Finally, the Three Rivers College baseball team can get things started this winter.
The season was supposed to start over a week ago, but Mother Nature kept the Raiders from traveling to Arkansas and so, instead, the squad will begin its campaign at noon on Sunday with a doubleheader of two seven-inning games against North Iowa and then the two will wrap things up noon Monday for one nine-inning ballgame.
It will begin head coach Tyler Smith’s third season in charge and he comes off a 25-30 mark a year ago which included an 8-12 Region XVI mark. Even though the season ended on a 9-game losing streak it saw a jump from the 20-27 mark in Smith’s first year which came after the COVID-19 shutdown.
Now with a deeper bullpen and plenty of experience on board, the Raiders expect big things this campaign.
“The biggest thing this year is we are a little older,” sophomore RHP/UT Kole Turner said. “Last year we had a lot of freshmen that were starting. We brought in some transfers that will help us and we are a lot more skill developed. We have a lot more guys willing to go the extra mile to try and take us to the national championship.
“We are a lot more mentally stronger and have grown up not acting as immature as we were last year. We are realizing what you need to do to win.”
COVID-sophomore Sam Pierce, of Poplar Bluff High School, is happy with the team’s bullpen depth.
“We’ve got a lot of guys in the bullpen who could start for other schools in the region,” Pierce said. “We’ve got six guys that could start for us every weekend. We also have two guys at every position that can play anywhere in the region. We are better in general.
“We are going to throw a lot of strikes so we will be able to get a lot of outs. We got a bunch of different guys who throw different speeds. We are going to spin it a lot and have righties and lefties that can throw.”
The offense should also be more mature and disciplined.
“We are used to seeing the same caliber of arms and guys we will see again,” sophomore C/1B Nolan Self, said. “We are going to be able to take a more mature approach at the plate. Last year we got overpowered at times and that can come from not having the right approach or state of mind. There are some guys in the lineup that can guide the younger guys.
“We’ve got guys who are going to be able to do all kinds of jobs. We have speed and power. It’s all going to depend on how we are hitting as a whole from time to time. It’s going to be about how well we handle ourselves in the box.”
Sophomore transfer Lukas Touma isn’t familiar with the region yet, but he knows that Crowder, Jefferson, and Mineral Area College will all be tough outs.
“We got a really good club and we should compete with those top dogs,” Touma said. “We want to get to the region tournament and take them down. That’s the goal for all of us.”
Last year the Raiders were the sixth seed in the region tournament and Touma believes the squad can make the leap up the food chain.
They are all looking forward to getting things started this weekend.
“A lot of us were ready to go (last week),” Touma said. “We’re grinding every day and trying to get better for the start of the season.”
The expected rotation on the mound for Three Rivers will consist of Lukas Touma and Danny Munroe the expected starters on day one and Josh McDonald to take the bump on Monday.
Last year the Raiders lost two of three games against North Iowa.
NOTE: The Raiders had a team slash line (batting average/on-base percentage/slugging percentage) of .280/.391/.430 but were stymied by a 7.48 ERA and a .306 batting average against. They also added 93 steals while striking out 328 times compared to 216 walks.
Alan Dale - Daily American Republic