBI, 10 SB), SS Nolan Bowser (.400, 10 RBI), RF Jake Stank (.329, 25 RBI), CF Thomas Obergfell (.278, 12 RBI), LF/P Dylan Cole (.262, 10 RBI, 1-0, 1 SV, 2.62 ERA), P/3B Payton Bovard (.367, 1-0, 3.70), P Eli Clotfelter (2-0, 5.52), P A.J. Swingle (2-1, 2.65, 29 IP)
Top newcomers: P Matt Lood, P Will Nelson, P Landon Clark, IF Shaun Shipley.
Outlook: The Marauders were very young in 2018, so coach Ryan Carr and team are hopeful a year of experience at the varsity level will pay dividends for the 2019 season. The big question will be on the mound. Last year’s 1-2 punch of Caleb Rush and Cole Cain have graduated. A less established, but very talented group of pitchers will be counted on to fill their shoes.
Notable: Shortstop Mason Montgomery looked to be on his way to an all-conference season before a back injury put him on the shelf for the remainder of the 2018 campaign. If Montgomery is able to return in 2019, his contributions will be a huge lift to the lineup.
Schedule
Date;Opponent;Time
March 30;at Lawrence North;11:00 a.m.
Apr. 2;at Southport;6:00 p.m.
Apr. 5;Delta (DH);5:30 p.m.
Apr. 9;Westfield;6:00 p.m.
Apr. 12;at Shelbyville (DH);5:30 p.m.
Apr. 15;at Beech Grove;5:30 p.m.
Apr. 16;Fishers;6:00 p.m.
Apr. 19;at New Palestine (DH);5:30 p.m.
Apr. 22;at Anderson;6:00 p.m.
Apr. 23;Hamilton Southeastern;5:30 p.m.
Apr. 26;Pendleton Heights (DH);5:30 p.m.
Apr. 29;at Guerin Catholic;6:00 p.m.
May 2;at Muncie Central;5:30 p.m.
May 3;New Castle (DH);5:30 p.m.
May 6;Herron;6:00 p.m.
May 7;Cathedral;6:00 p.m.
May 10;at Greenfield-Central;5:30 p.m.
May 13;at Carmel;6:00 p.m.
May 15;at Connersville;6:00 p.m.
May 17;Yorktown (DH);5:30 p.m.
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