Tigers young, yet experienced

Fort Scott High School head baseball coach Josh Regan has a large group put this year -- 30 boys are still out for Tiger baseball as of Thursday morning. And he feels that his sophomore-dominated team -- 13 from that grade are on the roster -- will be a good group to work with.

"We're young but three or four of these sophomores were starting at the varsity level as freshmen by the end of the year," Regan said. "So we're young, but we're seasoned. Two of the juniors will be third-year starters."

Although the weather has been bad for most of pre-season practice, Regan was grateful to Fort Scott Community College for the use of their facilities. Head football coach Curtis Horton allowed the team to use the football practice field, which has artificial turf, for drills and head baseball coach John Hill III has allowed the use of the indoor batting cages.

"Most of the programs in the SEK don't have access to those kind of facilities," Regan said. "When we couldn't get on the field, we could get on the FieldTurf at the juco and work on infield situations. We could take ground balls. We could work on bunt coverages. That's a huge plus."

Regan begins his season year in charge of the program his father, Dave, established in 1990 and coached for many years. The Tigers were 8-8 in the Southeast Kansas League last season and 10-12 overall. He says that one thing that's been easier in year two is that the system he wanted to put in place is established.

"They know the expectations," Regan says. "Signs, bunt coverage, cut offs, first-and-third plays, how you signal everything in. It takes a lot of time to institute all those things whereas this year, all those things are in place. Guys picked right off where we left off last year and the bounceback has been outstanding."

It also helps to be coaching a group of kids that want to learn.

"They love baseball and want to learn the game," Regan says. "They want to get better. They want to be coached. They've bought in and that's everything, especially when you coach them as hard as I am. There can be a pushback but our leadership is so strong that everybody's on board. I feel like we're starting to get it going and that's because of the group we have."

The experience the sophomores have along with that of the two seniors and four juniors gives the Tigers a lot of depth, something many high school teams don't have. Regan said that at least 13 of his player can pitch and he's been encouraging anyone who would like to pitch to give it a try so they can be coached.

Regan is looking to Mason Knopp, Wyatt Reehl and Ryan Picker as his top three pitchers. Knopp was 2-1 and Pickert 3-3 on varsity last season. He is also looking to Jacob Payne, Benjamin Labbe and freshmen Carter Young and Kaleb DeLaTorre as pitchers.

Going around the defense, Regan plans to use Knopp, Labbe and Brown as catchers, depending on who pitches. Labbe, otherwise, is the starter at third base. Jacob Durossette will be the shortstop. Chase Brown and A.J. Smith are competing for the job at second base. Payne will play first when he's not pitching. Young can also play first or third. DeLaTorre can play shortstop or second base.

Jacob Bradbury is expected to get the start in center field. Reehl will be one of the starters while Zach Denton, still in the process of recovering from a knee injury suffered during football season -- he missed the entire basketball season -- can play the other outfield position when he's healthy. Denton could also be the designated hitter. Chase Howser and Alex Fink are also looking for playing time in the outfield.

The Tigers were picked to finish third in the SEK in a pre-season coaches poll. Regan feels Pittsburg will be one of the front runners under new head coach Keith Matlock. He also looks for Chanute, coached by former high school teammate Josh Messer, to contend along with Independence and Labette County.

The season, weather permitting, begins Monday with a varsity/junior varsity doubleheader against Nevada at Lions Field.