Baseball Preview
The Bridge City Cardinals competed well last season. The Cardinals made the post season, but ran into a very good Sweeney team in the second round of the playoffs. The Bulldogs eliminated Bridge City and eventually advanced to the state finals.
Coach Chad Landry has a core of key players for the Cardinals returning this season. Six starters are included in the players Bridge City returns. This year’s squad will be an experienced group.
Included in the main six are Jackson Tims and Logan Hamm who are expected to be leaders in the field and with the bat. Peyton Havard will be the primary arm on the mound for the Cardinals’ pitching staff.
Other Cardinals that will be key contributors are Cameron Yadon, Slade Foreman, and Tanner Wilson. “Those guys have played a lot of games together. It’s been a fun start for us because there’s not a whole lot of new stuff that we’re going with they are just getting after it every day and it’s been fun so far,” Landry said.
Building depth around that nucleus of lettermen is Landry’s biggest task in the scrimmages and preseason games for Bridge City. The coach does not know yet who will fill the holes in the Cardinals’ lineup caused by graduation.
There are some young talented guys who are trying to win a spot on the varsity. Landry has played the newcomers in the scrimmages, but will need to see them play in real game conditions for him to know how they will react in critical situations.
The younger Cardinals will get more opportunities to show Landry what they can do in the remaining scrimmages and the early non-district games. Landry indicated, “There’s a good mix of solid senior players sprinkled in with young guys that should help us get over the hump.”
The Cardinals should be good with the bats and on the bases this season according to Coach Landry. Bridge City has a wealth of players that can run to go with a solid group of hitters that will put the ball into play. The key for Landry is the Cardinals putting pressure on the opposing defense as much as they can and that includes executing with the bats and on the basepaths.
There are some Cardinals that can leave the yard with the long ball. Landry does not like to label his players as power hitters or as slap hitters. He just wants them to perform and put pressure on the opposition.
A Cardinal who has had a good start with the bat is Foreman. “He’s made huge gains in the weight room physically, mentally it just seems like he’s squaring up with baseballs a lot,” Landry stated.
Bridge City returns its ace on the hill for this season. Landry analyzed the Cardinals’ pitching starting with Peyton Havard. Landry praised the work Havard has done as a great job in his career at Bridge City. He is approaching 300 strikeouts which has only been done by two other Cardinal pitchers Chase Shugart and Kevin Angell.
More pitchers than just an ace are needed in the tough district in which Bridge City plays. Sam Carpenter has stepped up to be in the rotation. Jaxon Luna has made a jump and is being tagged to throw a lot of innings out of the bullpen for the Cardinals.
There are some younger guys that Coach Landry wants to see what they can do and what they cannot do to figure out where they fit in the pitching staff. Landry evaluated, “We need four or five more guys to step up and see how well they compete because this district is tough, you’re going to need a bunch of arms.”
Another season usually means another district championship for the perennially strong Cardinal baseball team. The mindset has been changed for this season at Bridge City as Landry is focusing on not any large goals, but mainly emphasizing the game that is being played that day.
Coach Landry gives his expectations for this year’s Cardinals. “We’re not even worried about any big goals or anything six weeks down the road or twelve weeks down the road, we’re mainly just worried about the game that were playing today. I think that’s going to help us just be the best we can be, best player we can be, best teammate we can be, and it should work out. I think that we’re going to win a little bit more than we lose, I just hope it all comes together for us,” Landry concluded.
-Dan Perrine, KOGT-
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