Tigers looking to be one percent better every day on diamond

NEELYVILLE — The Neelyville Tigers aim to improve one percent each day as they gear up for a vigorous baseball season.

With last season’s defeat in the Class 2 District 1 championship game lingering over their heads, the Tigers are eager to step back onto the ball field and return to the big game. Head coach David Crockett said the Tigers had some good practices leading up to opening day and has noticed a big boost of confidence from his team.

“We’ve made a lot of progress from the fall,” Crockett said. “We dealt with some of our players having trust issues, and we just didn’t believe in ourselves. So far, our practices look really good. Our pitchers are coming along well, with several players we can rely on to handle business from the mound. I’m looking forward to the season, and we’re excited about it. I think we can make some noise this season.”

Crockett said it’s important that the Tigers take the season one game at a time. He said they’re not the same team from last year, and he’s not the same coach. They will put their efforts toward doing the little things while making fundamental plays. According to Crockett, the squad has put in a lot of effort, and if they can follow the strategy, they could return to the district final and even farther.

The Tigers finished 13-12 last season and made it to the district championship before falling to the Bernie Mules. Similar to the previous season, the Tigers will have only one senior and will rely on their young players to step up. Key returns for the Tigers are senior Tanner Armes, juniors Owen Connor and Kenny Fiske and sophomore Zak Cowley.

“We’ve got a great collection of kids returning,” Crockett said. “We’ve got a sophomore who was All-District last year, so he’s stepping into a leadership role more this year, and our one senior is leading by example. He’s not really vocal, but he understands how I want my players to be. We have a few juniors who are a little more vocal, so we have collection leaders. We’re still trying to find our stride, but it’s good to have a solid group to lead the team.”

Cowley likes the Tigers’ talent this year and believes they will be better than last year. So far, he said everybody has that positive attitude and positive spirit for the season, and he’s ready to go. Cowley said his overall goal for the team is to win the district championship and keep their competitive spirit high throughout the season. If there’s anything Cowley would like to correct from last season, it is coming out stronger than before.

“I would like us to come out with a lot more consistency this season,” Cowley said. “Our first innings kill us every time, and we always manage to fight back, but I want us to be the team that leads and not trailing for most of the game. If we can dwindle that and overlook the small errors, we will be a really good team. I think we will be one of the best looks from Southeast Missouri.”

Fellow teammate KJ Fiske spent many hours hitting during the offseason, and he hopes everyone can boost their numbers behind the plate as they struggled a lot in the fall. The sour taste of losing to Bernie remained with Fiske so that matchup is marked on his calendar.

“I think we’re looking pretty good and definitely seen some improvements since the fall,” Fiske said. “Coache’s big thing is one percent better every day, so that’s what we’re working for, just get a little bit better every day. As for Bernie, we definitely want to get that win back. Our focus is to work hard and get back to the championship. Whether it’s against Bernie or any other team, we must play our game for a chance to make it happen.”

The Tigers will open their season as they host the Poplar Bluff Mules on Friday AT 4:30 p.m. After losing their season opener to the Mules last season, the Tigers are looking forward to competing once again.

“Bluff is a big school, so it will be a great measuring stick for us to see where we’re at,” Crockett said. “They’ve got good numbers out, and we’re expecting to see some pretty good baseball. We have to come ready to play. I don’t care who’s out there against us. We want to compete as hard as we can every single day, and that’s what we’re striving for.”