An era in baseball at Little Cypress-Mauriceville came to an end last year with the retirement of longtime coach Steve Griffith. Moving up to be the head baseball coach for the Battlin’ Bears baseball is Hunter Hagler who served as an assistant coach with Griffith.
Coach Hagler returns several Bears that are now seniors and juniors. Topping the list of lettermen is senior Hunter Perkins a leader on the team. He plays third base and pitches. Perkins is good with the glove and the bat for LC-M.
Another senior coming back is Ty Moreland who will catch. Moreland is a vocal leader for the Bears. Hagler tabbed him as a player that helps build a solid foundation for the team.
Brett Burrows will be in centerfield and hit in the middle of the batting order. He is great in the field with his range tracking down fly balls and swings a high caliber bat.
Among the juniors back for Little Cypress-Mauriceville is Anthony Bandiero who has been a starter since he was a freshman. Bandiero will bat in the all-important three-hole in the lineup while playing first base, in the outfield, and pitching.
Austin Smith will be the Bears’ shortstop. “Solid leader, solid foundation player, that will hit in the middle of that order for us,” Hagler praised.
There are some younger Bears that Hagler will play this season for Little Cypress-Mauriceville. One of the Bears that was on the varsity last season that will play a more significant role is Zach Krummel at a corner outfield position and at second base.
Moving up to the varsity is Zach McNeil who will bat in the middle of the Bears’ batting order. McNeil can play in the infield, in the outfield, and will pitch. Jody Ray is coming up to pitch for Little Cypress-Mauriceville. Reid Peco and Gage Griffith are two sophomores that will see playing time.
Another youngster expected by Hagler to see more playing time is freshman Dean Reynolds. He will play first and third base as well as time in the outfield. Hagler added, “He’ll pitch a little bit for us as well.”
Coach Hagler evaluated the hitters he has at Little Cypress-Mauriceville. Perkins is a solid hitter and is expected to be an important hitter for the Bears. A player that can handle the bat well is Moreland and will be called on to do a lot of team situational hitting.
Swinging a solid a big bat since his freshman year, Bandiero is being counted on to provide some pop for the Bears’ batting order. McNeil is another hitter that can swing the bat really well.
Smith and Burrows add depth to the Bears with the bat. “We’ve got a lot of guys that can do a lot of different things as far as power, team skills, running the bases, and getting around the bases. We have a lot of guys that can potentially work out really well for us this year,” Hagler stated.
Pitching is always important in baseball, and Hagler analyzed the arms that will throw for LC-M. The two main guys in Coach Hagler’s mind after the scrimmages are Perkins and Bandiero. Things could change because of different circumstances, but those two should be the pitchers the coach rolls out to the mound especially when the district starts.
Pitchers following up behind the two primary starters are McNeil, Peco, Griffith, Reynolds, and Ray. Ashton Landry is another arm that will throw for the Bears. Hagler responded, “We’ve got an abundance of arms that I think we can run out there confidently and not feel like we’re losing too much of a step.”
In his first year as the head of Little Cypress-Mauriceville baseball Coach Hagler gave his expectations for the Bears this season as taking it day-by-day, pitch-by-pitch, inning-by-inning, game-by-game. His philosophy is every day is a new day, and treat it that way by not dwelling on mistakes, but correcting them in the future.
The new coach believes he has a lot Bears that like the grind a little bit. “I think we’re in a good spot to hopefully see some success this year, throughout this year,” Hagler concluded.
-Dan Perrine, KOGT-
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