Page 6 - TL Diamond Roundup March 2017

6TT
SUNDAY, MARCH 19, 2017
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TRI-LAKES EDITION OF THE ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE BASEBALL & SOFTBALL REVIEW
BRYANT HORNETS
HORNETS continued from 4TT
Queck, who has been an assistant under Bock
for all but one of those state championships, said Bryant has only two starters coming back from last year.
“I am concerned with our experience, defi- nitely,” Queck said, “but our program is set up for guys to understand what we are expecting and our demands.
“These kids know how to play the game and
what we expect from them. It is just getting them in there and see how they react to situations.”
Returning for Bryant is senior Beaux Bonvillain, who plays outfield and pitches in the No. 1 slot for the Hornets. Also returning this season is senior utility player and pitcher Seth Tucker.
“Bonvillain signed with [the University of Central Arkansas in Conway] and is really our most experienced starter,” Queck said. “He threw well this summer in Legion and threw well last year when we needed him.
“He didn’t quite see the number of innings that, obviously, I would have liked him to, but in those he did, he did really well.”
Queck said Tucker’s athleticism allows him to change his arm angles, which creates movement and deception.
“That’s the name of the game,” the coach said, “finding ways to get outs.”
Also in the rotation will be juniors Coby Greiner and Will McEntire.
“If they can compete around the plate, our defense is going to be solid enough to make the plays,” Queck said.
He said Logan Grant had Tommy John sur- gery last year but is expected to return this season.
“He will be just another weapon in our arsenal,” Queck said.
Bryant’s season is already underway, with the team defeating Lake Hamilton in a benefit game Feb. 23 and Arkadelphia in the season opener Feb. 27.
“We will get to see the nine, 10, 12 guys that could be factoring in,” Queck said. “Of course, there are always those outliers who could factor in at times as well.”
Possible starters for Bryant include sopho- more Jake Wright at catcher, sophomore Logan Chambers at first base, senior Matthew Sandage in center, senior Cameron Cole in right, Greiner in left and junior Scott Schmidt in the infield.
“I’ve got a good idea of who is going to get the majority of the playing time,” Queck said. “There are a couple of positions that we still want some competition in.”
Either senior Konnor Clontz or sophomore Logan Catton will play third base for the Hornets. “We are always going to put the best defense on that field and try to figure out how to stop those runs — the guys who can make those routine plays and occasionally come up with those highlight reels,” Queck said. “I don’t want to make any excuses.
These guys know how to play the game.”
BRYANT LADY HORNETS
LADY HORNETS continued from 5TT Dreher said Bryant had a tough schedule last
year and said it will be even tougher this year.
“I think by the time state comes, I think they will be used to that level of intensity,” Dreher said. Bryant has already played three games so far this season and was undefeated after knocking off
Sheridan, Benton and White Hall.
“Defense is something we struggled with last
year, both the physical and mental errors,” Dreher said. “We are working on the mental part, but we have work to do as far as the physical mistakes.”
Bryant has also worked a lot on base running and having better strategies as far as that goes.
She also said Bryant is working on its cutoff throws.
“We want to hold more trail runners than we did last year,” Dreher said. “Last year, it wasn’t that we necessarily missed our cutoff, but we would throw it to the wrong cut and let [the other team] get an extra base because of it.”
Goals for the Lady Hornets this season include sweeping Benton and beating Bentonville, and they want to hit better than .350 as a team.
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