New faces in new places for Ringgold in 2020
The 2020 season is shaping up to be one of change for the Ringgold Tigers.
For the first time in over a decade, the Tigers have a new head coach. Brent Tucker stepped down in the offseason to take over the same post at Rome High School and the Tigers filled the position with assistant coach and former Ringgold player Drew Walker.
Walker will be just the fourth head coach of the Ringgold program in a halfcentury.
“It’s very humbling,” he said. “This is my alma mater and I’m very blessed to have been able to come up through here. Coach (Bill) Womack used to give me hitting lessons back in middle school and he was always around when I was in high school. Coach (Eric) Beagles was a huge mentor when he was here. My discipline and accountability stuff comes from him. The mentality that I got playing for Coach Beagles and watching him do things... he’ll always be a guy I look up to.
“After he went to Heritage in 2008, Coach Tucker came over. I got the privilege to play for him and then he later gave me the opportunity to come back in 2014 and start coaching with him. There’s been just three coaches here in the past 50 years and I got the opportunity to be around all of them, so I’m very fortunate. I can take everything that they were successful at, take my personality and what I’m successful at, and put all of that together.”
On the field, Ringgold will also have something of a new look as the Tigers graduated an outstanding senior class that recorded over 100 victories and helped win four of their current run of five consecutive Region 6-AAA titles. The Tigers are also on a streak on 39 consecutive region wins, dating back to 2017.
One thing that will not change, however, is Ringgold’s dedication to excellence and that starts with a senior class that Walker says he has plenty of love for.
Shortstop Brayden Broome (.371, 2 HR, 25 RBIs in 2019) is a four-year starter that will bat in the middle of the lineup. An All-State honorable mention selection a season ago, Broome has already signed with Samford University. Outfielder Dylan Wright is an outstanding athlete that has been hampered with injuries the past couple of years. However, now fully healthy again, the future Covenant College Scot is ready to show what he can do.
Corner infielder Caleb Roberts is in his fourth year with the Ringgold program. A hard worker, Roberts is one of the stronger players on the team, as is first baseman Gavin Hames, whom Walker said has completely bought in to the weight room and the nutrition program and is now bigger, stronger and faster than ever.
Jake Stockburger can play in the middle of the infield or play in the outfield. A courtesy runner in the past, Stockburger is a good base runner, a solid defender and a smart player, while the final senior, rightfielder Gage Fairchild, is another outstanding defensive player with a very good arm and a very good overall knowledge of the game.
“You’ll see that throughout our senior class, they are all very consistent,” Walker explained. “All of them, other than Brayden, have not really had a chance to prove themselves up to this point, but they have busted their tails in the offseason. They’ve all bought in and I’m really excited about these guys.”
A very large junior class starts with catcher Sam Mills (.313, 3 HR, 22 RBIs), an All-Region pick a year ago, while Price Pennington will play middle infield and could also see time behind the plate. McCain Mangum and Noah Carpenter will log innings at the corner infield spots, while Colin Mountjoy will also play on the infield.
Austin McMahan will play at first base and Andrew McCarver can play third base, as well as the middle infield positions. In the outfield, Eli Norris, Chase Ghormley and Kenyon Ransom will provide depth, while Norris, Ghormley, Mangum, Mountjoy and McMahan will also see time on the mound.
Behind them is a large sophomore contingent that includes infielders Mason Parker, Hudson Chandler and Ringgold transfer Isaac King. Mason Burt can play at either one of the corner infield spots, while Brody Gann will give the Tigers another solid catcher. In the outfield, Kyle White, Aiden Long, Aaron Elswick and James Klementisz will give Ringgold additional depth. Parker, Bert, King and Robbie Bates will also help bolster the Tigers’ pitching staff. Parker will be one of the most experienced returning Tiger pitchers, having gone 5-1 a year ago with a 1.05 ERA.
A pair of versatile freshmen in Ross Norman and Ty Gilbert will also look to make an impact with the varsity this season. Norman can play on the corners, behind the plate or on the mound, while Gilbert can play in the infield or the outfield. He may also log some innings on the hill for the Tigers.
Walker said that he believes the keys to his team’s season are consistency and being ready when their number is called.
“Some of these guys don’t have a lot of game experience because of the classes that we’ve had come through here the last couple of years, but they’ve all worked hard in the offseason, which has given them confidence up to this point,” he added. “We had a month of preparation (before the first game of the season) and preparation instills confidence. These guys have earned the moment through their preparation and we’re just waiting for the preparation to meet the opportunity. If they can keep that consistency, they’re going to be very confident when they get out there on the field.”