March 29, 2024

Young players inherit positions in Panther baseball

Pals only upperclassman on 2015 squad

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It’s a changing of the guard in Creston baseball this summer, as coach Steve Birchard hopes the lessons passed on by last year’s seven seniors pay dividends on his young 2015 squad.

Only four lettermen return — senior Conner Pals is the only one older than a sophomore — from last year’s team that went 14-15 overall and 9-11 in the Hawkeye 10 for seventh place. But, eight of the defeats were by one run, and the Panthers upset Winterset to open district play before losing to Glenwood.

“We had a lot of seniors and you get spoiled as a coach when kids have been around and know the expectations in the program,” Birchard said. “But these younger guys, particularly the sophomore group, are the same type of kids. They know what they are supposed to do.”

Those seniors last year were four-year lettermen Brandon Phipps, Cole Crawford and third-team all-state outfielder Trevor Luther, along with Nathan Haley, Garret Taylor, Jon Birchard and Trey Benson.

Five of the seven varsity pitchers graduated, leaving only sophomores Chase Shiltz and Kadon Hulett with significant experience on the mound. However, Birchard says that’s a good place to start, as both are proven talents.

“Shiltz will be the main guy for us, but we know Kadon had throw well enough at the varsity level,” said Birchard, again assisted by former Panther Ben Landers and freshman coach Anthony Donahoo. “(Freshman) Jaden Driskell is definitely one of those those guys we will rely on. Then we have some guys we’re looking to develop.”

Brody Frain, Brenden McDowell and Cody Crawford were the primary JV pitchers a year ago and will likely split time between varsity and JV this year, depending on the number of games in a given week.

Shiltz had a team-high nine starts last year, as he and Phipps were both 4-4 for the season. Shiltz had a 3.12 ERA with a team-best 46 strikeouts in 51 2/3 innings.

As long as Shiltz and Hulett display command of their pitches, it could be a good situation for the Panthers because opposing batters hit only .185 against Shiltz last year and .173 against Hulett. In 19 innings Hulett had 22 strikeouts and 20 walks.

Senior leader

On the field, there’s no question who the leader of this Panther team is, as Pals returns at shortstop and his familiar place at the top of the batting order. Last year he batted .323 with a team-best 30 runs scored. He was successful on seven of eight stolen base attempts and struck out only 15 times in 96 at-bats.

“Conner is our table setter,” Birchard said. “They follow him. Even thought we don’t have any other upperclassmen, our sophomores are much like him in that they are good leaders, too, and have had success in a lot of different things. We hope that carries over, so we won’t be too discouraged if we’re not playing well on a particular night.”

Shiltz, likely to play third base or in the outfield when not pitching, is another key offensive force after hitting .281 last year with seven extra-base hits. Hulett is the power threat with a team-high eight doubles, a home run and .253 batting average a year ago.

Driskell got 17 varsity at-bats as an eighth-grader and that experience will be helpful this year, Birchard said. Gavin Woods, McDowell, Frain and Crawford all figure in the varsity plans this year and had only six combined at-bats last year, so it’s an inexperienced group.

Coming off knee surgery after football, Shiltz likely won’t be asked to catch, so those duties will likely be split between Hulett and Driskell. Those two will also share time at first base.

McDowell and Frain are candidates at second base, while Frain, Driskell and Shiltz can handle third base depending on who is pitching that day.

Birchard said freshman Dustin Merritt is a capable infielder, but if there are no openings he will likely find time in the outfield to take advantage of his offensive capabilities. Other outfielders are Crawford, Woods, Dalton O’Riley, Garrett Dahl and Cody Tanner.

It’s likely that Crawford will see a lot of time in center, where his brother Cole patrolled in recent seasons, while Woods could step into the right field spot for Luther, who was on the SWCC team this spring.

“We’ve got some young kids who have gotten stronger and have a good idea what to do up at the plate, and they should be able to help us out,” Birchard said.

While some players are still involved in spring sports, including Pals and Woods in soccer postseason play next week, the Panthers will open Monday at Corning against Southwest Valley, followed by games at Indianola Wednesday and at home on Thursday against Nodaway Valley.

Harlan won the Hawkeye 10 title last year and returned to the state tournament, knocking off Glenwood in the substate final. The Cyclones could be in the mix again, Birchard predicts.

“Lewis Central lost only three or four guys off a nice squad, and Harlan is sort of the same way,” Birchard said. “Glenwood has a lot of their guys back. We probably lost more than anybody.”

On Memorial Day, the new wave of Panthers make their debut in building their own legacy.

JV/varsity

Roster

(* — Letterman)

Seniors — *Conner Pals.

Juniors — None.

Sophomores — *Kadon Hulett, *Chase Shiltz, *Gavin Woods, Brody Frain, Cody Tanner, Cody Crawford, Brenden McDowell, Dalton O’Riley, Deavan Reese, Matt Hoffman.

Freshmen — Jaden Driskell, Mason Kinsella, Tucker Flynn, Garrett Dahl, Dustin Merritt.

Eighth grade — Kylan Smallwood, Bryce Fitzgerald.

Freshman team

Ninth grade — Joe Eblen, Nathan Pudenz, Dylan Linch.

Eighth grade — Mark Waigand, Bobby Baker, Matthew Kunz, Payton Pryor, Kendall Crawford, Zac Hague, Walker Patterson, Brenton Barber, Christian Gist, Matt Borha.

Varsity schedule

May 25 — at Southwest Valley (Corning), 7:30 p.m.

May 27 — at Indianola, 7:30 p.m.

May 28 — vs. Nodaway Valley, 7:30 p.m.

June 1 — vs. Glenwood, 7:30 p.m.

June 2 — at Clarinda, 7:30 p.m.

June 4 — at Harlan (2), 5:30 p.m.

June 8 — vs. Shenandoah, 7:30 p.m.

June 9 — at Southeast Polk (Runnells), 7 p.m.

June 11 — vs. Kuemper Catholic (2), 5:30 p.m.

June 12 — at Atlantic, 7:30 p.m.

June 15 — at Red Oak, 7:30 p.m.

June 16 — at Glenwood, 7:30 p.m.

June 18 — vs. Denison-Schleswig (2), 5:30 p.m.

June 22 — vs. Clarinda, 7:30 p.m.

June 23 — at Shenandnoah, 7:30 p.m.

June 25 — at Council Bluffs St. Albert (2), 5:30 p.m.

June 29 — at Martensdale-St. Marys, 8 p.m.

June 30 — vs. Red Oak, 7:30 p.m.

July 2 — vs. Atlantic, 7:30 p.m.

July 3 — at Treynor, 7:45 p.m.

July 7 — at Winterset, 7:30 p.m.

July 9 — at Lewis Central (2), 5:30 p.m.

July 13 — at ADM (Adel), 7:30 p.m.

July 14 — at Chariton, 7:30 p.m.

July 17 — District first round

Juy 20 — District

July 22 — Substate

July 28-Aug. 1 — State tournament