CLINTON—Don’t count head coach Adam Gregory as a part of those surprised by the Clinton’s baseball improvement from being 3-18 and a bottom feeder of the Rock Valley Conference in 2022 to 10-14 and in the middle of the pack of the RVC this past season.
The second-year head coach knew the Cougars had the talent to pull it off, they just needed the confidence.
“It was mainly about getting the guys to really believe in themselves,” Gregory said. “When we looked at who we had baseball-athletic wise, we had the right guys to do stuff. But if you don’t buy in, it’s hard to actually come together. It was kind of like a new life built up for them. They had a new coach, so it was just showing them how to really enjoy the game.”
Clinton hopes to continue its upward trajectory this season within the six-team Rock Valley Rock. And the Cougars have plenty of strong returning players to do so.
While Gregory expects several younger athletes to take on some form of a role from the mound, which lost RVC honorable mention Owen Hesebeck to graduation, he has three players he will routinely turn to to throw this spring.
“Logan Thill is back and he pitched really well for us as a freshman last year,” the head coach said. “He’s looking pretty good right now. Gavin Wesling is going to have to step up and take on more of a pitching role from the shortstop position. And then we have Tim Arnold. He’s a senior and will be a good right-handed pitcher for us. I think our arms will be there, and our defense should be pretty solid.”
Thill, an All-RVC honorable mention last season, was praised by Gregory for his ability to command his pitches.
“That’ll be a big thing for him this year will be hitting his spot,” he continued. “Logan knows the game very well. One thing that I’ve seen, that we do talk with all our players, is he really takes care of his arm. When you’re throwing a lot of innings, that’s one thing that you need to be doing. And he’s always the one that’s on top of that stuff.”
Wesling will also see some time at first base this season. The junior, who earned a spot on the All-RVC Second Team last season, is one of the surest bats in the lineup for the Cougars.
“Gavin knows the game, he’s a super smart kid,” Gregory said. “One thing he does really well is that he doesn’t get down on himself too much, and he’s always one that’s going to pick a teammate up as well. He leads by example, and the guys respect him in that aspect.”
The rest of the infield will consist of sophomore Tyler Moe replacing Peircen Bingham at first base, Cooper Atkinson returning at second base and Arnold and “smooth gloving” Logan Hendricks both anchoring third base.
“(Junior) Bryce Phillips is returning as our catcher,” Gregory said. “And then we also have Payton Whalen, who’s a senior. They both had catching experience for us last year.”
An All-RVC recipient will pace the outfield as Second Teamer Collin Gill returns in center field as a senior. Whalen will return to left field and Hendricks and Thill will split time in right.
“Thill will play a bit of third base too,” Gregory said. “It’s nice because we have a lot of guys that can play multiple positions, which makes it easier for me to put guys in certain spots. As opposed to having like one kid that’s just like, ‘Oh, I only play left field.’ I got multiple guys that can play outfield and multiple guys that can play infield.”
The Cougars fell to Marathon 8-3 to start the season and will next play at Jefferson on Thursday at 4:45 p.m.
“I just want us to keep building in the right direction and just keep having fun as a group,” Gregory said. “Just keep building and leading by example so the young guys who are on the JV team now see how that operates and keep building the program up.”
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