The Gilmer Bobcats return to the baseball diamond this week looking to rebound from a five-win season in 2021.
Head coach Jeff Thurman and staff put players through a month of preseason training ahead the season opener, and GHS returns much of its roster from a season ago.
“A lot of our guys are multisport athletes so they have been busy in other sports, which is great,” Thurman said. “Probably half play another sport, so just getting them together on the baseball field for as much as we possibly can has been the main focus of our practices so far.
“We’ve been working on arm maintenance because we’ve had some guys with some sore arms. This time of the year, and the cold weather, and knowing what type of schedule you’re about to take on, getting arms in shape has been a priority.”
Nearly all early-season baseball in north Georgia comes with some inclement weather, and this year has been no different.
“It’s been cold and we’ve had some rain, but we haven’t had as much snow as we normally have. On those rainy days, we’ve taken advantage of watching some film,” Thurman said. “This is the third season we’ve been utilizing some baseball film study, and this year we’ve filmed every single practice.
“On days when we know we’re going to be inside, we might watch film for 30 minutes and then go hit for an hour up at the softball team’s indoor cage.”
Thurman noted that the software used allows coaches to break down swings and throws and fielding to fine tune mechanics.
There are 25 players in the program, and 18 will suit up for most varsity games. Thurman noted that five players will probably split time between the varsity and JV.
Leading the way is a group of eight seniors and four juniors. Returning senior starters include Grant Cochran at first base and Branson Teague at shortstop. Sophomore Austin Zabala gets the nod at second base. Junior Carter Jones was a utility player last season and will take the field at third base.
Blake Zabala is Gilmer’s catcher, and fellow senior Colton Nunn will see time at both first and third base.
Sophomore Ethan McCollum will play left field, and senior Seth Darling returns to roam center field. Thurman noted that senior Billy Goswick and junior Bryson Daniel are in the running to play right field.
Gilmer’s starting pitchers all got significant innings last season as Cochran, Darling and McCollum return. Relivers will be Jones, Austin Zabala and Goswick.
“We have several guys back, which makes us real excited. Last year, we felt like we were pretty young and got those guys some really good experience,” Thurman said.
“I think this group is hungry. The potential for us to improve and have more success this season is there. They’ve been really focused and have been working hard at practice. There’s a lot of energy with this group, and I’m looking forward to seeing what we can do.”
Gilmer will see plenty of quality teams in region play. North Hall lost just three players off last season’s state championship team. Thurman also expects Cherokee Bluff, Dawson County and White County to be some of the top teams competing for the region’s state playoff spots.
“We know we’re going to have our work cut out for us. North Hall is the favorite, and Cherokee Bluff will be strong again. Dawson and White are always very competitive. West Hall and Lumpkin are competitive, too.
“There’s no one on our schedule where we can say, ‘OK, if we don’t play well we can still win.’ We have to play good every day, and we think we can be better than what we’ve maybe been in the past.”
Regardless of outcomes, Thurman wants players to be ready to work every day and commit to steady improvement.
“Baseball is a long season. It’s 30 games, and when you start out it’s freezing cold,” he said. “By the end it might be warm. It is a grind, and I’d like to see guys embrace the day-to-day process. We want to get better every day. If we get 1 percent better every day, we can make some significant gains over the course of a season.”
Thurman will be assisted by Matt Banks, Todd Gibson, Drew Gaddy and P.G. Standard.