Hazelwood West Baseball Squad Ready for Season Opener

After suffering an unceremonious end to their 2010 season with a loss to rival in the district championship game, the varsity baseball team has been working all winter to get ready for the coming 2011 campaign.

Wildcats varsity head coach Matt McClellan, in his first full season as West High’s top ‘Cat after serving as an assistant for nine years previous, said his squad is excited about its chances to be a good ballclub this season.

The Wildcats bring back just two starters, and four seniors total, from last year’s 16-10 team, but expect to be one of the teams that can compete for a Suburban North Conference championship this year, after tying with Hazelwood Central for the league crown last year.

“We graduated quite a few players, eight total, from last year,” McClellan said, following a team workout on a wet, blustery day at Mennemeier Field March 9. “But this is a brand new season.

"Each year is different, and we plan to coach the best we can, and play the best we can, and see what happens.”

McClellan knows a bit about what it takes to be a good ball player. He was an all-conference pitcher and outfielder for Hazelwood West during his high school playing days. He was also a junior college All-Star, and MVP of the American National St. Louis Amateur Baseball Association team back in '96.

For the '11 Wildcats though, McClellan said one of the team's strengths is that it has several really good players in a program that won three straight district titles before suffering last year’s title game loss.

“We’ve got a great group of kids that are willing to learn and are open to coaching,” McClellan said.

One of the players coming back this season is first-team all-conference centerfielder Trevor Jones. Last year, Jones ranked fourth in the Suburban North Conference in hitting with a .448 batting average, and also finished second in the league in with 37 runs scored and 23 stolen bases.

Back in February, Jones was one of five Hazelwood West student-athletes who participated in the , where he announced that he’d accepted a full scholarship to play baseball at the University of Central Missouri next season.

“Trevor is definitely one of the players we’re going to rely on,” McClellan said. “Anybody that would see us play, would notice immediately what a great young man and great player Trevor is.

“He’s got all the tools, he’s got great natural speed to defend and run the bases, (and) he hits for high average," he said. "He can hit for power (and) he really is an exciting player to watch.”

The Wildcats also bring back catcher Joe Napoli, an improving collegiate prospect, who split time at the position last year, but is expected to be the primary starter this season.

“He’s been a vocal leader and a reliable catcher for us,” McClellan said. “It’s important that Joe has a good season in those roles for us.”

Outfielder Darrius Howard and third baseman Paul Chavez are the other seniors back this year that McClellan said he expects to be leaders and contributors this season.

The pitching staff is where the Wildcats suffered their biggest losses to graduation. Fifteen of the team’s 16 wins last season came from players that are no longer at Hazelwood West.

That means that despite being a talented group, the Wildcats will have one of the most inexperienced pitching staffs in the entire area. But McClellan said that’s not necessarily a bad thing.

“We have a lot of good competition among some really good players,” McClellan said. “Every guy we’ve got is working his butt off because he knows he has a shot to be a starter.

"Competition like that among your players is a good thing," he said. "Everybody comes to practice everyday looking to get better.”

Two young pitchers McClellan mentioned as catching his eye during early workouts are sophomore lefty Jared Fosdick and freshman righthander Jordan Yakel, both were youth league standouts that McClellan said don’t seemed fazed by the idea of facing older players on the varsity this year.

“They’ve both been pretty impressive so far,” McClellan said. “But it still remains to be seen how (they’ll handle) pitching in actual games.”

That could be said for the whole team, which will feature the four seniors, up to nine juniors, four sophomores and a freshman.

A young group that will be tested early and often in the very difficult Suburban North, but McClellan said his team won’t be intimidated.

“Our league is really good, it always is,” McClellan said. “But we’re not gonna focus on other teams.

"We’re just gonna worry about how we play and how we pitch and how we hit," he said. "We’re just gonna play our best and see what happens.”

Hazelwood West begins its '11 campaign on Monday, March 21, when they’ll take on the No. 9-ranked preseason team in the area, . The following day, Tuesday, April 22, the Wildcats will take on , before opening league play on Thursday, April 24, with a game at Ritenour.

Hazelwood West’s first home game this season will be Tuesday, March 29, when the Wildcats will host Suburban North rival McCluer. First pitch that day is 4 p.m.