As Cedar Creek competes in the Trey Altick Tournament this weekend, head coach Trey Long is putting a young, inexperienced yet hungry squad on the field.
Already four games into the 2022 season, the Cougars roster includes only one senior in Aaron Peel, and Long knows there will be plenty of growing pains as his youngsters learn how to adapt to varsity baseball.
“Expectation wise I’m really unsure,” said Long in his first season at Cedar Creek. “We have a really young team. The only senior we had tore his ACL right before the season started. So we have lost Aaron for the year. But saying that, it’s a great opportunity for us to get better for the future. We are just taking advantage of all the time we have with these young kids working with them and preparing them for the season.”
Although its Long’s first season at the Creek, he is a veteran of high school baseball. He spent 20 years as a coach, primarily at West Monroe High School, along with short stints at Good Hope Middle School and Farmerville High School, coaching baseball, football, soccer, and softball.
So this isn’t the first time he has coached a young team. The Cougars opened the season with a win over Union, a doubleheader split against Darbone Woods and a loss to Winnfield. When asked what he has seen so far from the Cougars, he didn’t hesitate with his answer.
“Determination,” he said. “We are not the most experienced team by any means. We have two kids with varsity experience. We have a couple of kids starting for us that haven’t played since eighth grade, but their willingness to work and their drive to compete has been a bright spot. I’ve been pleased with that.
“We got beat (by Darbonne Woods) Friday night in game one pretty bad, and we had every opportunity to lay down because it was cold and rainy and nasty and we had a bad game. Instead they came out and found a way to win game two. I was proud of them for that.”
2022 has all the ingredients for a roller coaster ride for the Cougars, but Long knows there are long-term benefits to having such a young team.
“We don’t want to say we are rebuilding because our expectations are still there, but we understand that it’s an opportunity to get ahead for the future,” he said.
On the mound, Creek will turn to a number of arms as they maneuver through the season.
“We have a handful of guys out there,” Long said. “We are still trying to figure out our staff and how we are going to use them.
“Jordan Vail and Brady Wade have been two of our top starters. Several guys are coming on in relief roles. Max Brister has done a good job coming off the bench late in games and getting outs when we need them.
“After that we have a bunch of guys who don’t have a lot of experience pitching but they are getting out there and figuring it out. We are hoping to get Ladd Thompson back out there and back in the groove and pitching. He has had some issues but we are working through that and trying to get him back to where we know he can be.”
The Creek lineup is young as well and Long said he could see a number of different lineups. Although early in the season, he has been happy with the top of the order to far.
“Lawson Lillo is leading off for us and doing a good job,” Long said. “He is one of those kids who hasn’t played since eighth grade. In fact, our one and two hole (hitters) are both in that category, but they are having really competitive at bats and finding a way to get on base. They are on base a lot.
“We are averaging about 12 runs a game now and that’s a good thing. Brady Wade, Jordan and Ladd have all been swinging it well. Noah Durrett and Jackson Mock have been some young guys that have been a pleasant surprise coming on, filling in two outfield spots, pitching roles and have been really competitive at the plate.”
Long is also plenty excited about the upgrades to the baseball locker room, coaches offices and weight room at Cedar Creek.
“You want something the guys will be proud of and take care of,” he said. “When its finished we will have just that.”
Cedar Creek will host Sacred Heart tonight at 5 p.m. and Catholic Point Coupee Saturday at 12:30 p.m.
District play opens up March 15 against River Oaks.
