Don’t blame Newton County Academy baseball coach Kelly Alderman if he is cautiously optimistic heading into the season.
Alderman returns what he says could be his best team at NCA, highlighted by his son and Ole Miss signee Kemp Alderman, who is the defending MAIS Class AA Player of the year.
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The Generals went 17-14 last year and made it to the Class AA South State championship series, where they lost to Brookhaven in two games.
“I’ve got six seniors coming back, and I think this could be my best team since I have been here,” Alderman said. “I’ve got about 10 guys who can throw who have looked good in the bullpen. I think we will hit the ball better than we did last year, and I think we will be better on defense. I think that’s the real thing, if we can make the routine plays and throw strikes, we have a chance to be pretty good.”
The Generals return one of the state’s best players in Alderman, who finished last year with a .569 average with 12 home runs and 41 RBIs. On the mound, Alderman was 8-3 with a 2.83 ERA with 90 strikeouts.
Also coming back on the mound is East Central signee Hayden West who was 3-4 with a 3.92 ERA with 55 strikeouts in 39.1 innings pitched.
“I think we are pretty good there with Kemp and Hayden,” Alderman said. “But we’ve got a lot of other guys that have looked good so far. I think we will have some good pitching depth this season. I think this is the strongest pitching staff I have had since I have been here.”
Alderman said he expected to get innings from Hayze West, Austin Upton, Wesley Williams, Lee Hollingsworth, Jacob Smith, Hayden Wall, Harber Reese and transfer Jax Porter as well.
While Kemp Alderman was responsible for a lion’s share of the offense last year, the Generals will need to get production from other parts of the lineup this season.
“We are going to have to hit the ball a little better,” Alderman said. “I feel like we will hit better than we have. And I think we will be better defensively. We just have to make the routine plays. I think one through nine, we will have a good team on the field. We play a good schedule and some bigger schools that will challenge us. We just have to come together and work, and I think they will do that.”
In the field, Alderman said no one position is nailed down and positions will be determined by who is pitching. Braxton Thoms will also see playing time.
“I want kids to be able to play multiple positions,” Alderman said. “I think if you are going to play past high school, they need to play more than one position. We’ll try several different combinations to get the best team on the field.”
The Generals will compete in district play with Hebron Christian, Kemper Academy and Columbus Christian.
