Title holders have competition in the dugout
For the Sheridan Yellowjackets, the biggest takeaway from last year’s statechampionship win was the fact that it proved 2015’s title win wasn’t a fluke. “It validated our first win,” head coach Mike Moore said. “It set a tone around here. That is what we are playing for — to win a state championship. “It gave our community a lot of pride, especially with the girls winning as well. It validated what we did in 2015.” Sheridan, which finished 33-5 last season, has 14 seniors returning this year, including six starters. “We have just been reloading these past couple of years,” Moore said. “Over the past four or five years, we have had 17 kids who are interchangeable at times. “There is also somebody in the dugout who could play their spot. It has just created a lot of competition. Competition makes you better.” Moore said his kids know they have to earn their keep if they want to stay out on the field. “We have several kids back who played significant roles last year,” Moore said. “Pitchingwise, we have all of our pitching back from last year, so there is not a lot of drop-off there. “We are better in some ways.” Senior Tyler Cleveland, who signed with the University of Central Arkansas in Conway, returns after allowing just 4 hits and 1 earned run combined during last year’s semifinals and finals. His overall record was 8-1 with 72 strikeouts and 18 walks. “He was MVP of the state finals and was the Wendy’s Player of the Year,” Moore said. “In the semifinals and finals of the state tournament last year, he pitched 14 innings against teams with a combined record of 58-9. He also had 19 strikeouts in those two games and only walked 1 batter.” Moore called Cleveland’s tournament performance phenomenal. “He is a really good basketball player as well,” Moore said, “so he has been busy with that until recently. But he’s throwing on his own and doing some things on his own.” In his first game back this season, Cleveland pitched four innings and didn’t allow a hit, but he did walk four batters. He left the game leading 2-0. “It is still early in the season, so I didn’t want him to throw a lot of pitches,” Moore said. Senior Chance Wallingsford, who works as the No. 2 pitcher for Sheridan, has signed with Henderson State University in Arkadelphia. He also batted lead-off for the Yellowjackets last year, with a batting average of .380. “He is more of a bulldog mentality,” Moore said. “He is a very tough out. He hits the baseball hard consistently.” Senior Dalton Domrase pitched 5 2/3 innings of shutout ball against Little Rock Christian Academy in the season opener on Feb. 26. Sophomore Tyler Cacciatori, who has verbally committed to the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville, hasn’t pitched yet this year, but he threw a no-hitter against El Dorado High School last season as a freshman. “He’s a solid kid, too,” Moore said. “He is still recovering from an injury from basketball season, so we are trying to get him fully healthy before we move forward with him. “We want to give him time to heal up and get to full strength.” Moore said Cacciatori is a big guy and has “good mechanics, and a good strong arm.” “He has a big, strong and physical presence,” the coach said. “He is real confident and real aggressive. “He has good command of his pitches and is just a real solid pitcher. He is also very experienced.” Cacciatori normally plays shortstop but will probably be moved to second base and even some first base this year. “He just presents a big target over there,” Moore said. “He is pretty versatile. He can play just about anywhere.” Senior Hunter Hicks, who has also signed with UCA, has been a starter for Sheridan since his freshman year. He batted .388 last season and was named MVP of the state finals in 2015 as a freshman. “I’ve got some pretty high-level kids, and
they have been big parts of our success over the past two years,” Moore said. The Yellowjackets have played four games so far this season, with their only loss coming against White Hall in extra innings during a tournament at Benton High School. “Offensively, we aren’t hitting on all cylinders,” Moore said. “It is mostly timing issues, not a lot to correct mechanically. “The biggest thing with most kids is their timing. We are really focusing on timing things. Collectively, we are hitting, because we have about 18 hits a game.” Moore said that when White Hall beat them the other day, “you would have thought they won the national championship or World Series.” “That’s a compliment to our kids,” Moore said. “We went through that last year as well. It makes you realize, you can’t show up and take anybody for granted because you may be their big game. “Everybody wants to knock off the best.” According to Moore, the Yellowjackets began the season ranked 18th by Baseball America in its Top 50 preseason national rankings. “Offensively, we probably lack the overall home-run threats we had last year, but we can put the ball in play consistently throughout the lineup,” Moore said. “There are no easy outs in there. “If we can keep them hungry and focused, we could make another run at it. The thing is, nobody else cares about what’s on paper. You don’t win games on paper. We will have to show up and play well to accomplish our goals.”