Springs Valley Community High School

The Springs Valley baseball program has received an infusion of fresh faces this offseason. Last year’s senior class — which included program mainstays Carter Crews, Kannon Chase, and Wyman Smoot — has departed and in its wake nine new players have joined the program. That has left Springs Valley’s coaching staff, headed by fifth-year skipper Rob Denbo, with plenty of new players to get acquainted with and a bevy of options to consider as the Blackhawks approach the beginning of the season. “It’s been really good. I know there are a lot of expectations and as a coach I appreciate that,” Denbo said. “When you have high expectations of yourself and of your team, you’re giving the coaches permision to really push you and I feel like we’ve pushed harder for the first two weeks and even in the offseason than we ever have. I’m looking forward to seeing where they can go.” The biggest change coming into this season is simply the number of players on the roster. After having roughly a dozen players in recent years, the Blackhawks’ roster has ballooned to 17 players thanks to the arrival of eight freshmen — Noah Allstott, Blake Buchanan, Landon Farris, Keyton Jones, Braylon Kovas, Manny Pantoja, Hunter Thomas, and Landon Weeks — as well as transfer junior Cole Kovas. That, of course, gives Springs Valley options, but it also changes the dynamic within the team. There’s now much more competition in practice for playing time with nobody being guaranteed a specific role. “Competition’s the main thing. I think in years past when you have 11, 12, 13 players everybody kind of understands that they’ve either got a spot or another person’s got that spot and they’re not going to get them out of it,” Denbo said. “When you’ve got eight freshmen pushing in and they’re talented and they all think they’re talented, then everybody has to watch their back a bit and it gives us a little bit of competition. It gives us options.” For all the newcomers the Blackhawks have, there’s also a strong core of returning players. Springs Valley’s roster features six players who played in at least 18 of the team’s 23 games last season. They’re led by the Blackhawks’ team captains: Henry Cruz, Konner Chase, and Jonas Hammond. Each of those players brings something different to the diamond. Cruz is a third-year starter at shortstop and earned All-Patoka Lake Athletic Conference honors as a junior thanks to a team-high batting average of .483, 22 runs batted in, and six doubles as well as a strong glove. Chase is the leader of Springs Valley’s outfield, pushing himself and his teammates to give everything they’ve got each night. He hit .333 and stole 10 bases in 2022 and will slide over to center field in 2023. Hammond is entering his third season as Springs Valley’s primary catcher and has consistently gotten better over that span. He’ll anchor the Blackhawks’ defense from behind the plate and should remain their cleanup hitter with perhaps the most powerful bat on the roster. “Henry’s work ethic kind of speaks for itself. I don’t think anyone would dispute that he’s a captain because he’s just a leader on the field. He’s vocal, he runs our defense from shortstop and with that baseball acumen it’s great to have him on the field,” Denbo said. “Jonas has really grown into catching. I’ve watched him grow the last two years and now he’s taking charge a lot more back there. We’re really confident in him back there. “Konner’s already told the guys what he expects in the outfield and he’ll be the guy to back it up. Kannon was the same way, those boys play a certain way and it’s 100 percent no matter what.” One of the big questions the Blackhawks face in 2023 is where their pitching will come from. During Denbo’s tenure, Springs Valley has always featured a surefire ace whether it was Christian Tucker or Crews, but this season it appears things will be done more by committee than anything else. The bulk of the innings pitched that Springs Valley returns from 2022 come in the form of Kaden Dunn, Mavrick Land, and Konner Chase. They combined to throw 49.2 innings last season, allowing 60 hits and 40 earned runs while striking out 36 batters. The entrance of the Kovas brothers, freshman Braylon and junior Cole, was significant for the pitching picture. They’re expected to be major contributors on the mound and could pitch some of the biggest games of the season. Other pitching options include sophomore Tanner Phillips, who threw a pair of varsity innings in 2022, as well as a myriad of freshmen including Thomas, Weeks, Farris, Buchanan, and Jones. There’s no clear-cut ace of the staff, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. “Between the guys we have I think three or four emerge to get us through a game as effectively as we would having Carter out there. I think by the time we get to the end of season, if we play all the games, we may have 10 guys in the pitching stats this year and that’s going to be really cool,” Denbo said. “It’s going to be a great option to know that I can get a guy off the bench to go to the bullpen and throw instead of robbing my third baseman or my centerfielder to bring them in. Quantity and quality is what we’re going to have so it’s going to be good.” Springs Valley will open its season on Thursday with a road trip to Evansville Christian. As the Blackhawks head south, they’ll try to set the tone for what they hope will be another winning season. They’ll do so by doing everything they can to compete. "Ultimately, I want to be in the game in the bottom of the seventh. I want there to be a bottom in the seventh, which means we're in the game," Denbo said. "It's a long trip, but that's no excuse. It's not a hard trip. It's just a long one. I mean, it's the first game of the season so I don't care if you have to drive to St. Louis. You should be jacked up to play it and I think they are." Springs Valley Blackhawks Last season: 15-9 (4-2 PLAC) Coach: Rob Denbo (33-26 in fourth season at Springs Valley) Players to know: Konner Chase (Jr.), Henry Cruz (Sr.), Jonas Hammond (Jr.) Games to circle: Apr. 8 vs. Mitchell, Apr. 28 at Paoli, May 10 vs. Northeast Dubois