Crusader preview: Wellington baseball team has 50 players out and plenty of optimism for 2023
2023 Wellington baseball team.
by Tracy McCue, Sumner Newscow — Wellington High School athletics has had a good school year. The Wellington High School baseball team hopes to continue the good fortune this spring.
Although the season-opening doubleheader didn’t go accordingly, the program still has plenty of optimism. The Crusaders opened the season getting swept by the Rose Hill Rockets 1-0 in the first game and 11-6 last Thursday at Sellers Park. But the season is very young. Wellington has 18 more regular season games, not to mention a postseason ahead.
This marks Wellington’s third season under the guidance of head coach Ryan Jenkins. In 2022, Jenkin’s troops made significant progress, finishing 8-13. In 2021, the Crusaders’ won just three games in his first season.
While the program is progressing, it is still young. There are six seniors and five juniors on a squad of 50 players – a huge number going out for the sport. There are so many players out that they needed three different jerseys just to get everyone dressed.
The Crusaders also have to replace five seniors – including two who did the bulk of the pitching.
“We will be young, but we also had a lot of growth in our maturity over the off-season – if that makes sense,” Jenkins said. “This will be an interesting year. I’m excited to see how it goes.”
Wellington returns four starters from 2022. They and their stats are:
WHS senior Keaton Hartman was the starting pitcher in game one vs. Rose Hill.
•Keaton Hartman, infield/pitcher, batting .379, 22 hits, two home runs, 12 RBIs, 16 runs; 3.72 ERA, 1-3, 41 strikeouts, 32 innings pitched.
•Skylar Branum, pitcher/outfield, .379, 22 hits, two home runs, 11 RBIs, 17 runs.
•Grady Norris, infield, .357, 15 hits, 0 home runs, three RBIs, eight runs.
•Mekhi Haskin-Ybarra, infield/pitcher, .321, 12 hits, 0 home runs, four RBI, seven runs, 0.0 ERA; four innings pitched, two saves, and eight strikeouts (injured after 10 games).
When the season progresses, and it will have four games in a week, Jenkins said there is enough pitching for four starters. Hartman and Branum got the starting nods on Thursday in the two games.
Hartman pitched five innings, giving up four hits, two walks and striking out seven, in a 1-0 loss to Rose Hill to open the season (game stats below). Carson Nugen came in relief in the sixth and seventh and didn’t give up a hit.
Sky Branam is a key starter on the mound and outfield. He is a sophomore.
In the nightcap, Branam was the starting pitcher for two innings, giving up eight hits, four walks, and no strikeouts. He was relieved by senior Banks Hinshaw, who had five hits, two runs, two walks, and one strikeout.
Dustin Bannister finished the game by giving up one hit and a walk.
The infield consists of Hinshaw as a catcher, James Redford at first base, Hartman at second, and Bannister at third. The outfield includes Branam at center field, Nugen in left, and Milo Elder in right.
Thursday’s double-header offered little indication of what kind of team Wellington will be in May. Both games were so different. The first game was a defensive stalemate, with both teams combining for seven hits – four for Rose Hill and three for Wellington. The second game was a slugfest with both teams smacking out eight hits.
Here’s the problem, errors, errors, errors. Wellington committed three in game one and six in game two.
Wellington’s schedule isn’t easy out of the gate. The Crusaders travel to Andale on Thursday. It will return on April 3 to host Augusta and then host 3A top-ranked Collegiate on Thursday, April 13.
The stats for the Wellington-Rose Hill game:
Wellington vs. Rose Hill baseball game 1
Wellington vs. Rose Hill baseball game 2
