There's depth in the Perryville baseball program. The Panthers have 11 seniors on the varsity roster and a nucleus of promising players on the JV. Four pitchers with varsity experience will anchor the staff –Kody Brown, Zach Strong, Jared Brustman, and Clayton Bines. "They have a ton of experience," coach Jason Gunning said. "They know that if they can locate their fastball, improve their secondary pitches, and mix speeds, they can be effective. I have confidence in them."
Jake Eldreth and Joe Bird will both see playing time behind the plate. Last season, the versatile Brown spent time at catcher. "It's nice to have two catchers instead of having to move Kody around," Gunning said. Brown, who played every position last season, will start at third base when he's not pitching. "I think moving him around hurt his bat," said Gunning. "We want him to be comfortable." Bines moves across the diamond from third to first. Sophomore Brady Krahn returns at second base with Adam Dohler the backup. Zach Strong is back at shortstop. "Zach is looking better now that he has more experience," Gunning said. "We're confident in him because he's more comfortable there." The starting outfield could consist of Silas Stevens in left field, Brustman in center, and Chris Wenck in right. Gunther Prevost, Pernell White, and Dallas Johnson are challenging for playing time. The Panthers were 5-11 last season. "We have a lot of things to build off of," said Gunning. "Definitely, to be 5-11 again would be a failure. Finishing below .500 would be a failure." Gunning said several players who may start the year on JV will be key varsity contributors before their careers are over. The group includes Mike Newsome, Zach Jerscheid, Jonah Davis, Matt O'Neill, and Hunter Zacerous. Comments are closed.
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