The Shadow
LOW MOOR, Va (VR) – As the spring season approaches, the Alleghany baseball team has hit the ground running with two solid weeks of practice under their belts. Coach Ryan Kessinger expressed optimism about the team’s progress, citing favorable weather conditions that have allowed for extensive outdoor training. “We’ve been fortunate with the weather,” Coach Kessinger stated. “Being outside for the majority of the first two weeks has really allowed us to maximize our opportunities and get in plenty of reps, both defensively and offensively.” While it’s still early in the season, Kessinger noted that the team’s work ethic and baseball IQ are standout qualities. “It’s hard to pinpoint our strengths and weaknesses this early, but I can say we have a group that works hard and has a pretty high baseball IQ,” he said. Pitching depth appears to be a focus for the team this year. “We’ll be calling on a lot of guys to eat innings for us,” Kessinger explained. Leading the pitching staff is Bluefield commit Tyler Jackson, who is expected to play a key role on the mound. Other pitchers who will be contributing to the team’s efforts include Tucker Phillips, Trey Cook, Kai Rowland, Landon Arritt, Garret Carper, and Jalen Raether. This deep roster of arms should provide the team with various options throughout the season. As the team continues to prepare for their upcoming games, fans and supporters are eager to see how this promising group will perform when the season officially begins. With a strong start to their practice sessions and a talented pitching staff, expectations are high for an exciting and competitive season ahead.”
The Virginian Review also checked in with Botetourt as they have one scrimmage under their belt. Coach Todd Smith said that their turnout was good, with 16 on the Varsity team, with one being a returning centerfielder and pitcher that tore his ACL in football. With our centerfielder being out, that leaves us with three players that saw significant time last year. We lost seven starters from last year’s team, including 90% of our pitching. Coach Smith states they have seven seniors on the roster for the 2025 season. Botetourt feels that defense and leadership would be their strongest areas this early in the season. Lord Botetourt has scrimmaged Brookville this season and Smith said that they pitched well all game and that hitting improved as the game progressed. One Botetourt player to watch will be Garrett Lanker, he started on the mound and threw one inning. Lanker had two walks, but didn’t give up any hits to their best batters. Offensively he had two quality at bats, one of them resulting in a double. The Cougars are set to play at Casey Field Saturday March 8, first pitch at noon.
