Jackson baseball faces a new level of expectations heading into 2016

The Jackson baseball team won't have the luxury of playing spoiler in 2016.

The Indians did that a year ago when they claimed the Class 5 District 1 crown as a No. 3 seed before coming up one game short of reaching the final four.

Jackson returns a plethora of experience from that 22-11 squad, but the momentum from that postseason run could help take the Indians to the next level.

"We've kind of stapled that that's the standard of the program," said Jackson coach Bryan Austin, who's entering his fourth season at the helm. "That's where we want to be year in and year out with the wins and also in the competition in the SEMO Conference and in our district. With the experience that we have coming back, we feel like we have a good opportunity to compete again.

"The kids remember the feeling of the sectional and quarterfinal, and they're hungry to get back there."

The Indians' playoff run last season began when they rallied from a four-run deficit to defeat sixth-seeded Hillsboro, 6-5, in the first round of the district tournament. After a 7-4 win over second-seeded Farmington in the semifinals, Jackson avenged previous losses against top-seeded Poplar Bluff by edging out a 2-1 win in the district final.

"We knew we were playing really good baseball at the time," Jackson junior Colten Weber said. "We really came in there with a fire in us and really just wanted that win."

Another upset win -- the Indians defeated Lindbergh 2-0 in a state sectional -- was followed by a thrilling 2-0, eight-inning loss against state-ranked Eureka in the state quarterfinals. Gavon Turner came out on the losing end of the pitcher's duel, finishing with four strikeouts and one walk in 7 2/3 innings of work.

The opportunity itself was memorable for Turner, who returns for his senior year to lead an experienced pitching staff.

"It humbled me," said Turner, who went 4-4 as a junior with a 2.57 ERA, 50 strikeouts and nine walks.

"Being a junior and pitching varsity, it just doesn't get better than that," he said.

Turner finished with the most innings (49) among Jackson's returning pitchers. He started seven games and provided the team's only two saves of the season.

"He's been in a spot where he's thrown in a lot of big games," Austin said. "We made a decision last year in the district tournament that Gavon was going to come out of the bullpen almost every single game, just because he's the type of kid that we know is going to compete no matter how he feels that day. He was able to throw the quarterfinal game, which gave him a ton of confidence going into the offseason."

Turner was the ace for Jackson Post 158 last summer. He guided the senior legion team to its fourth straight district title, wrapping up a 123-pitch, complete-game performance with an 11-3 win over Cape Girardeau Ford and Sons Post 63.

Looking bigger and stronger than ever before, Turner used the offseason to add more muscle in the weight room.

The weights always help, no matter what the situation is," Turner said. "I've beefed up. I've definitely gained some more weight for muscle, and I think that will potentially help us throughout the season.

"Hopefully I can put up some zeros on the board."

Juniors Jarrett Newell and Weber will also be key contributors on the Indians' pitching staff.

Newell, an All-Southeast Missourian selection, was 3-1 with a 0.96 ERA for Jackson as a sophomore. He pitched 29 1/3 innings and had 22 strikeouts and 14 walks.

Weber, who's verbally committed to play at the next level with Dallas Baptist, was primarily used as a catcher a year ago but was effective in six innings of work. He notched a 1-0 record with a 3.50 ERA, finishing with nine strikeouts and 11 walks.

"Colten Weber is a more higher-velocity guy. He'll locate the slider and the changeup, but what gets him to where he is is his velocity," Austin said. "Jarrett Newell is kind of opposite of both of them. He's more of an off-speed type guy who has pinpoint location.

"It's nice to have three guys who are all kind of different where it will be more of a matchup situation for us this year. I'm very excited about that."

The Indians will be tasked with replacing seven key contributors from last season, but none looms larger than Michael Houchin, who threw a team-high 76 1/3 innings and posted a 1.38 ERA with 85 strikeouts and 20 walks.

Austin understands the challenge in compensating for Houchin's competitive edge, but he's confident in what his newest group of hurlers bring to the table.

"You look at those three kids already, and they were on the team last year in the district tournament and were very key parts to it," Austin said. "Bringing those guys back is huge, and I feel like our underclassmen fit in very, very well. They're kids that were very talented last year in the JV program or in the junior legion program, so we're just ready for them to come up and produce at the varsity level."

Ben Maudie, Ryan Harvey and Landon Mills are gone in the outfield, giving way for several new players to step into those roles. Austin hopes senior Tristan Thele and junior Tyler Knight can help solidify the outfield.

"What we knew we were getting out of the senior outfield was that they were going to play great defense, and they were also going to produce offensively," Austin said. "We've moved some guys in there that have moved up that can transition and be those type of guys and maybe have a little bit better offense, so we're excited about those abilities.

"We feel like we've got a young kid in center field who has a chance to be very, very good."

That "young kid" is Knight, a player who Austin believes can contribute early and often.

"He's been a stellar kid in previous programs -- junior varsity and junior legion -- and we've seen a lot of him already in our scrimmages and also our jamboree," Austin said. "We feel like he's going to add solid pop to the lineup."

The losses of Jon Schumer, Cameron Duke and Tyler Slinkard will allow several other players to prove themselves in the infield. Those players include senior Tristan Burdette (catcher, third base), senior Ryan Mize (first base) and junior Drew Brown (second base).

Jackson batted .281 as a team last season but returns perhaps its greatest offensive weapon in Newell, who had a team-leading 19 RBIs and .354 batting average as a junior.

The Indians took part in a four-team jamboree last weekend at Vianney, which also included Parkway South and Pacific. Austin said he was encouraged by his team's performance.

"We faced three very good baseball teams and had quite a bit of offense in the jamboree setting, so we're excited to get going with it," Austin said. "Early on, you have to kind of expect that there are going to be days where you don't hit. Pitching and defense is key early on, as it is late in the year in district tournaments."

Jackson has a unique depth and utility that's considered atypical by previous teams' standards. Austin believes the greatest strength of this year's squad is its overall athleticism, something it'll need if it hopes to contend in a conference that includes defending state champion Notre Dame and defending conference tournament champion Poplar Bluff.

"I don't think anybody starting off typically has an upper hand in the SEMO Conference. It's very competitive," Austin said. "We always say as coaches that it's probably the most competitive conference in the state. I think each team in that conference has an opportunity to win it. We know that Poplar Bluff is returning a lot of their lineup just from playing them in conference and in district play.

"We feel that we're going to be a quality baseball team. We'll definitely compete, and if we do things right, we'll be right where we need to be at the end."

For the most part, the Indians' goals remain pretty much the same, but expectations are different -- the Missouri Prep Baseball Report has Jackson listed as the ninth-ranked team in Class 5.

However, Austin understands that none of those expectations will matter if the Indians aren't ready when the postseason arrives.

"We have regular-season goals that we talk about, but the main goal is that we're playing our best baseball come the district tournament," Austin said. "We feel like everything will take care of itself from there.

"We still have the goal from two years ago when I took over. Our main goal is to get to O'Fallon, where the final four is. That's what's in their minds all the time. That's what they're told all the time, but to attain that, we've got to be playing great baseball when May comes around."