BY NOAH GRIFFITH FOR THE OBSERVER
PHENIX CITY –– Central High School baseball is off to a 14-1 start to the 2024 season after finishing as runners up in a 7A State Championship loss to Vestavia Hills last season.
The Red Devils lost eight seniors from that team and are filling big shoes this season, and they’ve heard all about it. They lost 2022 Hitter of the Year Jaxon Yoxtheimer to UAB as a part of a 2023 class that went 103-29 and won the state championship in 2022 before leading them back in 2023.
Nonetheless, Central has turned the page and started strong in head coach A.J. Kehoe’s seventh season with the program.
“This team has a little edge,” Kehoe said. “They’ve been told by everyone Central has lost too many good players to make it back to the state championship. They’ve taken it personally, and they should. They are a new team with their own identity.”
Central’s start earned it a No. 3 ranking in the state behind just Bob Jones and Hartselle going into last weekend.
That was before the Red Devils capped off a 4-0 stretch this past weekend. They bounced back from their only loss of the season to Mill Creek in Georgia with wins over Tuscaloosa County, Moseley from Florida, Helena and Hewitt-Trussville.
“Team description — athletic, competitive and deep,” Kehoe said. “We knew we would have depth, but we also knew the majority of it hadn’t been tested. … Keys to our success will be to stay consistent, continue to stay disciplined in our approaches at the plate and finally to take care of the baseball.”
Kehoe is working with an infield full of seniors — third baseman Hunter Wippert, first baseman Landon Beaver, second baseman Cason Page and shortstop Brewer Woody — who all played on both state championship teams. Beaver and Wippert recently committed to play college baseball, with Beaver signing to follow Yoxtheimer to UAB while Wippert signed with Chattahoochee Valley Community College in Phenix City.
“Beaver and Wippert will really provide us with the internal leadership we need in order to be successful,” Kehoe said. “Woody, who has made huge gains since last season, really flashes the leather and anchors our middle infield defense.”
A barrage of juniors surrounds them, and a lot of them are settling into new, expanded roles.
Sliding over from right field to center, Emory Yohn has taken over the leadoff spot in the lineup. Cooper Kehoe is in his first season starting behind the plate, and Cameron Briggs is returning to a busy outfield.
After breaking out on the mound as a freshman, sophomore Cam Norton is joining them in the outfield in addition to his role on the hill. Kehoe is also looking for junior pitchers Brantley Rothrock and Logan Clark to step into heavier roles, and he said that they’ve looked great so far out of the bullpen.
“They are an unselfish bunch of guys who are really grasping their roles,” Kehoe said. “We have great energy, and our guys play hard. Watching them have fun and play the game hard is fun for me. … They feed off each other, and they have fun fighting together, for each other.”
Central is looking to win its fourth region title in its seventh season under Kehoe. The Red Devils will begin area play against Opelika, facing them on the road on April 3 and at home on the 4th. The regular season concludes with two games versus Smiths Station – in Panther territory on April 17 and in Devil nation on the 18th before the first round of the playoffs April 26 and 27.
They will do it all with a chance to make their third consecutive state championship after they fell a game short of going back-to-back last season.