By Justin Sokeland
WBIW.com
BEDFORD – On a glorious opening day of official practice sessions, with no threat of a lockout or abbreviated season, Bedford North Lawrence took the first cautious, wobbly steps for the 2022 season. And like a toddler daring to let go of support and test shaky legs, the Stars are going to fall down a few times before finding their balance.
When the baseball dictionary is written and the word “young” needs a picture example, BNL’s team photo will be used. With only two seniors, with only a handful of returning experience, with a sophomore class that will likely do the bulk of heavy lifting, with sophomores and freshmen comprising of 75 percent of the roster, the Stars will have to mature rapidly.
After bidding farewell to 10 seniors, including an Indiana All-Star who anchored the catching position for four years, from a 19-11 campaign, BNL coach Jeff Callahan will have to rebuild from the dirt up as he starts his ninth season at the helm of the program.
“We will definitely be young and somewhat inexperienced,” Callahan said. “But we’ve had a good offseason, really good the last couple of weeks when we could get outside, so we feel we’re further along than we have been in the past.
“We let the kids know there will be a lot of open competition for spots. Hopefully we will have kids step up. Right now, we don’t know what our lineup will be on March 29 (for the season opener). We have an idea, but we hope to get it firmed up. And going into the first two weeks of the season, we’ll play a lot of guys in different spots and find the right combination.”
BNL has more unknown than known factors. Here’s the known: senior outfielder Grant Dalton (.231 with 15 RBIs), sophomore Ryker Hughes (.325 with 17 RBIs) and sophomore Kline Woodward (.240 with 10 RBIs) are the only returners with measurable experience. They account for the bulk of BNL’s returning offense (43 hits out of a total of 247).
Woodward (6-1 with a 1.28 ERA) and Hughes (2-1, 2.10) will also be the foundation for the pitching staff. The Stars are returning a total of 63 innings out of the 190 pitched last season. BNL will also need a new catcher to direct the hurlers, with Evan Waggoner now playing for the University of Evansville. Between Waggoner and Brody Tanksley, BNL has had only two catchers in eight years. They were dynamic weapons behind the plate with their ability to throw out runners and block wayward pitches.
“Kline and Ryker bring back the most varsity experience, and they pitched more last year than I anticipated going into the season,” Callahan said. “That was good to get that under their belt.”
Now the unknown: BNL will need juniors Will Adams, Nate Pemberton, Kaedyn Bennett and Jonny Stone to make the jump to varsity positions. Sophomores Maddox Ray, Trace Rynders, Walker Ward and Cade Mungle will have to age in a hurry. And freshman Cal Gates is expected to make an immediate impact.
The “kids corps” will have to battle in a conference and sectional loaded with Div. I talent, particularly on the mound. The learning curve will be steep.
“It will be a unique year,” Callahan said. “The kids are excited about it. There’s a lot of opportunity for playing time. We’ll see how it shakes out. The lineup we have on March 29 might be totally different than the one in May.”
The Stars will host Terre Haute South in the opener.
