The Southwest baseball team will rely on its pitching to produce another winning season, hoping to stay healthy and make a run more district hardware for Trojans athletics this year.

Derek Mann, Southwest baseball coach, said the Trojans were hit hard by injuries at the start of last season, going 1-9 in their first 10 but finishing 13-11 overall.

This year, Southwest is off to a 4-5 start, with four seniors taking on leadership of the squad.

“Senior Brendyn Paulsen is our ace on the mound and one of our big bats in the middle of the lineup,” Mann said. “He gives us a chance to win every game he pitches, and teams really have to gameplan for him at the plate. Senior Charlie ‘Chuck’ Pippin is our No. 2 on the mound. He gives us a chance to win every time he is on the mound. He also is a big leader for our team. He helps the team get through the ups and downs of a game/ season. He is a lead by example kind of guy that every team needs.

“Senior Caleb Ayer is a wonderful player to have as he can play multiple positions on the field. He also is a great bullpen arm to change speeds. At the plate he is a scraper that draws a lot of walks and then steals bases. Senior Braden Garcia is a good middle/top of our lineup bat. He was hurt a lot last spring and never got quite right. He will be one of our top outfielders and a good bullpen arm.” Paulsen was 2-1 last season with a 1.50 ERA. At the plate, he led the team in hits 23, adding 18 RBI and a .348 batting average.

“I didn’t know what to expect this year having to have the younger guys step up,” Paulsen said. “As the fall went on, these guys really started to prove themselves. If they can carry that over into this spring, great things will happen with this team.”

Pippin was 4-2 on the mound with a 3.80 ERA. He tallied 13 hits and 20 RBI.

“Starting the yearm I was uncertain how the year would go with younger players having to step up,” Pippin said. “However, after our success in the fall I am very excited for the spring season.”

Junior Tristan Morgan is another big threat at the plate, getting 17 hits and leading the team with 22 RBI in 2023. Morgan also went 3-2 on the mound with a 4.8 ERA.

Adding depth on the mound is a sophomore, Logan Gregory.

“He is dominant on the mound and pitches in a lot of big games for us,” Mann said. “Logan’s best pitch is his changeup and he gets a lot of swings and misses from it. Behind the plate, junior Tyler Meek will catch 98% of our innings.”

Mann said pitching will be the Trojans’ biggest strength this season, with a deep rotation and bullpen.

“I believe we have 3 guys that can beat any team we play this spring and a bullpen that compliments each other well,” Mann said. “We have a lot of games on our schedule and even though we are deep in pitching our depth could be tested some weeks. Another strength we have as a team is just our overall depth. Last spring, and even this fall, we have dealt with quite a few injuries, so it allowed some guys to get playing time and succeed when they probably wouldn’t have gotten those chances.”

Consistency at the plate, however, is an area the Trojans will have to work on thi season.

“We struggle with guys being able to produce on a consistent level,” Mann said. “We improved on that a bit this fall with some guys, but I would like to see more consistency through our whole lineup. Our lineup is very capable of this, and if we can improve on this, we should have a lineup 1-9 that no one sees as an easy out.”

After starting 2023 with only one win in the first 10, Mann said if the Trojans face any similar adversity this season, they find their way past it quickly.

“This year, I would like for this team to show grit,” he said. “Last year, we had an early slide due to some injuries and found our way late. So this year, I would love for us to show some toughness if things aren’t going our way and just leave everything we have on the field day in and day out. I want us to be tough outs up and down the lineup.”

Mann said the team’s potential can be realized, as the Trojans stack up well in the conference and district.

“We are one of the top teams in our Conference, but there are a lot of good teams in it, and we will have to play well to be able to come out on top,” Mann said. “When it comes to postseason, I think we have a team that is built to make a good run, but again, we will have to play well day in and day out when we start seeing every team’s best. We have a tough schedule with conference and district opponents, but also playing schools above our class. I expect us to compete in every game we play in from the first pitch to the last.”

Key conference matchups include Galena, Purdy and Blue Eye, with Mann saying all have a chance to win the conference.

“All of us have guys that shut down opposing offenses and are fun games to play in,” Mann said. “District-wise I believe our district will have a bit of a shake up from prior years, but Lamar would be the big match-up, as they won it last year. And, if East Newton is in our district again, that is another tough opponent. We had a pretty successful fall season and I am looking forward to building on that. We had some key injuries this past fall and still managed to go 17-9. We will get those players back healthy and I believe we can play even better.

“When we play team baseball, we are a dangerous team. We have to worry about ourselves only and do our jobs on the field. Avoiding the emotional roller coaster involved in the game is a must for us as well and keep a level head during the highs and lows involved in a game or throughout the season.”

Southwest’s next contest is Thursday at home against Exeter.