Photo by Sarah Finnegan.
Pitcher and first baseman Carson Skipper, right, of the Hewitt-Trussville baseball team practices Feb. 1.
A repeat of last time would be just fine with Jeff Mauldin.
In 2014, the Hewitt-Trussville High School baseball team missed out on the playoffs, despite being one of top-ranked teams in the state. A few bad nights in a strong area will do that.
But in 2015, the Huskies flipped the script and won the Class 7A state championship, the first baseball title in school history.
Similarly, last year Hewitt-Trussville fielded one of the best teams in the state in the eyes of many but failed to make the playoffs. And once again, the Huskies will try to flip the script this spring.
“We’ve been here before,” said Mauldin, who enters his sixth season at Hewitt-Trussville. “We know by us not making the playoffs, that doesn’t determine this year. We didn’t make it, then we won the state championship the next year.”
Mauldin said he thought last season’s team was “good, but not great.” Part of being able to take that next step and making a trip back to the postseason is winning the games that count toward the end of the calendar.
“Obviously, we’ve got a lot to prove this year, because we go from a team not in the playoffs to a team trying to get into the playoffs,” Mauldin said. “We’ve been there before. We know we’re good. We’ve just got to win those area games.”
On the field, the Huskies lost quite a bit of production, putting them in a somewhat unfamiliar position.
“That’s the unknown for this year, is the new guys, the youth,” Mauldin said. “We’re going to be a lot younger than normal and a lot more inexperienced at the varsity level, but we feel like we’ve got some good players.”
Much of that inexperience is on the mound, after ace and Auburn signee Carson Skipper. The Huskies will look to the likes of sophomore Michael Fowler to provide innings behind Skipper. Walker Sahagun, Davis Burgin and Creed Parker could potentially eat up innings as well.
The middle of the infield is solidified for Hewitt-Trussville, as another Auburn signee, Ed Johnson, mans shortstop with Tyler Mauldin at second base. Catcher Caden Kirk makes it just four Huskies who return with significant varsity starting experience.
Skipper and Johnson were critical pieces on the state championship team two years ago, and Mauldin noted their “experience and maturity” in helping lead the team.
“They give the rest of the team a quiet confidence,” Mauldin said. “When they’re at the plate, a calm goes over the entire team.”
Skipper plays first base when he’s not on the mound, but across the diamond, the Huskies will need to find a new third baseman. Kirk is a possibility there, as Mauldin noted Kirk would be one of Hewitt’s best infielders.
If Kirk gets time at the hot corner, sophomore Julian Sauger could see significant time behind the plate. Either way, Sauger’s bat will force Mauldin to find a way to get him in the lineup on a regular basis.
Zach Defnall is expected to take over in center field after the Huskies lost their entire starting outfield from a season ago. Parker will get his chance to lock down a corner outfield spot as well.
