By T. Scott Boatright
A new era for Ruston High School baseball begins on Feb. 21 as Zack Smith takes over his first season as head coach for the Bearcats after serving the previous five years as an assistant coach.
Smith takes the reins from Toby White, who stepped down from his coaching role last May after 15 years guiding the Bearcats. Before joining White’s staff Smith was head coach at Forest High School, where he guided the Bulldogs to four state championships in five title game appearances.
Smith takes over a Bearcats team that reached the second round and were seeded fifth in the 2021 Class 5A playoffs while posting a record of 25-10. Ruston fell to Central of Baton Rouge in the final game of a best-of-three playoff series in the second round of the playoffs.
Smith takes over a Bearcats team that reached the second round and were seeded fifth in the 2021 Class 5A playoffs while posting a record of 25-10. Ruston fell to Central of Baton Rouge in the final game of a best-of-three playoff series in the second round of the playoffs.
Smith said the Bearcats won’t be much different at the plate but that there will be some nuances on the mound and behind the plate and on the base paths.
“It’s been going well,” Smith said of preseason workouts. The players are buying into what we do and showing a lot of energy at practice. I like how it’s going so far.
“Offensively we’re going to be similar because I pretty much called the offense last season. Pitching-wise and defense-wise there’s a lot of new stuff we’re trying to put in, and the players seem to be grasping what we’re trying to do. Pitching coach Brian Beck is getting those guys ready, so it’s gone well so far.”
While the Bearcats suffered some losses to graduation, Smith likes the mix of returning veterans and newcomers his team will feature this season.
“We have quite a bit of solid talent coming back, especially among our pitching staff,” Smith said. “Obviously JR Tollett (the 2021 Co-District 2-5A Pitcher of the Year as a sophomore) and then we’ve got some other good young pieces with him like Dyson Fields and Dawson Willis along with Reid Williams and Payton Beck, who’s new this season. We’ve got some pieces and we have some more young talent coming, so I really feel excited about where this program is about to go.”
Smith said he expects Williams and Nick Robinson will be Ruston’s top two southpaw starters this season.
Tollett went 9-2 last season with a 1.05 ERA with 83 strikeouts over 67 innings pitched.
Fields will also play a key role for the Bearcats with his bat and speed on the base paths.
Another key offensive player for Ruston will likely be junior Cade Patterson, who has already committed to Louisiana Tech, as has Williams, an infielder when not on the mound.
“Patterson and Williams are our returning power batters while Dawson Symanski is swinging the bat pretty good, too,” said Smith. “One good thing is our versatility, because our pitchers often play in either the infield or outfield when they’re not on the bump. Fields, Tollett and Willis are solid batters, too.”
Smith said there are some newcomers like Jacorian Crowe, Gabe Gaudet, Kyran McConnell and Wade Crowe who will be fighting for playing time for the Bearcats and provide depth for the team.
The biggest question remaining to be answered is who will take over behind the plate to replace departed starting catcher Josh Miller.
“We’ve got a couple of guys battling for the catching job,” Smith said. “Justin Symanski and RJ Brown are competing for that spot.”
Ruston opens the 2022 season at 4:30 p.m. Feb. 21 at home against Tioga.
