Observations from the first week of Boone County high school baseball
It's springtime in Boone County. That means it's time to fill up the diamonds with top-rated players and reigning state champions.
Father Tolton and Southern Boone have titles to defend, while others aim for success in 2023.
Here are some observations from the first week of prep baseball play in Boone County.
On the early offensive
What's that saying? The best defense is a good offense?
Even if that's supposed to be the other way around, don't tell Boone County schools that. So far, teams county-wide have scored 20 runs, 15 runs and 12 runs in wins in the first full week of the season.
The best of these teams has been Rock Bridge. The Bruins haven't scored less than 14 runs in their first three games, scoring 15, 15 and 14 runs in those games. This includes a nine-inning, 33-run game between Rock Bridge and Republic that Republic won by an absurd 18-15 score.
Tolton isn't far behind, scoring 15 runs in a blowout win over St. Mary's. However, that's almost expected from a Tolton team that won a state title last year and returned nearly every starter from last year's championship run, including Lucas Wietholder, a 2022 All-State player as a freshman.
Battle, which struggled on offense at times last season, scored 12 and nine runs in two wins this past week.
Still, the best overall performance was Hallsville's explosion against Bowling Green. Hallsville won 20-8.
Class 4 is stacked
The Missouri High School Baseball Coaches Association's first rankings of 2023 for Class 4 is rather telling.
Ranked first is Southern Boone, the reigning Class 4 champions. Three spots below is another reigning champion: Father Tolton. Tolton moved up to Class 4 after winning the Class 3 championship in 2022.
Both have the talent for lengthy state runs this year, too.
Carter Salter, Ryker Zimmerman, Chase Morris and Austin Evans return for the Eagles; while Tolton returns virtually its entire starting lineup from last year's state championship team. Wietholder, Connor Ryan, Jake Ryan, Justus Martin, Connor Head, Cameron Lee and Jacob Hoernschemeyer are all players who could likely start for most teams in the state.
That the MHSBCA ranked both Tolton and Southern Boone in the top five of its first ranking shows the association already has a high opinion of what these Boone County teams could be in 2023.
Tolton already won its first game of the year, a 15-1 romp over Class 5 St. Mary's. Coach Ehrich Chick can go from a rising star in the coaching ranks to a consistent winner with this 'Blazers team.
The Eagles won their season-opening game 5-2 over Eldon. Southern Boone might have more pieces to replace, but head coach Brian Ash is a winner. It's hard to count out Ash's ability to build teams and coach them to success.
The best part about these two: Tolton and Southern Boone play each other on May 11. That could potentially be a precursor for a playoff matchup between the two.
Stars can still seize the spotlight
Hickman has Braden Hemmer. Rock Bridge has Ty Thompson. Battle has Tyler Putnam.
These are just a few names to watch early on this season for inner-Columbia teams, especially as each brings their own repertoire.
Putnam is a newer name on the block, but he deserves his spotlight regardless. He recorded his first high school hit in incredible fashion, demolishing a Lutheran St. Charles pitch for a grand slam in the Spartans' win.
Hemmer is a bonafide senior star. He's a dynamic pitcher, patrols the infield well and has one of the biggest bats in the county. He's leading a Hickman team that has plenty of college-level talent.
Thompson is coming off a freshman season where he committed to Tennessee before the spring even began. He parlayed that into an impressive year where he hit and pitched at a high level that puts him in the driver's seat as one of the best players county-wide as a sophomore.
And who knows, there are plenty of others who can showcase their talents when the calendar turns to April.
This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: Observations from the first week of Boone County high school baseball
