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VINCENT — The spring sports season at Warren High School should be exciting as the baseball and softball programs continue to build while head track coach Tony Zaleski has some solid returning talent and a plethora of newcomers to work with as well.

TRACK

Marshall University signee Sydney Starcher returns for her senior campaign after earning D2 All-Ohio honors in the high jump last spring.

Not only did Starcher finish runner-up at the indoor state track meet, but this past Saturday the Warriors went to the Adidas Track Nationals in Virginia Beach where she cleared 5 feet, 6 inches to finish national runner-up in the high jump.

“We had a lot of graduates so there’s a lot of younger kids probably going to be stepping up a good bit, especially in our sprints,” said Zaleski, who lost All-Ohio pole vaulter Amanda Rauch.

“I feel like we graduated a lot of sprinters. We’re feeling that out right now. It will be a lot of new faces on that side.”

The boys side of the roster is nearly 40 strong while the girls feature 28 with half of them being freshmen.

“Clay Perry just missed the (300 hurdle) finals in the D1 (state) meet, but he had a good campaign,” Zaleski said. “He had a good offseason this year and he’s looking pretty quick at the moment.

“Most of our 4×8 returns. We have a good bit of our sprinters and they’ve grown and are stronger and bigger. I’m looking forward to seeing what they run.”

The boys bring back speedster Eric Carr, who a week ago Saturday earned All-Ohio honors at the state wrestling meet after placing sixth in the 215-pound division.

“He just got back to us and hasn’t got a lot of practice in yet,” said the coach.

“He’s coming along. We’ll see how he’s faring when it’s a little bit warmer.”

Coach Zaleski admitted the boys “had a little bit of turnover, but we returned a lot of our varsity roster. Luke (Rettenberger) was All-Ohio in cross country this year. He ran pretty well and made it to regionals.

“Him and Spencer Rehl, he made it to regionals in the mile. Eric is also a long jumper. He set two school records last year in the 200 and long jump.”

The boys, who have dropped to D2 while the girls are set to compete in D3, are coming off a district title.

“It was very exciting for us. I don’t know if we’ve done that as a team in a long time,” said Zaleski, who added of Perry “we hope he can have a good year in the hurdles and he’ll be a contributor in like the 400 and some relays. Kyle Anthony is a junior this year and he broke 2 (minutes) last year in the 800 and we’re hoping he can have a good year as well. On the throws side, we graduated Mason Francis and he was one of our better discus throwers, but we have a senior this year, his second year, Craig Bennett, and he’s been throwing pretty well here recently.

“He’s put in a lot of work and we’re hoping he has a good year. (Sophomore sprinter) Ethan Lambert has shown a lot of promise here starting the year. He did a lot in the offseason trying to get quicker. Jackson Venham is back. He was one of our good pole vaulters and then Mason Werry kind of goes all over the place. He’s probably our guy that we can put in most events and he’ll do well. We have a good crew coming back. Our seniors are solid and I think we’ll do pretty well, and hopefully we can compete for another district title on that side.”

When it came to the girls, Zaleski stressed “we’re young. We’re hoping to do well, but time will tell a little bit on the girls’ side.”

The Warrior boss said the team participation as a whole for indoor meets this winter was better and he’s quite encouraged by that.

“Juliana Huffman was a regional qualifier in the long jump,” added the coach. “She was a freshman last year. She’s grown a couple of inches. She’s looking a good bit stronger and we’re hoping she can contribute in jumps and some relays, and hopefully some hurdles. Ashlee Pate is back. She’s our 2-miler. Holly Reed is a senior and will be with our distance group.

“(Sprinter) Emma Parker is a senior. She’ll probably lead us in the 100 and 200. (Senior) Abby Whited, last year, set our school record in the 300 hurdles and she contributes in a lot of the sprints. (Junior) Josi Waterman was one of our varsity girls last year and she’s been throwing pretty well.”

The Warriors open their season at home on Saturday with the Fairweather Relays.

BASEBALL

Fifth-year skipper Chad Porter’s squad might not have a senior, but the youthful Warriors bring back a plethora of experience from last year’s 10-13 team that lost in the first round of the postseason to Chillicothe.

“We got a lot of guys back that played as freshmen or sophomores, which is good,” admitted Porter, who scrimmaged Mountain State programs Independence and Williamstown. “The big thing for us is we had a great winter.

“We had a great fall, winter and even going back to last summer in terms of guys playing travel ball and legion. Just continuing to develop these guys. They need to log innings. We need to get into a consistent routine.”

Although the Warriors will have to replace a pair of key seniors in catcher Brandon Cline and shortstop Jacob Sealey, who combined for 34 runs-batted-in, Porter likes the makeup of his group.

However, one thing he’s hoping added experience will bring to the table is a more consistent defense as the Warriors averaged a little more than 2.5 errors an outing.

“A lot defensively, when you’re running four or five freshmen out there and two or three sophomores, you got 14-year-olds playing against some 18-year-olds and it seemed like a lot of teams that we played were senior heavy,” said the coach. “That’s definitely not an excuse because you have to catch and throw the baseball at a high level to win, but hopefully that experience and those guys getting comfortable will help with that, and we’ve worked very hard on it.

“I would say as a coach, defense is probably on the top of my list. Hitting comes and goes in such waves that for me, you have to score runs, don’t get me wrong, and run the bases really well and all that stuff, but I think you win it on the mound and defensively. I think especially at the high school level. If you can catch the baseball and you can pitch a little bit, I think you are going to win more times than not. That’s been a point of emphasis all the way in the summer even. We need to improve on it.”

Sophomore center fielder Braylen Murray, who is the only left-handed pitcher on the team, returns after hitting .307 with a .404 on-base percentage and seven steals. He also joins Jayce Hilverding, Haiden Strong and Tate Jonas as the leading returning run producers after driving in nine apiece a year ago.

“I wish we had some more lefties, but Braylen Murray is kind of our varsity lone lefty right now,” admitted Porter. “We’ve got Tate back and he threw a no-hitter last year. He’s kind of our ace coming back. Al Winters has some really, really good stuff. He’s continuing to mature on the mound. Of course, Haiden threw some big innings for us last year, notably against (Parkersburg) South and Athens. He did some really good stuff on the mound and is a really good pitcher.

“You’ve got his younger brother, Carter Strong, and he’s looked very good on the mound as well. Cody Eding is another pitcher. We just haven’t had an opportunity to see him yet with his injury, but he’s getting there. Bo Jonas also. Corey Floyd, a freshman, could see some innings, too. We’ve got a little bit of depth with seven guys right there. Early on you just don’t know, but it may be the strength of our team. That group has only given up a couple of runs in the two scrimmages we’ve had. Obviously at this point in the season you’re cautiously optimistic.”

When asked about the Warrior defense up the middle Porter noted when Murray’s not on the bump he’ll roam center. Will Carte has taken over catching duties and Bo Jonas will man second base.

“At shortstop there could be three different guys at this point with Al Winters, Tate Jonas and freshman Cody Eding, and Cody is hurt right now so all the reps have been between Al and Tate,” said the coach. “I feel really confident that everybody at that position will probably be plugged in somewhere, but it’s good. They can all play second and short, and at least two of them can play third.

“At this point, Haiden Strong and Al Winters have taken most of the reps at third base. Al’s played a lot at shortstop in the first two scrimmages because Tate’s pitched. The bulk of the reps at third base thus far have been with Haiden Strong. We don’t feel like we got a ton of depth, especially with Cody hurt right now, but him coming back is just going to give us a lot more flexibility. We’re hoping sometime in the next few weeks. We’re not 100% sure yet, but sometime soon.”

Hilverding is expected to split time at first base and right field.

Left field duties will fall to Carter Strong, Logan Wukelich and Aiden Lipscomb, who is the understudy to Carte.

“Aiden is a kid and so is Carter Strong who could kind of be the ultimate utility guys,” Porter added. “Carter plays second base as well and does a good job.

“Hilverding is a very good outfielder. We got a couple young guys there who can do a couple different things.”

All-in-all, Porter doesn’t see any reason the Warriors can’t be more successful this year despite their overall lack of varsity experience.

“I think offensively these guys are going to get better and better and better with at-bats,” Porter stressed.

“The more at-bats the better you are going to get. Baseball is a game. The more you play the better you get. We need to play and we need to play clean. I’m excited about this group.

“They are great kids. High character kids that work extremely hard and love to be around each other. That makes it a lot of fun and they are very good baseball players, too. They just were very green and I think we are going to get better and better and better everyday.”

SOFTBALL

The pieces are coming together for eighth-year Warrior softball coach Katie Wells, who watched her team produce a 9-15 mark last year as WHS welcomes in seven freshmen to the program.

Junior DeLaney Gates returns after hitting .423 with 10 doubles, four triples, three bombs and 11 RBIs to go along with a dozen steals. Junior Gracie Adams and senior Marina Johnson also return inside the circle.

Of course, Wells knows pitching and defense will be key as always and that’s an area she feels should be a strength. Last spring, Warren committed two errors per game.

“Honestly, my team made me proud last year and I think they are even more locked in defensively this year,” said the coach. “I think that’s probably our strength, just basic fundamental softball. I would like to get it to one because it’s tough to beat a team who plays at a one error average.

“Gracie Adams will be my number one pitcher. This year helping her I have Peyton Metz and Marina will probably split time, and then we might see Addalyn Williams a little bit on varsity, too. I have about 14 deep as far as depth on defense, so that’s kind of cool. I have a lot to work with this year.”

Jayda Murray, who hit .357 with seven doubles and 11 RBis as a sophomore, will handle catching duties with sophomore Ana Shutts.

Lila Smith, a three-year starter at first who had four two-baggers and five RBIs as a junior, will be aided by junior Carly Kesterson and freshman Skyler Parsons.

The coach said second baseman Hailey Metz, who had six doubles and 13 RBIs as a sophomore, “pretty much has that on lock. I have a rotation of four girls that are utilities – Hailey, DeLaney, Marina and Jeanna Klinglesmith. We didn’t see a lot of her last year and she’s going to have a slow start this year because of injury.

“She is fundamentally sound and the four of them are going to split time between shortstop, second and third. The four of them feed off of each other while they bring energy in the middle infield and keep things rolling.”

The coach noted Johnson “will probably take on third base. We’ll start DeLaney there. Jeanna will be in the mix.”

Lang, who batted .300 and drove in 11, returns in center.

“Probably one of my most dependable defenders on the entire team,” Wells said. “The girl didn’t have an error all season last year until our last regular season game.

“She’s a four-year starter. She’s just really blossomed since last year. Her leadership has been incredible. She’s going to be our go-to girl.”

It looks like senior Bralyn Bonnette will handle duties in right field while freshman Danica Gates has been pegged to start in left field.

“She’s a mini Emma,” Wells said of Danica Gates. “The three of them can cover the grass like no combination I think I’ve ever had.”

The coach, who will look to utilize Klinglesmith’s speed, said she plans to keep Shutts’ bat in the lineup as the DP. As a freshman, Shutts batted .368 in limited opportunities.

“We’ve set goals. The girls are excited,” Wells said. “The practices have been going great. It sounds silly, but this group generally likes each other. That’s huge. We’ve decided that nothing less than .500 is acceptable for this year.

“We are looking for a much improved season and I think one game at a time if our pitching can hold out. I don’t have nearly as much depth as I would like there, but if our pitching holds out then we’re going to be just fine.”

Warren, which isn’t considered a squad that mashes the ball all around the field, is more than content to work with what they got.

“Offensively, we’re not a home run hitting club. We’re a run the daylights out of the bases and move each other around and string some things together kind of team,” Wells stressed. “The depth that we have, we have one of the most well-rounded groups, even-balanced groups.

“Any given day anybody can perform and make things happen. We have a ton of speed from one to nine. We have girls who can hit for contact. We have a handful that can hit for power, but even our power hitters are capable of being our best base runners. Warren likes to run bases and we’re going to push the issue.”