As of press time, high school springs sports events and practices had been postponed until April 10. That announcement came as the finishing touches were being put on the Spring Sports preview. We have decided publish these previews in order to highlight Hardy County’s high school athletes, should no opportunity exist later.
The roster looks small, but one shouldn’t underestimate the heart of the Cougars this season as East Hardy Baseball looks to claw to success once the coronavirus pandemic subsides and the green light to play ball happens.
East Hardy skipper Eric Heflin is in his fourth season at the helm along with assistant coach Noah Orndorff leading the charge over 17 players.
East Hardy looks to work together to improve on last season’s record of 7-18.
“Our overall goal is to win as many games as possible. We’re working every day to try to make that happen. Another goal we have as a coaching staff is to make sure that every player improves their ability by the end of the season,” East Hardy coach Eric Heflin remarked.
The Cougars will miss All-Potomac Valley Conference junior utility player Andrew Tharp’s batting average of .462 as he is now competing as a track member and All-PVC second baseman Logan Whetzel graduated with a batting average of .380.
East Hardy will look to the guidance of five seniors: Seth Smith (SS/P), Adam Baker (1B/P), Noah Miller (INF/P), Hinton Shifflett (INF/OF) and Colten Spaid (INF/OF).
Smith is quick on his feet which was proven playing basketball and has shown great effort moving the ball along the diamond and has been patient at the plate.
Baker has been a great first baseman and has a solid delivery from the mound, but the plate appearances have been where he crushes the ball over the fence including the “Black Monster”.
Noah Miller has been fielding the ball well at third base and in the outfield in addition to good power hitting to move the runners.
Shifflett is versatile being in any spot in the infield or outfield executing plays with precision, now working on consistent hits to keep the momentum going.
Spaid has been a good contributor encouraging his teammates and will surprise opponents with his speed and accuracy.
East Hardy junior catcher and pitcher Alex Miller has been a strong force behind the plate, knows when to execute the plays and has a solid pitching arsenal when needed and packs a punch swinging the bat.
East Hardy junior Riley Mongold has grown up in a baseball family and has the skill to play infield, outfield and as a pitcher becoming a crucial utility man and has been knocking doubles in practice.
East Hardy juniors Andrew Lazo and Connor White will be playing ion the outfield this season and have been working on their throwing finesse.
East Hardy sophomore infielders Andrew Hahn and Kollin Quarles have been making tremendous plays and have the patience to connect at the plate at the right moments.
Hahn is flexible as his skill can be used in the outfield with the speed to chase down the ball and sling it back.
Sophomores Gabriel Henderson (INF/OF) and Hunter Funkhouser (OF) have shown good speed in their positions roaming the outfield and should be dangerous on the base path for the Cougars.
East Hardy sophomore infielder Jacob Whetzel comes from a baseball family where older brother Austin plays at Salem University and has been following in those footsteps making big hits and fielding the ball with precision.
The freshmen for the Cougars are Dawson Price (INF/OF), Brennan Miller (OF) and Austin Wilkins (OF).
Miller and Wilkins have been showing good promise moving in the outfield.
Price has been dynamic playing at shortstop during practice and has been showing great speed in the outfield in addition to making timely hits.
East Hardy has a wealth of talent that is being cultivated for success this season.
If the pandemic ends on [private]April 10, then the first game scheduled is against Northern Garrett of Maryland depending also on their own lockdown for the virus.
New opponents on the schedule include Turkey Foot from Pennsylvania and Handley, Virginia.
East Hardy has Keyser, PendletonDon County, Tucker County, Paw Paw and Moorefield remaining on the second half of the schedule.
The game against the Yellow Jackets is at home on May 1 and the season finale is at Pendleton County on May 6.
East Hardy coach Eric Heflin answered some questions for the season preview:
What is your coaching philosophy?
My philosophy on coaching any sport revolves around effort, character, fundamentals, and teamwork. All that coaches can ask of their athletes is that they give their team 100% effort. Character is an extremely important part of any team when it comes to the reputation of that team. Not only is character important in sports, it’s also an important part of growing up. Good character will take you farther than sports ever will. Fundamentals are the building blocks on which championships are made. Without knowing how to properly execute those basic fundamental skills, players can’t expect to be successful. Teamwork is something we can’t be without. Teamwork doesn’t just mean showing up to a game and playing together. It means putting the team first over yourself, and it means building team chemistry that lasts longer than just a season.
How many seniors do you have?
We have five seniors this year: Seth Smith, Adam Baker, Noah Miller, Hinton Shifflet, and Colten Spaid. We have high expectations for all five seniors this year as leaders and on the field.
In what ways have you seen improvement from last year?
Our overall team attitude is 100% better this year. It seems like every athlete is wanting to be here and is ready to play. I can definitely see that every guy we have out here wants to get better and improve every single day.
How is the team chemistry and leadership?
Our team chemistry is great. All the athletes get along with each other. We’ve tried a few different lineups on the field during practice and all of them have worked well together with communication and performance. Our older players will also work with our younger players to explain how things are done and how to fix things when they mess up.
How do you motivate your players during practice?
Most of the time they don’t need me to motivate them. Most of these kids are self-motivated and can motivate the others that may not be as self-motivated.
How often do you need to work on fundamentals?
In high school, the players should know the fundamentals by now and have mastered those skills. However, we still work on fundamentals every day. Fundamentals are the building blocks for everything you do during the season. If our athletes struggle with the fundamentals, they’re going to struggle with everything else the rest of the season.
Is stealing bases a crucial aspect of the game?
Absolutely. Being able to steal bases could be the difference in winning or losing a game by putting runners in scoring position.
What needs to be done to get to the state tournament?
Hard work during practices, taking it one game at a time, limiting errors, focusing on base hits rather than home runs, and winning.
How intense are rivalry games?
[/private]They’re supposed to be extremely intense. That’s the whole point of a rivalry. Intense, however, does not mean “out of hand.” Both players and fans still need to know how to behave during these games.