BASEBALL TAB -- Faith Christian upperclassmen must lead younger players

By Cam Ellis
Published in Sports on March 13, 2015 1:48 PM

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cellis@newsargus.com

Faith Christian Academy teammates Rich Sasser and Carter Hudson couldn't help but laugh at each other from across the hall.

Tall and soft-spoken, Hudson stares at the floor while he shuffles his feet. Ten feet away stands Sasser, shorter but louder, getting in his ear about what has become an annual spring tradition for the two of them.

"We've had this little competition going," Hudson says, explaining how the two frequently compare their batting averages throughout the season. "It's been going on for three years."

Before he has a change to explain any further, Sasser jumps in to set the record straight.

"It's been three years, and I've beat him twice," he says, grinning from ear to ear. "There's pride on the line."

While what the two of them do against each other may ultimately determine bragging rights, it's what they'll together that will dictate how the Conquerors will fare this season.

Coming off of a 5-8 season, FCA will look to utilize the depth of their team in order to replace some voids. Even though everyone is expected to play a bigger role, it will be Sasser and Hudson who take on the responsibility of team leaders.

"Richard had a great year last year," Conquerors head coach Justin Smith said. "If he continues to work hard and focus on the team, he'll really be a leader this year. I expect him to lead the team."

One look at the stats and it's not hard to understand why Smith has such large expectations. As a sophomore, Sasser batted .577 with nine RBI, three doubles, three triples and a home run. He'll start behind the plate.

"I'm expecting to do a lot of what I did last year," he said. "I even hit for the cycle once last year, which I think is pretty good."

If anyone can keep up with Sasser's offensive output, it's Hudson. The outfielder hit .440 last season, but it's his defensive ability that has Smith excited about this season.

"Carter plays center fielder, which of course is a key position," he said. "As of right now he's keeping that spot. I think he'll be the anchor for our outfield and expect him to produce offensively as well. I see his big role being to help in the outfield and showing his leadership."

Because private schools are allowed to include middle school students on their varsity rosters, Faith Christian Academy keeps almost two team's worth of players on the squad. With several of the younger guys getting their first taste of high school baseball, Smith has put the upperclassmen -- like Sasser and Hudson -- in charge of making sure they learn the ropes.

"Because we don't have a middle school team here, I've kept a lot of younger guys just to get them learning from the older guys," he said. "They might not get a lot of playing time, but they go to be out there practicing. We're still young in a lot of ways, but we definitely have some older guys that have been playing for a while."

It's a role that both Sasser and Hudson talked, at lengths, about accepting and cherishing.

"We enjoy the experience to help train the younger guys," Hudson said.

Sasser, unsurprisingly, had a different take on the matter.

"I enjoy it," he said, brandishing that grin once again. "I reckon that the two best players should be the ones that are responsible for everyone else."