B

RUTLEDGE – Grainger head baseball coach Garrett Yates really, really likes one aspect of his team as the season begins this week.

“Defensively, I think this is the best team we have ever had,” the Grizzlies’ skipper said. “We can field it with anyone. The biggest concern though will be hitting and the other pitchers after Brady Smith. We are asking guys who haven’t played a lot to be the guy. They haven’t had to do that before.”

One thing Yates won’t have to worry about is his top pitcher as Brady Smith returns for his senior year.

The Virginia Tech signee is one of the top pitchers in the state and is primed to shatter all kinds of school records this season.

“It’s not a secret that Brady is the guy,” Yates said. “He does everything right: baseball, basketball, school, everything. In my opinion, he’s a much better player now than he was last year and I didn’t think that was possible. Brady has the opportunity to do some really special things. We will go as far as Brady goes. He is the guy our younger players will look to.”

When Smith isn’t on the mound, he will play in a number of different spots which will include shortstop, third base and designated hitter. Brayden Christian and Trevor Johnson will be the other two starting pitchers for the Grizzlies this year. Christian was a catcher last season but will take the mound in 2023 and Johnson has seen action on the bump for the last three seasons.

Landon Dalton returns behind the plate after battling injuries in 2022. “It’s going to be really big having Landon back,” Yates said. “He has caught Brady his whole life and that’s a monster thing to do. After he returned from injury’s last year, Landon hit .300 so we hope he can keep that up.” Hunter Jones will also see time at catcher and will be the Grizzlies’ designated hitter.

In the infield, Jaxon Maxey, Bryson Bennett, Ashton Taylor and Nolan Wallace will be at third base and shortstop. Wallace, who is a freshman, will also pitch. Maxey will see time at second base as will Connor May and Gavin Yates. At first, Braylnn Seal has worked his way into the lineup with his hitting ability and will share time with Caden Cameron and Ty Collins.

In the outfield, Yates said he has multiple players who “can go get it” because of their speed and agility. No other positions are as deep as Kade Lucas, Ryland Burchett, Isaiah Kyle, Bryson Davis, Keyton Sizemore and Elliot Debord will all play in the Grainger outfield. Three sophomores- Aiden Fowler, Cristian Ramirez and Trevor White- are also on the team.

Freshmen members of the team include Blake Bishop, Jacob Cabbage, Blake Graham, Colt Humbard, Linx Moore and Josh Walker.