Fighting Scots baseball filled with new additions, looking for 10th consecutive winning season

Editor’s note: All stats from last season exclude Scotland’s playoff game against Triton.

LAURINBURG — Scotland baseball has been steady for nearly a decade, experiencing a winning season every year since 2014.

With eight seniors graduated from last year’s team, that streak could be tested in 2024.

“I think we still have to have the same expectations and the same standard, even though the guys are going to be younger that are in the lineup,” said Ricky Schattauer, entering his second season as Scotland’s coach. “But keeping the same standard, hopefully, will give us still a great year.”

Scotland ended last season with a 15-9 record (7-7 Sandhills Athletic Conference) and a first-round exit in the state playoffs after a 12-2 loss against Triton. The season experienced a controversial end when Schattauer was to be relieved as Scotland’s coach after the playoffs. But, after a protest by Scotland baseball players and community members at a local school board meeting, the decision was reversed.

While a clean slate is set for Schattauer and the Fighting Scots, it’ll be without those key seniors — third baseman and pitcher Blane Wagner (.210 batting average, seven RBI, 12 runs; 6-2 record, 1.80 ERA, 49 strikeouts in 54 1/3 innings last season), right fielder and pitcher Alex Hatcher (.431 average, 11 RBI, 22 runs; 2-0, 2.42 ERA, 36 strikeouts in 17 1/3 innings), center fielder Cadyn Graves (.281 average, seven RBI, 19 runs), catcher and pitcher Eli McCoy (.400 average, 15 RBI, two runs; 1-1, 3.50 ERA, 12 strikeouts in six innings), first baseman and pitcher Turner Bounds (.178 average, six RBI, 10 runs; 2-4, 4.16 ERA, 24 strikeouts in 32 innings), second baseman Luke Taylor (.196 average, eight RBI, three runs), third baseman Micah Clark (.250 average, one RBI) and pitcher Dylan Tucker (0-1, 1.83 ERA, nine strikeouts in 15 1/3 innings) — as well as utility Jake Clemmons (.309 average, one home run, 15 RBI, seven runs), who elected to not play his senior year; Clemmons recently signed to play college football at Elon.

To replace them, five newcomers from the JV team have been called up, which include junior infielders Cameron Cole, Robbie Peed and Connor Sessoms, junior outfielder and pitcher Brady Fowler, and sophomore catcher and pitcher Maddox Locklear.

With that, Schattauer is still undecided on his starters.

“Right now … don’t have any for sure starters,” Schattauer said. “We have moved some people around to fill in the holes that we have lost last year. We do have some sophomores that have made the varsity team and have high hopes for those.”

One sophomore who spent the majority of last year on JV but has impressed Schattauer during the offseason is outfielder and pitcher Kaden Hunsucker.

“Kaden Hunsucker is going to play a big role,” Schattauer said. “We lost two outfielders that had played. Alex Hatcher played four years on varsity; Cadyn Graves played three years on varsity. And they graduated last year. So, in the outfield, Kaden, as a sophomore, is going to have to fill some big shoes. But he’s going to shock some people.”

Junior catcher and pitcher Logan Adner is also technically a returning player but mostly played JV last season.

Other returning players for the Scots include senior outfielder Garrett Sellers (.250 on-base percentage, 12 runs), senior pitcher Grant McCoy (0-0, 7.00 ERA, one strikeout in three innings), senior infielder Thomas Taylor (.333 OBP, one RBI), junior infielder and pitcher Garrett Manning (.242 average, 10 RBI, 13 runs; 0-0, .000 ERA, five strikeouts in 3 2/3 innings), junior pitcher Dylan Tilson (3-0, 1.25 ERA, 19 strikeouts in 22 1/3 innings) and sophomore outfielder Dawson Williams (.286 average, nine RBI, 12 runs).

Tilson will be Scotland’s top pitcher, with Schattauer expecting him to start the first game.

“Every team knows Dylan now,” Schattauer said. “So Dylan’s going to have to still continue to work, still continue to like be a dog on the mound.”

”I think we’ve got some good pitchers on our team, got some good depth in the pitching room and got some guys, good pitchers, good starters, good closers,” Tilson said. “Just been working through the offseason. I was playing football during the fall, stuff like that, so had to take a little time off for that, but been out here since the winter and just been putting in work, throwing some bullpens here and there.”

Manning will be another essential part of Scotland’s bullpen, Schattauer said.

“Garrett Manning, I think, came in late, just like kind of a Tilson,” Schattauer said.

“We’re going to be good,” Manning said. “We’re going to be pretty straight. Just got to stay focused.”

With a lot of inexperience throughout his roster, Schattauer is hoping their athleticism — what he called his team’s strength — can overcome some of the early growing pains they might run into.

“We showed a little bit of it last year, my first year; kind of maybe surprised some teams,” Schattauer said. “But trying to take it from year to year and get better at the athleticism and showing our athleticism. (Our) weakness is going to be our experience. But I do think the standard we have held in practice and the hard work we’ve had in practice is going to carry over to the game time.”

Scotland hosts East Columbus on Wednesday at 7 p.m. in its season opener before facing Purnell Swett at 6 p.m. Thursday in its first road game.