Righting the ship
Brookwood baseball looking to improve in 2018
THOMASVILLE — The 2017 season was a long and sometimes painful one for Brookwood baseball. The Warriors finished the year with just five wins, and went winless in GISA Region 3-3A play.
Under second-year head coach Daniel Funt, they’ll be looking for a rebound year in 2018.
“Though we had some injuries and things like that, last year was not acceptable,” Funt said.
“We definitely want to improve upon that and that’s what we’re looking for. I don’t know the limits of this team. We’ve got to keep working, we’ve got to find ourselves, some leaders have to emerge.
“We’ve got to turn the ship around. We’ve got to figure something out and get more consistency.”
Funt will have three seniors to try to get that with. Tyler Mirick, Will Saunders and Daniel Atkinson will be looking to fill those leadership roles. Mirick was hurt for most of last season, but will look to help lead Brookwood’s pitching staff.
“We’re just looking for more consistent innings out of him,” Funt said.
“He’s got the stuff, he’s just got to put it all together.”
The rest of the team is quite young, full of mostly juniors and freshmen.
While there might be some inexperience there, Funt hopes they understand what’s demanded of them in his second year at the helm.
“They’re more familiar with me and the coaches are more on the same page, so we’re allowed accelerate more, I feel like,” Funt said.
“They know me and know what I expect. We’re just able to go in detail and push them harder. That unfamiliarity of being the new coach is gone.”
Joe Parker, Will Cook and Jacob Lauderdale will all look to get quality innings on the mound.
The infield still needs to be shored up, but it could consist of Nick Knifer, Lauderdale and Cook.
Lance Wortman was a reliable player last year, and the junior will return to man center field. Other than that, the outfield spots are wide open as well. Freshman Josh McCaskill will see significant time behind the plate at catcher. “When you’re struggling as a ball club and you’re looking to improve and turn things around, to me you’ve got to be open-minded,” Funt said. “That’s part of it and it leaves a lot of things unsettled.”
Brookwood’s perceived strengths will be defense and speed along the basepaths. Still, Funt wants to see his team’s performance at the plate improve. The Warriors’ pitching was there at times last season, but theoffense struggled. “You can’t steal first base,” Funt said. “We need to draw some walks and be aggressive at the plate.” The Warriors will host Thomasville today at 5 p.m.
Brookwood School
Located in Thomasville, GA, Brookwood School is a private school for grades JK-12. Students benefit from a challenging academic program, fine and performing arts, competitive athletics, and a wide selection of extracurricular activities.