Coming off a spring in which no high school sports took place, Center Grove baseball coach Keith Hatfield found himself in a most unique position.
For the first time in his eight years at the school, Hatfield, who would have fielded a senior-dominated squad with state championship potential in 2020 had the pandemic not wiped out the season, was as curious as he was enthusiastic.
With the Trojans off to a 7-1 start and ranked fifth in Class 4A, it’s now more about the latter.
“We knew we were talented, but really had no expectations because you didn’t know how those guys would react,” said Hatfield, referring to a team loaded with talented juniors and sophomores. “Tyler (Cerny) and Mitchell (Evans) were the only ones with varsity experience.”
Like any young squad, there have been growing pains — most notably the six errors Center Grove committed in a 10-0 loss to No. 1 Columbus North at a tournament in Noblesville.
“It was a snowball that got bigger and bigger and bigger,” Hatfield said. “It’s really about teaching them how to prepare for those types of environments.”
Cerny, the starting shortstop, missed four games after experiencing knee soreness following the team’s lone setback. The junior is expected back for the rematch this weekend; Center Grove plays at Columbus North on Saturday.
In 2018, Hatfield mostly played nine players. During the Trojans’ semistate run two years earlier, his lineup was fairly consistent with the exception of rotating at second base.
The depth of his current club offers Hatfield no shortage of enticing options depending on the opponent and situation. That applies at the plate, in the field and on the pitcher’s mound.
According to Prep Baseball Report, Center Grove has five of the state’s top 75 juniors (Cerny, Evans, pitchers Jacob Wilson and Aidan Murphy and second baseman Sam Griffith) and four of the top 25 sophomores (pitchers Ben Murphy and Caden Cornett, outfielder Garrison Barile and infielder Drew Culbertson).
Juniors Caden Curry, Owen Guilfoy and Matthew Sauter have seen plenty of time in the lineup this spring, as has sophomore catcher Grant Sawa.
“It’s going to be hard to find everybody the innings that they should get. There’s going to be a couple of guys that end up throwing JV, just because they need more innings than what they’re going to get at the varsity level — which is obviously a good problem to have,” Hatfield said.
"The infield depth and the outfield depth, it’s there; it’s just really, really young. And it’s easy to be young on the mound in the regular season, maybe even nonconference games, but it’s hard to be young mentally in the field — in my mind, at least."
The Trojans roster isn’t void of seniors. There are eight, including pitcher Drue Young and first baseman Zach Ferguson.
Young, a right-hander off to a 3-0 start after striking out nine Lawrence Central batters in a 13-0 victory on Tuesday, said the work toward a memorable 2021 campaign began the instant last season was shelved.
“We were really supposed to be insane last year, but as soon as we got shut down, the younger guys stepped up, and (seniors) stepped up and said we’re going to get to work,” Young said. “I would consider myself one of the leaders on the team along with Griffin Poore, Collin Taylor and Blake Seslar.”
What kind of season Center Grove puts together will be answered in the weeks ahead as it searches for its first sectional championship in five years. One thing, however, is certain — that the future is bright.
