DUBOIS — Coming off back-to-back nine win seasons (9-12, 9-13) that ended with losses to Central Mountain in the District 6/8/9 Class 5A subregional finals, the DuBois baseball team has its sights set on bigger and better things this year.
Those aspirations are aided by the fact DuBois welcomes back a wealth of talent from last season — a group who will be joined by a bunch of new varsity faces who also have the ability to make an impact.
DuBois did lose six seniors to graduation including four who saw action as starters — left fielder Jordan Ell (.373, 10 doubles, 10 RBIs, 11 runs) and infielders Gavin Kaschalk (.250, 8 RBIs, 7 runs), Billy Gray ( .250, 9 RBIs, 5 runs) and Aaron Andrulonis (.263, 3 doubles, 6 runs).
“We lost a couple key players in our lineup, especially defensively, but fortunately we recovered a lot of the talent we’ve had from the last couple years,” said Bowman.
Chief among that talent Bowman spoke of senior Kaden Clark (.283, 4 doubles, 11 RBIs, 13 runs), junior Tyler Chamberlin (.407, 24 hits, 12 RBIs, 3 doubles, 17 runs) and sophomores Noah Farrell (.436 , 24 hits, 6 doubles, 14 RBIs, 13 runs) and Trey Wingard (.288, 2 doubles, 5 RBIs, 4 runs).
That quartet is just the tip of the iceberg though, as Bowman welcomes back 14 players who saw action in a varsity game a year ago.
“We’ve been fortunate enough to have some of those guys who were freshmen and sophomores when I started who are now juniors and seniors, and they have progressed incredible well,” said Bowman. “We have guys like Tyler Chamberlin, and Kaden Clark, and of course Noah Farrell. But, we’ve also added a couple guys from last year who played really well JV-wise.”
Chamberlin (4-4, 3.68 ERA, 53 Ks, 40 innings) and Farrell (3-3, 6.12 ERA, 58 Ks, 32 innings) are back to anchor a pitching staff that looks to have depth and be a strength of the team .
Behind that duo, you have seniors Brock Smith (1-2, 8.31 ERA, 11 Ks, 16 innings), Davey Aughenbaugh (0-1, 11.31 ERA, 2 Ks, 4.1 innings) and Ricky Clark (0-0, 15.00 ERA , 2 Ks, 2.1 innings), junior Tycen Roy (0-3, 6.68 ERA, 13 Ks, 28.1 innings) and sophomore newcomers Samson Deeb and Hunter Allman. Deeb threw one varsity inning a year ago.
“We’re going to be very, very deep in terms of our pitching,” said Bowman. “In fact, in our first two scrimmages we had 12 different guys throw and throw well. And, we spent a good amount of time re-evaluating how we handle our pitchers.
“We’re going to take the opportunity to set up a deeper rotation this year, and you’ll see a pretty good mix of guys. I think we can keep some teams off-balance just with all the talent we have, and that will also allow to limit some innings on guys earlier in the season to keep them fresh (for stretch runs).
“I don’t think you’ll see many guys throwing complete games (like last year). It might be three innings from one guy, then two innings and two innings from another. That will allow us to have more guys available if they are needed.”
When it comes to the defense, Wingard returns behind the plate for his second season as the starter. He will be backed up by freshman newcomer Isaac Dennison.
First base will see a mix of players depending on who pitches. Farrell, Allman will all see time there, with Allman also being in the mix at third with Ricky Clark.
Up the middle, the group of Deeb, juniors Talon Hodge and Boston Graham and senior Leyton Hodge are vying for playing time between second base and shortstop. Talon Hodge (.179, 5 runs) ended last season as the starter at shorthanded.
When it comes to the outfield, DuBois welcomes back a wealth of experience in Chamberlin, Clark, Aughenbaugh (.200, 9 RBIs, 6 runs). Junior Danny Dixon will also be in the mix starting after missing all of last season after suffering a thumb injury in the first game.
Juniors Bryson Billock and Lucas Delaney will help add depth to the outfield.
If DuBois is to improve on that nine win total from the past two seasons, it will have to improve greatly in the area — offensive production — and that’s something Bowman is clearly aware of.
“Last year, we left upwards to close to 140 runners on base,” said Bowman. “That’s a big number, and if we can cash some of those in, we’ll be in a much better position. To do that, we have to continue buying into our philosophy of putting together quality at-bats.
“They have to try not to hammer a ball off the wall every time, just continue the train around the infield. In our scrimmage against Karns City, both teams swung the bat well. If we keep doing that and put some good swings on balls, we’ll cash in some of that 140 total.
“Last season, we were fortunately fortunate to beat some very, very talented teams, but we also lost to some teams we probably shouldn’t have. I think this year we’ll be a surprise to some people, and our goal is to get into that 10-plus win column.
“That’s my goal at least… no more nine wins for us. We need to continue to grow and get north of that .500 line.”
Bowman will once again be assisted by Brad Chamberlin, Devon Walker (JV head coach), Blaise Roush and Dom Kriner. Former Penn State DuBois catcher Luke Salvo has also joined the staff this season.
The Beavers are scheduled to open the season today at Central Mountain.
ROSTERS
Seniors: Davey Aughenbaugh, Kaden Clark, Ricky Clark, Drew Cook, Leyton Hodge, John Myers, Tycen Roy, Brock Smith. Juniors: Hunter Allman, Bryson Billock, Tyler Chamberlin, Lucas Delaney, Danny Dixon, Boston Graham, Talon Hodge, Sophomores: Madix Clark, Samson Deeb, Noah Farrell, Grady Galiczynski, Jonathan Reed, Alex Sago, Michael Stainbrook, Grayson Stewart, Walker Thomas, Trey Wingard. Freshmen: Isaiah Chewning, Wes Clyde, Isaac Dennison, Mason Dinkfelt, Adam Drahushak, Aaron Eberly, Carter Genevro, Easton Harris, Hunter Ho, Bryson Kail, Jack Statler, Seth Wilmoth.