Watch out for those Spuds

“Sky is the limit for this team,” said Ridgefield’s head baseball coach Nick Allen. 

The rest of North Clark County is beginning to think the same.

Last spring, the Spudders were a veteran bunch, more experienced and ready for the rigors of the season than the boys in blue and orange right now. They won the league title and were the top seed in the district playoffs, but the postseason ended early with an unexpected 0-2 tournament record. Many thought it would be extremely hard to avenge those losses this year, but now opinions seem to be changing. Currently, the Spuds are 3-2 and showing dangerous talent.

“This team is young and they are going to have to stay focused on the process of playing the game in the present,” Allen said. “This pitch matters, not the last one, not the next one — win this pitch. Last year we had a veteran group that understood every game is a battle in our league and every pitch is a chance to be successful. This year we have a talented group of kids, but in order to fully take advantage of that talent, they have to be able to handle the ups and downs of this game.”

A few of the young and talented players Allen alludes to are sophomore southpaw Spencer Anderson and junior Jeremy Martin.  

“Spencer is doing a great job on the mound for us so far this season,” said Allen. 

Anderson has started three out of the team’s five games so far as weather delays and cancellations spread out the schedule. 

“He is attacking the strike zone with all three of his pitches and has picked up 23 strikeouts in his first 16 innings of the season,” Allen added.

Ridgefield plans to give Martin some innings on the mound as well, but he primarily holds down the fort in the outfield at center — a position that’s relatively new for him. 

“This year we have moved him to center field. He has tremendous speed and has proven to be an asset to our team early on this season as an anchor in center,” said Allen.

Another key player is senior Kevin Miser, one of the few giving this team some age.

“Kevin is the elder statesman of our team,” said Allen. 

Last season Miser was an all-leaguer at catcher, but he now plays third base to open the door for a younger player to get some action behind the plate. So far, the transition has been “seamless” according to Allen.

At the plate, Miser is also an equally effective player. 

“Kevin is definitely a presence at the plate and he has picked up right where he left off last year, picking up clutch hits game after game,” Allen said. “He is a solid player and outstanding leader in our program.”

As the season wears on, that leadership will be invaluable.

In Allen’s opinion, the only way to take full advantage of their young talent is “to be able to handle the ups and downs of this game.” 

And Ridgefield’s motto to do so? “Do simple better.”

“Focus on doing the easy things to the best of your ability and stay in the moment. So far it has been a learning curve,” Allen admits. “We have had some good moments and some bad moments, but for the most part we have played a very consistent brand of baseball, which tells me that they are putting the plan to action.”

In their last four games, Ridgefield has given up five, four, five and five runs.

“We have a lot of guys that can get people out,” says Allen. 

Offensively, the Spudders haven’t been as consistent, but their potential is evident. They’ve posted scores of 11, eight and seven, which is hard to complain about, but in their two losses so far they were shut out and scored just one run in the other. According to Allen, it’s the middle of the lineup that has the ability to produce a lot of runs for them. 

“We are deep offensively,” he said. “We’ve played well, but we haven't shown what we are capable of offensively to this point.”

Because of spring break, the Spudders will not be back in action until this Saturday, April 8, at La Center. The game starts at 3:30 p.m.