Baseball Lions seek another special season
The Mansfield Lions’ baseball team had won seven of eight contests this past fall before finishing that season at .500 with a 7-7 record.
This came on the heals of a spring season in which the Lions went 22-4 before falling to Bakersfield in districts.
As for most baseball teams, pitching will be the key to the Lions’ season.
Mansfield Head Coach Joe Garrison’s pitching rotation had a combined 2.70 ERA in the fall.
The staff features All-State honorable mention selection Charlie Grubbs, who was 6-1 last spring with a 1.09 ERA.
“Charlie is a left-handed pitcher that commands the zone with a very competitive nature that drives him to be our best,” Coach Garrison noted.
Other pitchers include junior Bryston Kingery (2B, P), sophomore Fisher Croney (P), sophomore Brayden Stuart (P) and sophomore Aiden Garrison.
“I expect this group to get better as the season progresses, gaining experience on the varsity level,” Coach Garrison said. “Each of them approach hitters in very different ways and their diverse approaches should prove to be effective.”
Offensively, the goal is to become a run producing team with the goal of not leaving runners on base as they did in the fall.
“We are looking to focus on our mental approach to all aspects of the game,” Coach Garrison said.
Overall, the key returners are All-Summit Conference players Blake Henry (senior), Braden Tate (senior), Bryston Kingery (junior) and Grubbs (senior).
Newcomers to make an impact include senior Riley Pierson; junior John Roberts; sophomores Aiden Garrison, Cole Whorton, Brayden Stuart and Fisher Croney; and freshmen, Parker Moody and Easton Thompson.
Season opener
In the season opener against Willow Springs, the Lions scored the go-ahead run in the bottom of the sixth inning on Croney’s RBI single that scored Aiden Garrison for a 3-2 win.
Grubbs had two RBIs; Croney had one RBI; Tate scored twice; and Aiden Garrison scored one run.
On the mound, Croney tossed four innings and gave up two earned runs on two hits with five strikeouts and two walks. Grubbs tossed two scoreless innings and gave up one hit with five strikeouts and one walk. Stuart tossed a scoreless inning of work and had two strikeouts.