Photos by Kevin Nagle and Rick Nation
“We’re a lot further along right now than we have been at any point of any season I’ve ever been associated with,” declared Bryant Hornets head baseball coach Kirk Bock as his team inched closer to the start of the 2014 season.
Trevor Ezell (Photo by Kevin Nagle)
The Hornets host an Arkansas Activities Association benefit game this Thursday at 5 p.m., against the Hot Springs Lakeside Rams. (The game was initially to be played on Tuesday but a conflict for Lakeside resulted in the delay.)
Bock’s statement is a weighty one considering his highly successful coaching career, which includes three State championships including two at Bryant.
Deep in talent and experience, the Hornets figure to once again be a contender for championships in the 7A/6A-South Conference and the Class 7A State tournament.
In years past, even those title seasons, the coach has gone into the season with question marks regarding his starting lineup that usually boiled down whether to play the better hitter or the better fielder in a given position. This year, he said, it’s different. Returning starters include pre-season All-America shortstop Trevor Ezell and his keystone sidekick Korey Thompson at second base (both already signed to play in college), along with senior catcher Trey Breeding and junior third baseman Brandan Warner. Also back is one of the Hornets’ two conference game starters in junior lefty Jason Hastings.
“We’ve got all of our infielders back with the exception of first base and we have one of those back in Hastings,” Bock acknowledged. “We’re replacing our outfielders but we’re replacing them with guys that got to play a lot last year. As far as pitching, they’re all back except one.”
Despite all of that, there’s competition at nearly every spot on the field, something that the head coach is excited about.
“Right now, Ezell and Korey have kind of secured up the middle, which is a good thing,” he said. “Tucker is kind of secured up centerfield. But, I tell you, it is a stinkin’ dogfight behind the dish between Breeding, (Dylan) Hurt and (C.J.) Phillips. It is a dogfight at first base between (Blake) Patterson and (Dalton) Holt and (Justin) Emmerling and Hastings. One of those guys is going to go out into right field. We’ve got a dogfight at third between Warner and (Harrison) Dale. In left field, it’s between (Evan) Lee and (Drew) Tipton.
Korey Thompson (Photo by Rick Nation)
“It’s fun to watch because those guys are getting with it now,” the coach related. “You see those guys battling every day. And you can see them really focusing in and concentrating on every little aspect because they know one false step is going to get them out. And it’s not pressure that we’re putting on them, it’s pressure that guy with them is putting on them. And it’s not that ‘I’m-going-to-cut-your-throat’ kind of competition, it’s ‘I’m just going to out-play you and I’m going to out-hustle you, I’m going to out-hit you and out-throw you.’ When you start getting that, it’s pretty good. That’s exactly what we like. And it’s the first time I’ve ever had it at this many spots.”
He’ll have to work hard to find playing time for everybody, he allowed, adding, “Giving them each a legitimate shot to beat somebody out.”
Ezell led the team in just about every offensive category last year and keeps getting better, Bock insisted.
“We’re going through a philosophy change offensively, not what we’re doing but how we’re charting what we’re doing,” he explained. “It’s all about quality AB’s. There’s nine different ways you can get them and if you’re sitting at 60 percent, that’s pretty good. But he’s at like 90 percent from both sides of the plate.
“The thing that separates Trevor from other people is his mindset and how calm he can be even when he messes up,” the coach continued. “Everybody messes up but you have no idea with Trevor. He’s going to hit a home run and he looks the same as he did when he struck out. That’s what separates great players from good players. And he’s a great player. He’s going to continue to be a great player.
“Defensively, Korey’s the guy,” Bock added. “He’s certainly in one of those Gold Glove categories of guys that we’ve had. His actions at second base are as good or better than anybody we’ve had. His motor runs so fast. He’s that sparkplug. He’s a guy you’ve got to have on the field. Sometimes that hinders him at the plate because he gets so amped up and gets so excited that he gets out there too soon. But, you know what? I’d much rather go take it out of them than put it in them.”
Brandan Warner (Photo by Kevin Nagle)
Junior Connor Tatum will back up at second and short.
“Connor’s one of those guys that flies under the radar but he does a tremendous job,” Bock said.
On the mound, the coach listed 15 pitchers that he feels good about on the varsity staff.
That’s right. Fifteen.
Along with Hastings, there’s seniors Dale, Devin Dupree, Emmerling, Holt, Blaine Knight and Tucker; juniors Blaine Knight, Evan Lee, and Patterson; sophomores Hurt, Zack Jackson and Alex Shurtleff; with freshmen Jake East and Austin Kelly.
“Right now, there really isn’t a nickel difference among them,” Bock stated. “Knight is ahead of people with his stuff and his velocity. Blaine has done a tremendous job in the last month, figuring out how to pitch and not just throw. He gets better every time he goes out.
“Now, he has setbacks just like everybody but Blaine’s figuring out, ‘If I can stay on line and I can locate then good things are going to happen.’ He’s got velo and he’s got movement. He has deception. He’s really, really working hard on locating pitches. When he does that, he’s going to be very exciting to watch.”
Regarding Hastings, Bock said, “Just having somebody that’s been in the fire — Hastings does a tremendous job. Over the summer, he’s gotten a lot better and his pitch-ability is good.
“Devin Dupree’s got four years of experience for us,” he continued. “He’s kind of like the grandfather of that whole crew. He’s the guy that we go to. He’s the guy that sets everybody straight. He understands the system. He understands the work-ethic part. He’s doing a tremendous job.
“Harrison Dale may have the best change-up that we have. He’s not going to throw it past you but he’s going to throw a cut. He’s going to throw a sinker and he’s going to throw a change-up. So he’s going to have it breaking out, breaking in and breaking down. And he does a great job of locating. He’s going to be very effective for us.
Harrison Dale (photo by Kevin Nagle)
“Alex Shurtleff is a guy that has been the bell cow in his age group all the way through. He’s jumped up with everybody else. He’s going to have to throw it for us. And Evan Lee from the left side is also.
“Blake Patterson probably has our best cutter. That’s a pitch that we picked up this year that we worked hard on with Ben Wells coming back in,” Bock continued, referring to former Hornet star and current Chicago Cubs prospect. “Ben helped us out a lot on things that he’s got to do to get people out on his level, which is the same thing that Travis Wood (current Cubs star from Bryant) had to do. He had to develop a cutter to get people out at his level. It’s just one of our fastball family pitches. A cut you throw like a fastball, a sinker you throw like a fastball and a change-up you are so everything looks the same. I think we’re going to be very effective by doing that.”
Overall, the coach related, “As far as pitch-ability, a lot of these guys are about the same, which is good and bad because we don’t get a lot of different looks. Three of them we dropped down, Tucker, Emmerling and Holt. They’re catching on to it in a hurry.
“I knew nothing about it so I just went and studied it,” he related. “I studied on-line but then I went to a drop-down camp at Mississippi State and I got to spend about eight hours with those guys one day and how they teach it. And there were four big leaguers there doing it.
“Of (our) three, Tucker throws the hardest. His velo’s up there. Emmerling has the best deception and Holt locates better than everybody. If we could slide all those three together, there’d be an All-American. But they’ve each identified what they need to work on and they’re getting a lot better. Tucker is shoulder high. Holt is about waist high and Emmerling’s about knee high.
“That stuff is just stinkin’ hard to hit. When you start dropping down and throwing and you start locating — we’ve struggled with it. Now, if you elevate that pitch, you’re going to get hit pretty hard. But as long as you can keep it down, mid-thigh down, it’s almost impossible to hit.”
“If we can pitch to contact, I think our defense is going to good enough to give us a chance to win,” Bock concluded.
Dalton Holt (Photo by Kevin Nagle)
“Offensively, everybody’s doing a good job,” he stated. “It’s a system we put in last year in Florida and it helped us a lot last year. But we keep building on it and they’re starting to understand it. We may not ever get there but, I’m telling you, we’re close and we’re getting closer every stinkin’ day. You can just tell. You can tell with every plate appearance. Now, they’ve got a plan. They’ve got a routine they’re in. They’ve got a timing mechanism and you can see them changing throughout an at-bat. When you can start doing that, you’re getting close.
“Offensively, we’re better right now than we’ve been at any point. Is it good enough? That remains to be seen. All I know is our approaches are a lot better than they have been.
The coach has high hopes for the future of Kelly and East but he saved his highest praise for Hurt, the younger brother of Hornets standouts Devin and Ozzie Hurt.
“The best overall baseball player thus far that I’ve had a chance to coach — and I’ve coached some good players —may be Dylan Hurt,” he declared. “He can pitch. He can catch. He’s a fantastic middle infielder. We ain’t ever going to put him in the outfield but there’s no doubt in my mind that the dude could play the outfield.
“When it’s all said and done by the time he gets out of here, he’s probably going to be the most valuable player as far as moving around because he can do all those. The guy’s unbelievable. We’ve got guys that are good middle infielders. We’ve got guys that are good outfielders and guys that are good catchers and guys that are good pitchers. We don’t have anybody that can do every stinkin’ thing at a high level. He can.”
Here are the unofficial stats from the 2013 season in which the Hornets went 27-6, won the South Conference championship and reached the semifinals of the Class 7A State Tournament:
BRYANT HORNETS
Final unofficial 2013 varsity stats through 33 games
Returning players in bold
Hitting
Name ab r h bi d t hr bb* so sb avg
Trevor Ezell 96 42 49 30 10 4 3 23 14 29 .512
Marcus Wilson 79 23 36 24 8 2 0 17 8 4 .456
Austin Caldwell 14 14 6 10 1 0 0 7 2 7 .429
Conner Tatum 5 8 2 3 0 0 0 3 2 3 .400
Jason Hastings 53 12 20 17 1 1 0 15 11 7 .377
Brandan Warner 51 15 20 15 4 0 0 3 5 2 .392
Chase Tucker 6 10 2 2 2 0 0 2 3 1 .333
Nick Kehrees 3 2 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 .333
Hayden Lessenberry 76 10 24 23 5 1 0 26 10 6 .316
Hayden Daniel 61 17 18 17 2 1 1 15 6 6 .295
Ty Harris 46 16 13 5 2 1 0 19 11 5 .283
Harrison Dale 32 6 9 8 0 0 0 14 7 6 .281
Evan Lee 8 2 2 3 1 0 0 0 2 2 .250
Tyler Green 87 28 21 8 4 0 1 27 10 9 .241
Drew Tipton 17 7 4 4 1 0 0 6 5 6 .235
Korey Thompson 77 17 14 7 2 1 0 18 17 5 .182
Trey Breeding 30 1 5 5 1 0 0 6 8 0 .167
Dalton Holt 17 2 2 1 1 0 0 4 5 1 .118
Justin Emmerling 5 1 0 1 0 0 0 2 3 0 .000
Blaine Jackson 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 3 0 .000
Devin Dupree 2 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 .000
C.J. Phillips 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 .000
Dylan Hurt 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 .000
Totals 770 234 249 187 44 11 4 213 134 110 .323
Pitching
Name w-l ip r er h bb* so era
Austin Caldwell 0-0 0 1 0 0 1 0 —–
Ty Harris 0-0 0.2 0 0 1 0 0 0.00
Dylan Hurt 1-0 1 1 0 0 3 0 0.00
Harrison Dale 2-0 9.1 2 1 13 3 7 0.75
Hayden Daniel 0-0 9 5 1 6 6 10 0.84
Jason Hastings 7-2 52.2 11 7 38 15 46 0.93
Nate Rutherford 9-3 74.1 14 12 52 18 32 1.13
Alex Shurtleff 0-0 6 2 1 3 3 5 1.17
Devin Dupree 3-0 16 6 3 12 6 11 1.31
Chase Tucker 0-0 3 1 1 3 1 5 2.33
Zack Jackson 2-0 11 5 5 7 3 5 3.18
Evan Lee 1-0 5 4 3 8 2 5 4.20
Blaine Knight 2-1 17.1 18 17 23 8 23 6.87
Totals 27-6 204.1 70 51 166 66 149 1.75
Saves: Daniel 3, Rutherford 2, Hastings 1.
