How Tolton baseball's depth has helped spark a strong start to the 2024 season
Tolton baseball features just four seniors, which ties Battle and Centralia for the second-fewest behind Harrisburg’s three among Boone County programs. But the Trailblazers are off to a 9-2 start and have peaked as high as No. 1 in the Missouri High School Baseball Coaches Association’s Class Four rankings.
If you ask Tolton head coach Erich Chick who has stepped up for the Trailblazers this season, you won’t get a singular answer.
“You know, I’ll be completely honest,” Chick said. “The whole depth of this team, every single person on this varsity roster, has stepped up at some point.”
Chick noted that Tolton has more depth than it has had in previous years. A strong core of sophomores and juniors helps solidify a group that features senior stars Cameron Lee and Jake Ryan and William Graves.
Lee performed well both at the plate and on the pitching mound in the Trailblazers' most recent two-game stretch on Saturday, but the underclassmen's big-time showing complemented his performance.
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Tolton defeated Lafayette (Wildwood) and Rayton South by a combined score of 33-4. In the Trailblazers' 13-3 victory over the Lancers, juniors Lucas Weitholder and Liam Newman combined to go 5-6. Junior Matt States and sophomore Wyatt Quevreaux provided solid performances on the pitching mound while sophomore Will Breitweiser homered in his second straight game.
Breitweiser is continuing an upward trajectory after bursting onto the scene a season ago. He has been alternating with his fellow sophomore teammate Myles Putnam at catcher as the two have excelled in managing the pitching staff and attacking hitters.
“He hit the, it was like a two or three-run home run against Jeff City that ended up winning the game as a freshman,” Chick said about Breitweiser. “And so he was already kind of on the radar and he’s doing very well at the DH and catching spot.”
After defeating Lafayette (Wildwood), Tolton demolished Raytown South 20-1 to complete its doubleheader. States, who didn’t play last season after transferring from Rock Bridges, and sophomore Brendan Hervey each collected a pair of hits while junior Alex Frost tied Lee with a team-high three hits.
The Trailblazers have provided a lot of offensive fireworks to start the year.
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Tolton has tallied six or more runs in 10 games so far this season. On Friday, the Trailblazers tallied ten runs in a shutout against Owensville that complemented a strong pitching performance by junior Sam Ryan. Before that, on March 27, a strong hit by sophomore Carter Henke aided a 6-5 victory. The Trailblazers' confidence at the plate has given pitchers fits while sticking to their fundamentals.
“(We’re) trying to be aggressive at the right times and trying to make sure that we’re taking good healthy habits,” Chick said. “And just putting ourselves in good positions to put baseballs in the gaps and put pressure on defense and anyway we can to move guys around and score runs. That’s kind of been our mantra so far.”
While Tolton is off to a hot start, it's still a long season ahead with 20-plus games left. To keep the momentum going throughout the spring, the Trailblazers don’t exactly embrace an underdog role. Chick compares Tolton to Michael Jordan in the Last Dance Documentary, where they have to find an edge against every single team.
“We have to earn every bit that we play in,” Chick said. “Every team that plays us has to earn the win against us. We cannot make everything easy for them. We need to go out and make sure that we’re competing and that starts in practice.”
Tolton’s depth will be tested this week with three straight road games against Union (11-1), Lutheran St. Charles (3-9) and St. Dominic (7-4).
This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: How Tolton baseball's underclassmen sparked a fast start to the season
