By T. Scott Boatright
The more things change, the more things stay the same.
If that saying holds true, it’s good news for the Choudrant High School baseball team, the defending Class B State champions.
Last year the Aggies went 33-2, finishing the season with 30 straight wins. This year, the Aggies are off to a 5-1 start that has coach Tony Antley feeling good about his team as they head deeper into the 2022 season.
Lost to graduation last spring were state tourney MVP Braden Jones and the Aggies other pitching stalwart, Brandon Carter. Both Jones and Carter were strong batters, as were departed Aggies Eli Watson and Luke Tassin.
But having five starters back in Landon Hennen, Austin Swift, Stone Weaver, Bryce McGuire and Jackson Case (whose basketball season with the Aggies ended Thursday night), along with key returnees like Gavin Murphy and Kaden Bradshaw, has Antley feeling confident about his team’s future.
“We’re a lot different than we were even though we’ve got a lot of the same players from last year,” Antley said. “But it seems like we’re swinging the bat a little better – we’re a little more offensive team than we were last year.
And I think we’re going to have to be an even better defensive team than we were last year, because while I think we’ve got good pitching, I don’t think we have dominant pitching like we did last year with Carter and Jones. I’ve got some juniors now that are season competitors that we’re counting on.”
Those top two players on the mound for the Aggies this season are Bryce McGuire and Landon Hennen.
“”McGuire is more of a finesse pitcher, while Landon’s just a competitor,” Antley said. “If you put two doubles in the gap, he’s going to give you the opportunity to hit a third one because he’s going to come right back at you. He’s not going to shy away from anything or anyone. He’s going to throw pitches in good locations and is just one of those guys with a strong backbone that you know you can count on.”
Antley feels his Aggies will be able to add that improved power he feels they’ll need this season.
“We hit a few home runs in scrimmages and the jamboree,” Antley said. “We hit one (Wednesday) night over at North Webster. We’ve got some pop.
“The guys in the top of our lineup have been scoring runs and I think I’ve got a couple of seniors who were battling some early injuries but are kind of getting in the groove now. Once we get a couple of basketball players back I think we’ll be able to spread our offense throughout the lineup.”
Case, who also started for the Aggies’ boys basketball team, Weaver and Swift are the Aggies’s three baseball seniors this year.
The Aggies will travel to the Grant (Parish) High School tournament this upcoming weekend and will host their own tournament on March 10-12 with Weston, St. Frederick, Oak Grove, Oak Hill, Claiborne Christian, Quitman and Mangham also participating.
Antley said his team realizes there’s a target on their backs as defending championships, but feels they’re prepared to meet that challenge.
“It goes both ways … that can go either way depending on the kids,” Antley said. “With this group of kids, I think it’s a bonus. I think they have really seen what it takes to win. They know we’ve lost some things and people have said that without that pitching we had last year, we never would have won (the state championship). I think the guys we have this year know they were part of state championships and are more than willing to do what it takes to do that again.”
