Tigers baseball unbeaten early

Saturday, April 3, 2021
Nevada High School senior catcher Blake Pryor unwinds a throw to first as the Tigers bench looks on during a win against Carthage this past week. Nevada needed extra innings in that one but improved to 5-0 on the season.
File Photo by Hank Layton | Daily Mail Sports Reporter

Although not all the games have been pretty, the Nevada High School baseball team is perfect so far the season.

The Tigers cruised through the Stockton Tournament with wins (including two shutouts) over New Covenant Academy, Stockton, and Butler, before being challenged by — but eventually overcoming — Smith-Cotton and Carthage at Lyons Stadium.

They put up double-digit runs in three of those five games, but also stranded several runners and committed a few errors on defense.

One look at the roster tells you why the Tigers have been able to overcome those mistakes, at least through the first five games of the season.

Nevada’s lineup is absolutely loaded with pitching. Fourteen of the 17 rostered players on the roster have “P” listed as one of their positions.

So far, seniors Elijah Nadurata, Blake Pryor, and Drake Seaver have logged the majority of time on the mound, with junior Eli Cheaney and sophomore Case Sanderson also effectively eating up several innings.

Nadurata, who signed to play ball at North Central Missouri College, mans the outfield when he’s not pitching, while Pryor, who will join Nadurata at NCMC, is the team’s primary catcher — and has already gunned down several runners trying to steal on him.

Nevada will also look for big contributions (even more than it’s already received in five games) from juniors Cheaney, Asa Wilson, Kartman Highley, and Logan Marquardt (all of whom primarily play on the infield), as well as sophomores Sanderson and Cade Beshore (who play just about everywhere).

The Tigers already have two more wins than all of 2019, with their sights set on a Class 4 District 12 championship, which they last won in 2018.

In this year’s district bracket, Nevada could see the likes of Big 8 West rivals East Newton, Lamar, and Seneca, or Mt. Vernon from the Big 8 East — all of whom the Tigers will face at some point during the regular season.

In fact, NHS will get a look at Mt. Vernon in the opening round of the Bill O’Dell Tournament Monday in Carthage.

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