BASEBALL TAB: Smith -- A year of growth leads to higher expectations at Faith Christian

By Ben Coley
Published in Sports on March 10, 2017 10:01 AM

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bcoley@newsargus.com

Inexperience has served as an unwelcomed trademark for the Faith Christian baseball program in the last four seasons.

The 2013 and 2014 squads each had one senior.

The 2015 and 2016 versions both had three.

It wouldn't be uncommon for Conquerors' head coach Justin Smith to fill the roster with seventh and eighth graders.

Although 2017 brings joy to his eyes.

Faith has five seniors on the roster, the most since 2012 when that team had seven seniors.

"These guys have played together and they have combined experience and they're natural leaders in our school," Smith said. "I think that's going to carry over to a different level of expectancy from the younger guys."

The class of 2017 includes Dylan Downey, Tulsa Hudson, Dail Spence, Harrison Freeman and Ethan Glover. Freeman and Spence didn't play on last year's team, but Smith still expects both to contribute.

In past years, the Conquerors have relied on younger talent since experience didn't play a factor. Having youth-filled teams posed its share of challenges, which is why the school now has a middle school team for the younger players.

With bigger varsity teams that included 13- and 14-year-olds, the veteran coach said it's tougher to individually work with each player.

Now the developing players have more chances to see the field and progress before they reach the varsity level.

"(The middle school team) has been a long time coming for us," Smith said. "What that does is that lets them compete, try out and have their own schedule. It's preparing them and giving them playing time and practice time versus having only one squad with seventh grade through 12th grade."

The Conquerors' seniors do bring wisdom to the dugout, but Smith noted the sources of leadership come from all ages. A part of that list includes freshman catcher Jackson Freeman, sophomore Cal Reese and Downey.

That leadership group -- along with a few others on the team -- play several different positions. Smith said when players move around the field, they're able to help others know about a particular position.

"Through the years, you know the kids that are just natural leaders and know baseball well and are very confident," Smith said. "They sense the need to step up, and some of them are younger."

The growth in maturity is a continuation of the progress Faith has made the past two seasons. In 2015, the Conquerors posted a 2-13 record. That mark slightly improved to 4-10 in 2016.

The Conquerors' skipper said the team dealt with injuries last season and kids being out due to personal issues. He now thinks Faith has the core pieces to make a move if things fall into place.

"I think if we keep everybody healthy and everybody's here at the games, we should expect way more than what we've seen the last two years," Smith said.

Smith believes two of the seniors, Downey and Glover, will provide crucial pitching and batting for Faith this season. In 2016, Glover hit .303 and led the team in doubles. Downey -- who played just nine of 14 games due to injury -- batted .250 and accounted for seven runs.

Sophomore Alex Watson batted .412 in eight games last season, and will also serve as a vital bat.

Smith said he expects his pitching to be a large part of the team's identity. He thinks the Conquerors will thrive under the new pitch-count rules because of the depth in the bullpen.

"They're probably going to see a lot of moving guys around on the mound instead of relying on one guy to go out there and do the job," Smith said. "I'm counting on about eight or nine guys who have worked on the mound before."

The veteran coach said the beginning of this season feels much different than last year. He has more leaders and experience, but there's also a new level of emotion.

Smith and his players can both sense the level of expectancy entering the 2017 season.

"They know what they are capable of doing," Smith said. "A lot of them played summer ball, and some of them worked on the mound a lot. So you see they're excitement to get out there and see how all this work that they've had is going to pay off."

Now is the time to conquer.