Tigers return to diamond for Seneca jamboree

Friday, March 9, 2018
Nevada High senior Trent Ellis gets in a bullpen session during a recent practice at Lyons Stadium. Although Ellis is not a member of Danny Penn’s starting rotation, he could carve out a relief role.
Matt Resnick | Daily Mail

After a nearly 10-month off-season lay-off, the Nevada Tigers finally return to the diamond for today’s Seneca baseball jamoboree.

Nevada is slated for a pair of four inning scrimmages — first matching up with Neosho at 4:30 p.m., followed by a 6 p.m. clash with host Seneca.

“I’m both excited and anxious to see how we do,” said Nevada head coach, Danny Penn.

“Arms are typically ahead of bats, so I’m hopeful our pitching and defense show up,” added Penn. “I’m hopeful we swing it well — but if we don’t, I won’t be overly concerned as we still have time to get our bats warmed up.”

Penn said the jamboree is primarily used for player evaluation purposes, while also allowing his players to get reps at multiple positions.

“We’re not going to pay a lot of attention to the scoreboard,” explained Penn. “We’re more interested in getting guys reps at multiple positions they may play this year.”

The Tigers are led by versatile seniors Braeden Hinton and Branden Harder. Both Hinton and Harder have been varsity starters since their freshman campaigns in the spring of 2015.

Hinton enters the season as Nevada’s ace, while Harder is No. 2 in Penn’s rotation. In addition, Harder is Nevada’s starting shortstop, while Hinton sees time at the hot corner, as well as catcher.

“Pitching and defense are key,” summed up Penn. “At the high school level, good pitching and good defense will keep you in games until you’re able to scrape across some runs.”

It should also come as no surprise that Hinton and Harder will be relied upon heavily for their offensive abilities.

“I think our offense will be solid as long as we’re able to have the guys at the top of our lineup getting on base,” noted Penn.

The Tigers won five of their first seven contests to open last season, ultimately finishing 10-8 and with a first-round exit in the district tournament.

With a strong core of returning varsity starters, Penn said he is excited for the upcoming season. In addition to Hinton and Harder, other retuning seniors include infielders Jarrett Owen and Logan Armstrong.

“I have high expectations with the talented group of seniors returning,” said the sixth-year head coach. “We bring back lots of experience with multiples guys having two years of varsity experience under their belt.”

Added Penn: “We’ve got some younger guys who we see having potential to help us as they grow and mature as baseball players.”

Key losses from last year’s team include departed seniors Tyler Ketterman, Myles McNeley, and Payton Bright.

“Offensively, we feel we bring back a lot of guys with some thump in their swings,” said Penn. “Having guys on base for those hitters will be key for us. Losing Tyler, Myles and Payton subtracted a good deal of our team speed from last year. We have a couple of guys that we see as potential base-stealing threats, but that will be something we try to work on as the season progresses.”

Season opener

Nevada hosts West Central Conference foe Warrensburg, Monday, March 19. The first pitch is slated for 4:30 p.m.

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