Mustangs ready to take the diamond

By Rick Colegrove

The Hughes Springs Mustangs baseball team is set to kick off another year on the diamond. This year’s team is a bit of an enigma. With the past success of Mustang baseball, this year’s team doesn’t have the fanfare that past teams have had to live up to. Gone are the likes of Dylan Moore, Chad McKinney, Josh Anton, Eric Berryhill, and Trent Shelton.

With subtraction though comes addition. Add in young names like Bo McEntire, Alex Bruce, and Riley McKinney, who are all sophomores, and it doesn’t seem that the cupboard is quite so bare. Coach Kent Craig will have a lot of young talented players whom he will have to make decisions on before the season begins. Most positions are up for grabs, and with only 4 seniors on the squad, it will be up to the aforementioned names, and a few others to build on and add their own names to the billboards that surround the Mustang baseball diamond.

Entering his senior season is not so little brother of Dylan Moore, Jake Moore. He returns to the mound this year along with senior Zane Hanks, in hopes of making the opposing batters years tough. Moore was named First team all-district last year at pitcher, while Hanks took home Second team alldistrict honors. Riley McKinney returns at the third base position, where he received newcomer of the year award. To his left, he welcomes back teammate Alex Bruce, who garnered First team all-district at the shortstop position.

Bo McEntire will be behind the plate this year catching, and he came away with honors as well, receiving the Second team all-district catcher award. As of press time, he had no back-up, and he will be asked to carry the load.

Returning lettermen for Hughes Springs are seniors Blake Smith and Drake Hill, with sophomore Zack Pilgrim returning as well. Smith, who is also a talented musician, was asked what his plans were after high school. He said, “I plan to pursue a career in computer science and maybe play baseball.”

Sophomore Harrison Reagan returns to the first base position for the Mustangs, and is fully recovered from a knee injury that cut short his football season just a few months ago.

Jake Moore was asked what he enjoyed the most about playing baseball, and he said, “Being out here playing the game I love with all my boys.” When asked what his plans were next year, he stated, “I hope to play baseball, but I want to be an engineer.”

Bo McEntire, who is a big brother to Brady, who is a freshman, said he felt the game is much faster on the varsity level, and when asked what he still has to learn, he said, “Better myself every day, and cut down on the small mistakes.”

With a bunch of spots open for competition, the Mustang coaching staff, comprised of head coach Craig and assistants Brandon Green and Aaron Nation, will have their work cut out for them. But competition will bring out the best in these young men and under the guidance of Craig, who has 246 wins over 13 years, he is sure to get the best out of them. Last year’s team went 20-2 before surprisingly being sent home in the bidistrict round of the playoffs. This year will be a year of finding the right pieces and seeing if they fit.