The East Knox baseball team is coming off what coach Randy Baugher called a “historic season,” as the the Bulldogs had three tournament wins leading to their first Division IV district championship in school history, and a 15-13 overall record, as well as going 8-6 in the Knox Morrow Athletic Conference.
Baugher said the goal this year is the same as always: Compete for the KMAC title and battle hard in the state tournament. He said the challenge is to not become complacent after coming off such a successful season. The young team will have to fill major holes, including replacing team MVP Sam Printz, first team All-State honoree Weston Melick and DH Logan Adams.
This year, the Bulldogs will be relying on its seniors Peyton Lester and Shane Knepp, both utility players who, Baugher said, are the most decorated athletes in East Knox history. Baugher called them great role models and said they are the type of people who are gravitated toward. Juniors Landon Spearman (P, 1B, DH), catcher Ryan Morton and center fielder Carson Steinmetz are expected to play big roles this season.
Sophomores Bryar Householder (P, 1B) and Cole Delaughder (3B, LF) started every game for the Bulldogs last year and should be major impact players. Sophomore Bracen Davis will be competing for a middle infield position, and sophomore pitchers Derrick Field, Gavin Layne, Josh Keith and Ashton Tarrh will be relied upon for some quality innings. Baugher also said the coaches have been impressed with freshman outfielder Shane Gardner.
“Our team’s strength is our youthful exuberance, and our team’s weakness is our youthful exuberance,” Baugher said.
Baugher comes from a baseball background in which he played from the age of six through four years at East Knox playing high school baseball. He has coached all levels of youth baseball and coached at the freshman, JV and varsity levels as well.
He said he has been inspired by a number of coaches and people in his life, including Chet Looney, Chuck Whitney, Tom Faith, John Loudermelt, Gene Evans and the coach's father, Jerry Baugher. While he said he doesn’t pinpoint anyone from whom he gets his coaching philosophy, he said they all taught him about coaching and how to treat others.
“My coaching philosophy is to play aggressive, competitive baseball while still allowing the players to have a little fun and have a say in team decision-making,” Baugher said. “We stress personal responsibility and how at our level, we are no longer children but young men. We also understand that our players have more going on than our baseball program. We respect their time commitment, yet we expect them to be ‘all in’ when we have them. It's the quality of their time at practice, rather than the quantity of their time, that we are concerned with.”
While the team is mostly known for its football history due to the legacy left by former coach Chet Looney and, recently, Cody Reese, Baugher said that East Knox is full of multi-sport athletes who have made their mark. He said it is no mystery why many of the athletes have broken out in sports like football, track and baseball, but he is happy to see the team building its own legacy as a baseball club.
“We are starting to build a good baseball tradition, with 10 conference championships, nine sectionals and, finally, a district championship,” Baugher said.
He added, “We just focus on playing the game right, one pitch at a time, and if we do that well enough we will be successful.”
East Knox opened its 2022 KMAC season with an extra-innings 10-6 win over Centerburg, and the team has a full slate of games next week. They play at Northridge today at 11 a.m.
