When Joey Ward took over the Union baseball program, he inherited a playoff-caliber team.
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Now the veteran coach has got to make all the pieces fit together.
The Yellowjackets are coming off a 14-10 season in which they lost in the second round of the Class 2A playoffs to eventual state champion Calhoun City.
Ward comes back to Union to take over for Dustin Hamrick, who stepped down to be an assistant at West Lauderdale. Ward returns from West Jones, where he was head coach for 11 years.
“I really like our team,” Ward said. “I think we have got some really good pieces. We just have to be able to put it together. It’s a big culture change for everybody. We are just trying to get better every day. We have some pieces that if they come together, we could be pretty good.”
Ward said the Yellowjackets have the talent to win at a more consistent level, it’s just a matter of bringing it all together.
“I think we have to learn to compete every day and focus on details and do the little things right,” Ward said. “We have some talent, it’s just a matter of getting everybody on the same page. I feel good about our arms and our depth of arms. We are getting better every day, and they have to buy into defense being a big piece of us being great here.”
Speaking of arms, Ward will lean heavily on junior Jaylon Buckley, who was 8-2 last year with a 1.83 ERA in 46 innings pitched with 90 strikeouts. Senior Trevor Patchin also returns after going 3-3 last year with a 4.27 ERA in 37 2/3 innings pitched. Ward also said he expects juniors Preston Germany and Henry Thornton to make major contributions on the mound this season along with senior J.T. Vance and junior Jack Rigdon.
“We’ve got some good arms,” Ward said. “We have some guys who can throw. Just looking at the stats from the past, we weren’t winning the free game. We’ve placed a big emphasis on throwing strikes. We’ve shown a lot of improvement in that area.”
In the field, Ward said Judd Young returns at catcher where Ward said the junior has been solid. At first, sophomore Rope Lovern (.314, 20 RBIs) returns and will share time there with Jacob Moore and Henry Thornton.
At second base, Preston Germany returns while Riley Martin could also see some playing time. At short, sophomore Kolton Cockerham will be the starter after hitting .400 last year with 22 RBIs. Kaleb Casey and Trevor Patchin could play there until basketball season is over. At third, Buckley will be the regular starter after hitting .403 with a team-high 30 RBIs while Patchin and Casey could back up there.
In the outfield, J.T. Vance is expected to start after leading the team with a .435 average last year and a team-high nine doubles. Ward said Thornton, Patchin, Casey, Brandon Felton, Peyton Posey, Gavin Heath, Trustan Wallace and Zach Carnell could all see playing time in the outfield.
The Yellowjackets will compete in Division 6-2A with Lake, Philadelphia, Newton and Scott Central.
“It’s a tough division,” Ward said. “But I’m more worried about us playing the game right and doing the little things. We need to put some good at-bats together. We’ve got to learn to compete and learn to play the game right. I think if we do that, a lot of things will take care of itself.”
