Steers baseball concludes productive summer season

Steers baseball concludes productive summer season News Staff Fri, 06/28/2024 - 3:02 pm

• (TC GORDON | THE GRAHAM LEADER) Graham’s Ty Thompson extends off the mound and fires a pitch home during one of Graham’s summer league games which wrapped up at the end of June.
• (TC GORDON | THE GRAHAM LEADER) Mason Milton follows through on his swing during an at bat in a summer league game. Graham recently completed its summer schedule and will look forward to next baseball season.
• (TC GORDON | THE GRAHAM LEADER) Graham’s Tripp Mahaney fires a throw to first base from his position at third during one of the team’s summer league games.
• (TC GORDON | THE GRAHAM LEADER) The Steers’ Cooper Corley connects with a ball and shoots it down the third base line for a hit during one of Graham’s summer league games.

TC Gordon sports@grahamleader.com

Graham’s baseball summer has ended as most players will turn their attention to other sports for the fall and winter seasons before baseball next spring.

The Steers competed weekly in exhibition games against nearby teams Breckenridge, Jacksboro and Iowa Park. Unofficial stats were kept for three of Graham’s games this summer to gain a sense of how the returning players fared along with the up-and-comers.

In those three games, the Steers earned a “win” in each of them, which included a shutout in the first game against Breckenridge and a walk-off win over Iowa Park.

There were plenty of ups and downs during the games as players worked on improving their craft at multiple positions, while many Steers took turns on the mound, as well.

Graham had seven returning varsity players take the field during the summer and nine newcomers to the squad. With it being summer vacation, the lineup looked slightly different each week as various players missed time but still contributed in at least one game.

This past spring season, Graham’s baseball team graduated just three seniors. Next year’s squad will bring back a lot of familiar faces, but head coach Allen McGee has stated that everyone will need to earn their spot.

The Steers finished the year with an 11-14 overall record while taking fifth place in district and missing the playoffs. McGee and his players will look to get back to the postseason success the team grew accustomed to the years prior.

If the summer season was any sort of indication, the Steers showed promise while also figuring out things to improve on. Through three games, Graham scored 26 runs and gave up 16. The Steers defeated Breckenridge 8-0, beat Jacksboro 7-6 and walked off over Iowa Park 11-10.

Nine different pitchers took the mound for Graham led by Mason Milton, who started the three games and tied with Bruin Wright for innings pitched with five each. Milton and Wright were the only pitchers to throw in all three of these unofficial games while the rest of the pitchers had one or two outings with varying degrees of success.

Ty Thompson and Tyson Louder each threw two innings and didn’t surrender an earned run, and Kaden McClendon and Tripp Mahaney each tossed an inning with a 0.00 ERA.

Graham’s summer team was without their ace in Ryder Taylor, but the Steers’ pitchers should be a strong asset come next season.

On the offensive side, the Steers did a lot of walking and a lot of base stealing.

Combined, the team walked 28 times in three games and players showed more aggression on the basepaths. Ryder Calhoun had a team-high six walks followed by Wright who had four.

Graham hit the ball well, as Mahaney, Wright, Thompson and Colter Johnson each hit for a .500 average, respectively. Of the newcomers, Louder hit .400 with a double and Cooper Corley hit .333 with a couple singles and a triple.

The Steers cut down on strikeouts which was a bit of an issue during this past season, and batters showed patience at the plate. Overall, it was a solid start for this team as they prepare for next year.

There’s a long way to go before the start of the 2025 baseball season, but Graham’s Steers demonstrated their willingness and capabilities to return to the postseason. The team will have numerous opportunities to show what they’re made of come next February.

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