Shortly after three o’clock on Monday afternoon, the parking lot at Burleigh Grimes Field in Trenton began to fill. Out from the various vehicles poured 24 high school students who will represent the school on the diamond as Trenton’s first-ever baseball team.
As the players made their way from the parking lot to the field for the first practice of the season, one frame stood out among his peers. A little bigger, a little stronger – that was Mason Owen. Trenton’s state medal-winning wrestler had grappled with whether or not to go out for baseball this season, but in the weeks leading up to the beginning of practice, his decision was made.
“A big portion of my decision was that this is the first year that we have had baseball,” Owen said. “In general, to be able to say you were on the first baseball team ever here is a huge deal. I want to be a part of that and try to help make us successful in that.”
Owen’s arrival could be a potential windfall for Head Coach Andy Hight as he builds the team from scratch. Not only does Owen provide Trenton’s lineup with some added power, but he also will give Trenton some options defensively. A knee injury will keep Drew Rorebeck, who will still be the centerpiece of the team in its inaugural season, from catching. That forces Hight to move a middle infield prospect in Colton Colston behind the plate. But Owen has spent time behind the dish, despite being more of a first baseman-type. Hight now has more options as he tries to gain a feel for the first-year program.
“Mason has caught, he’s played first base, he’s pitched a little bit – it’s just another athletic, strong kid,” Hight said. “Hopefully that translates to the baseball field, but it is nice to have another kid like that to work with.”
As for the overall numbers Hight had for the first day of practice, the Trenton coach was quite pleased. Trenton will field both a varsity and junior varsity squad in the program’s first year and the 24 players out will make that a much more manageable task, especially with the new pitch count rules MSHSAA instituted for this season.
Under the new rules, junior and senior players may only throw 105 pitches in a day while freshman and sophomore players may only reach 95 pitches in a day. All players must have a minimum of four days of rest following an outing of 76 or more pitches.
“Anywhere between that 20 and 26 count is a really good number for us,” Hight said. “You get over 26, into the 30’s, and that gets to be too many and anywhere under 20 is not quite enough, especially with the new pitch count. So we are happy with what we have out.”
INJURY REPORT
Rorebeck will be getting surgery on his knee soon, but the senior says the recovery time for his particular injury is quick. Trenton shouldn’t be without Rorebeck for long, which is good because he should be one of the top bats in the lineup this year.
“I just want to contribute the best I can to help us win games,” Rorebeck said. “Wherever they need me.”
QUOTABLE
When asked what he would like to see his team accomplish in the early stages of preparation for the season, Coach Hight had this to say:
“I want to see them move around and do baseball activities. I’ve seen them play football, I’ve seen them wrestle and I’ve seen them play basketball. I want to see how that translates onto the field. We are about playing fast and playing with pace. I want to see guys playing fast and making a pace. I know we are going to make mistakes. I don’t care about mistakes, especially in the first week, but I want to see guys playing hard and playing fast.”
UP NEXT
The Bulldogs will get two full weeks of practice in before traveling to their jamboree in Chillicothe. Trenton will get to see how it stacks up against established programs Chillicothe and Macon at the event.
The Bulldogs will open their season in earnest on Saturday, March 18, playing host to North Harrison at 10 a.m. and Tina-Avalon at 2 p.m. at Burleigh Grimes Field.
North Harrison and Tina-Avalon will play between the two Trenton games.