The Press-Dispatch

Western takes the helm of PC Baseball The Pike Central 2021 boys' baseball team members are front row (l to r) Harley May, Brayten Rice, Evan Conder, Caleb Zazzetti, Devin Carlisle and Alex Clark; middle row: Brody Rice, Gavin Pancake, Peyton Howald, Kendric Sorgius and Jagar Dent; back row: Chase Davis, Jacob Western, Zack Miller, Joey Church and Trevor Church. By Mike Sandifar New Pike Central High School baseball coach Jacob Western is no stranger to Charger athletics, as the 2018 University of South- ern Indiana graduate has been the head boys' soc- cer mentor for the past three seasons and is al- so an assistant coach with the PCHS boys' basketball program, coaching the junior varsity team. Still, his new ti- tle of head baseball coach will come with some giant challeng- es for the 2021 sea- son, as the first-year diamond boss has no seniors on a team that did not play or even prac- tice once last year, due to COVID-19 and the cancella- tion of all spring sports in Indi- ana High School Athletics. Not only does Western have a very young and inexperienced squad, he has only 15 potential players on the Charger roster for 2021. There are no seniors on the ros- ter, which is made up of seven ju- niors, Alex Clark, Harley May, Ca- leb Zazetti, Evan Condor, Devin Carlisle, Nolan Rice and Alec Smith; seven sophomores, Kendric Sorgi- us, Jagar Dent, Isaac Burdette, Pey- ton Howald, Gavin Pancake, Brody Rice and Jason Stuckey; and one freshman, Zack Miller. One must remember, the juniors did not play as sophomores, and the sophomores did not play as freshmen. The fresh- man is a year removed from Babe Ruth or Pony League baseball. Without question, for all practical purposes, the Chargers are start- ing over on the diamond; however, Western and his small in numbers team are enthusiastic about the up- coming season. "Most would say this is a rebuild- ing year for us," confided Western (a 2013 Pike Central High School graduate), in a pre-season inter- view, "however, we see this year as an opportunity. "This group is very dedicated, and each player will put in the work it takes to get better each day to be competitive on the baseball di- amond every time we take to the field. "Our biggest concern for the year is potential injuries—We just don't have the numbers to get peo- ple hurt." Western has only two returning letter winners from the 2019 Char- ger Baseball Team that finished 11- 14 overall and 2-6 in conference play on the season. Alex Clark saw action in the out- field as a freshman two years ago, and Harley May spent time on the mound as a pitcher his freshman season. Obviously, the rest of the spots on the diamond are up for grabs. Western (who graduated from the USI with a degree in business), at the time of this article, had yet to have his team on the diamond for a full baseball practice, due to the weather. The first-year PCHS coach be- lieves he has four potential start- ers for the mound, and he thinks he has another three pitchers who could see action on the hill, as well. Western, who is in the process of finishing his master's degree in ed- ucation, has three assistant coach- es working with him this spring, Trevor Church, Chase Davis and Joey Church. The Chargers have a 24-game regular season schedule on the docket, with an additional tourna- ment at Princeton. Twelve of the regular season out- ings will be Pocket Athletic Confer- ence (PAC) outings, and all 12 of the contests will be rugged, according to Western. Western and his staff believe sev- eral of the PAC teams will challenge for the PAC Crown, but like most of the league coaches, the PCHS coaches think Southridge will be the team to beat for the conference title. Pike Central will open the 2021 di- amond campaign with always tough Loogootee on April 2 at Charger Field at 5 p.m. This group is very dedicated, and each player will put in the work it takes to get better each day to be competitive on the baseball diamond every time we take to the field. Coach Jacob Western D-6 PCHS Spring Sports Preview Wednesday, March 24, 2021 The Press-Dispatch sports medicine | orthopaedics Austin Montgomery, Certified Athletic Trainer Athletic Trainer for Pike Central Athletes 421 E. Van Trees Street in Washington net edition yeah, it's that fast! Z M www.PressDispatch.net/Subscribe It's The Press-Dispatch. No matter where you live. Delivered every Wednesday morning! Add it for $5 to your current print subscription or stand-alone for $35/year.

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