The Pratt Community College baseball team opens their 2024 campaign with a trip to Iola, Kan. on Thursday, Feb. 1, and Friday Feb. 2 of this week. Both days the games are set for 12:00 PM on the campus of Allen County Community College. The Beavers have taken six out of eight games from the Red Devils in season openers the last two seasons under the tenure of head coach Todd Reller.
"It is a great opening weekend for us against a quality opponent and it gets our guys prepared for what Jayhawk baseball is about," said coach Reller. "Although we have taken three out of four the last two years, none of those games were easy."
2023 Flashback
The Beavers return five starters and a slew of bullpen pitchers from last season's 25-33 overall record and a conference record of 12-20. Pratt traveled to Arkansas City, Kan. last May to face the Cowley Tigers in the opening round of the playoffs and unfortunately lost the three-game series 2-1. The final game of the season was a ten-inning battle and heartbreaker in favor of Cowley 9-8.
New Field Incoming
Pratt is excitedly awaiting the installation of turf at Stanion Field after two months of dirt work, rebuilding the outfield fence, and other improvements around the facility. Due to the current project the Beavers will open their season with three road series at Allen County, Fort Scott, and NOC-Tonkawa.
When asked about the effects of having a field under construction in preparation for the season coach Reller had this to say, "I do not think it will have any impact on the start of the season as we are lucky that the city and the high school has worked with us to use their facility for practices and scrimmages. We have used it as a rallying cry for our team as we do not care what the deal or situation is... we are going to fight adversity and be ready to go no matter what."
Beavers On the Mound
On the mound this season, the Beavers will have a very experienced group coming out of the bullpen with arms including Nick Noble, Jace Doelitsch, Alex Gillig, Max Moreno and Matthew St. Pe just to name a few. The starting rotation from last season have all transferred on except for Curtis Anderson who ended the season with an injury. While he is back and healthy look for a few freshman Ethan Froud, Nash Crosby, and Dalton Mantz to get quality innings on the mound.
"There are some definite young guys that will be exciting to watch," said coach Reller. "This pitching staff, although they may not have the sheer number of innings per player, has a lot of experience returning, which is what we are most excited about."
Experience In The Box
The top of the lineup card will look familiar to Beaver fans with Gavin Djurovic healthy and ready for his final season in Beaver nation. Ben Waliczek, Drew Bugner, and Jaden Flores are all back and will be looked upon to lead the Beavers offensively. Other names from last year's squad that people will recognize include Tytin Goebel and Aidan Robles.
"It is a sophomore heavy group in terms of what our lineup will look like," said coach Reller. There are some freshmen including Jaden King and Peyton Mitchell that have high upsides and we hope they are ready to go when they are handed the opportunity.
Wichita Or Bust
The number one goal of the 2024 campaign is to break through the opening round of the post season and earn a spot in the NJCAA Region VI Championships that take place in Wichita, Kan. every May on the campus of Wichita State University. The Beaver have fallen short the past two seasons with a 2-0 series loss against Kansas City Kansas Community College in the 2021-22 season and a 2-1 series loss against Cowley College last season.
"This is biggest conversation we have had with the team all year," said coach Reller. "Every decision and everything we are talking about is trying to be ready for the pressure that is coming towards them. Having a good season puts us into a position to have success in the opening round and making it to Wichita is important. It is the next step for this program, but at the same time it is not going to be easy to do, but we are not shying away from it."
On Deck
Up next for the Beavers is another road trip to Fort Scott, Kan. for a four-game series against the Fort Scott Community College Greyhounds the weekend of Feb. 9 and 10.