BY DANIEL LOCKE
FOR THE OBSERVER
BEAUREGARD —
Spring is upon us, and that can only mean one thing: High school baseball is back.
Teams all over Lee County are in the beginning of the 2023 campaign, and some have already gotten their respective seasons well underway. Among these are the Beauregard High School Hornets, coached by Seth Nolen. The Hornets are looking to build on a successful run last season, which included a 20-10 (6-2, 5A Area 5) record and area championship.
Nolen said he feels “very excited” going into the new season.
“You lose your seniors, but young kids are coming in and getting a chance to grow and develop,” he said. “Spring is right here. It’s about to warm up, and things are starting to get greener and start blooming. It’s a great time of year.”
There will be high expectations for the Hornets after what they accomplished last season, with the roster looking different in 2023. But Nolen sets a high bar for each of his teams.
“The standard is the standard,” Nolen said. “The way we do things, the way we go about practice, the way we clean up the locker room, the way we act in school — all of those things — every team that has come before has set that standard. This team’s job is to follow the standard of what we’ve done and how we do it. We graduated five starters last year. We’re not necessarily a really young team, but we are an inexperienced team. Only three seniors and a couple of juniors played a whole lot for us last year.”
The pitching staff isn’t set in stone yet, but Nolen has an idea of what it will look like.
“No. 1 right now for us is a junior, Braden Fuller,” Nolen said. “He was our No. 2 last year behind his older brother Ethan Fuller, who’s pitching at Emmanuel College now. Behind him [is] Alex Martin, a senior who got some starts for us last year. Arron Standridge, he’s another junior who pitched a little bit for us last year. Gavin Blackmon, he’s another junior, but he just got released from meniscus surgery, so we’ll have to work him back in. Jordan Barnes [is] another one who threw a little bit last year, but he’s going to have to be relied on a lot more. Brody Craft, he’s another one who pitched a little bit. All of those guys are competing for innings.”
The Hornets have a good number of players who can play in both the infield and the outfield.
“Landon Hodges, he’s a senior — he’s been playing first,” Nolen said. “Brandon Dixon, he’s a junior — he’s been playing second. Brody Craft, he’s another junior — he’s been playing short. Jackson Morris, he’s a senior — he’s been playing third. Ethan Arrington has been catching.
Being in a competitive area makes for a lot of exciting baseball to be played, and this is a fact of which Nolen is well aware.
As for this season’s games, Nolen said he’s excited for “every one of them — just getting a chance to go play.”
It is bound to be an interesting season for the Beauregard Hornets, and Nolen is ready to lead his team once again.