GENERALS

“Well first of all, you don’t replace them,” he explained. “What graduated were kids that spent their entire careers here and we’re dedicated and worked hard every single day towards what they were able to accomplish. You don’t replace that in just one year. It will take a mindset and that’s part of our challenge with this year’s group; to accept that mindset.

“There’s a standard that has been set. It means being dedicated in the classroom, being dedicated in the weight room, taking care of themselves and taking care of each other. There’s a lot that goes into it and it’s something that takes a lot of time.”

While the responsibilities of maintaining the standard will be shared by the entire roster, it will be a group of five seniors who will do its best to try and lead the Generals on their quest to defend their region crown.

Heritage’s two returning position players will include third baseman Brody Campbell and middle infielder Nolan Letzgus. Beagles we’ll be counting heavily on pitcher Dakota Bandy to step up in his final season. Walker Spruiell will also be asked to shoulder some of the pitching load, in addition to his time on the infield, while the final senior, Aaron Colquitt, can play in the outfield and catch.

“It’s not a big group of seniors, but we have some guys that have been around this program for a while now,” Beagles added. “We’re looking forward to seeing how they take us and lead us.”

Among the junior class, Luke Teague, Ethan Lovell and Camden Quails will all see time on the infield, while Teague could also see time in the outfield. The last junior is utility player Pete Padgett, who could see action at a number of positions, including behind the plate and on the mound.

A large sophomore contingent will be asked to step up in a big way this spring. Caden Snyder and Nick Hanson will both play on the infield and pitch, while Hanson could see time in the outfield. Alex Mixon will be in the mix behind the plate and could see time at other positions as well.

In the outfield, Cade Kiniry has some varsity experience from last year. Dylan Bryan will also see time in the outfield, as will Gabe Serrano, who is new to the Heritage program. Serrano can also play some infield, while Trey Faulkner will be counted on to eat up some innings for the Generals on the mound.

With so much turnover on the roster, it could be an opportunity for several freshmen to earn playing time. This year’s rookie class includes three players, Ryan Heet, Cannon Stafford and J.T. Eaton, that all have experience catching. Eaton will also play some at first base, while Heet is a solid utility player. The rest of the freshman class features infielder Mike Stokes and outfielders Hayden Hall and Josh Apple. Hall will also add depth to the pitching staff.

Jake Ledbetter will be back for his fourth season with the Heritage

program and serve as the Generals’ lone assistant coach this season.

With such a large group of newer faces, and with several players still involved with basketball, Beagles said cohesion and team unity will take a little while to develop. However, he feels that the biggest thing for his players is to simply work to get better each and every day.

“That’s what everyone tries to do, but it’s going to be critical for us,” He added. “The strength of our team better be defense. We’ve always hung our hat on being able to make plays defensively and that’s been our emphasis early on this preseason. We want to be defensively sound in what we do.

“Our pitchers will get their strikeouts, but we’re not going to have guys go out there and strike out 14 or 15 batters a game like last year. There are going to be balls put in play and that’s fine. We just have to be sure we’re capable of taking care of things when the ball is put in play.”

Beagles added that apart from staying healthy, which he said is a must, the other key to the season will be for his players to understand and accept their roles on the team.

“We’re going to have to have some guys that can just give us a couple of innings, but they may be very tough innings,” he added. “They’re going to have to see the big picture. We have different guys that are going to be able to do different things for us, so being able to get all of that to mesh and come together will be our ticket.”

Heritage will start out with a home game against always-tough Calhoun on Monday, Feb. 18.

From B2