New Bobcat baseball coach Tim Erickson comes to Orangefield after six seasons with Hardin-Jefferson. Erickson takes over a Bobcat program that only graduated one senior and has lots of players returning for this year.
Experience should be a strong point for Orangefield with all the Bobcats that played on the varsity last year and even before that. Topping the list is a trio of excellent players. Mack Patterson only played in 10 games last year because of surgery, but his talent is clearly visible and his impact will be felt for hopefully the whole season. Dylan Anthony is expected to be a positive factor at the plate. Sophomore Johnny Armstrong hit .330 as a freshman and should build on his numbers this season. Erickson stated, “I think those three guys are the ones that should kind of lead us.”
In his first year at Orangefield, Coach Erickson is still evaluating his overall talent, but he does have at least one new face that will probably be in the regular lineup. Moving into Orangefield from Lake Charles is Ryon Stubblefield. Erickson saw him play in the fall and was impressed with Stubblefield as a ball player. He can pitch, play middle infield, and swings the bat real well. “That’s going to be a new face that’s really going to contribute this year.” Erickson reported.
Erickson is familiar with most of the Bobcats’ hitters having coached against them the last five years. He evaluated the Orangefield bats for the upcoming season. The coach observed that the Bobcats play small ball really well, and that will continue under his tutelage, but he wants to work them to have the mentality to really swing the bat. Erickson emphasized, “From top to bottom that’s something I’m looking forward to see if we can take that step into not just relying on all the small ball stuff all the time, but really be able to put a bunch of runs on the board whenever we can.”
The Bobcats have lots of pitching experience that Coach Erickson is working to mold into an effective staff. He has been working since November with his pitchers to get control of the strike zone and polishing up a few things. Stubblefield will probably be Orangefield’s go to guy. Armstrong, Patterson, and Anthony will all get a good number of innings. Erickson lamented that he will not get the services of Mason Gonzales and Payton Lathrop until the finish of the basketball season. Gonzales pitched some good innings as a freshman last year, and Lathrop gives the Bobcats a lefty who pitched well in the fall.
Having coached against every team in the district while at Hardin-Jefferson, Erickson knows how tough it will be for the Orangefield Bobcats to make the postseason. Three teams in District 22 are in the state’s top twenty as the season starts. Every district game will be a battle. Erickson outlines the team’s goals, “Hopefully we can be polished up moving into district, that’s my number one goal before we start talking about district championships, so that once we get into the district season we’re playing the best possible baseball we can play. That’s the first step and then once we get into district that’s what we’re trying to do, win a district championship.”
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