MOUNT WASHINGTON – ‘Embrace being the “Hunted”, not the “Hunters”.’
That phrase is printed across the bottom of the 2024 Bullitt East baseball team’s schedule as well as other important spots around the program’s facility.
The saying fits as the Chargers return many of the key players from last season’s Sixth Region championship team including senior pitcher Kendall Henson who threw a no-hitter against Fern Creek in Bullitt East’s 3-0 win in the regional final. That team played a strong game in the state tournament before falling to Eastern 7-5 in 11 innings.
Bullitt East is always one of challengers when it comes to the Sixth Region, having reached the championship game four of the last five times it has been held. This season the program is the one that everyone else is chasing….or hunting.
While last season ended well for coach Jeff Bowles’ team, it wasn’t always smooth sailing. Twice during the season the squad lost three straight games. Coming out of the spring break trip to Florida, the team had a 5-6 record. But, over the final month of the season, the Chargers beat everyone on their schedule except Eastern, finishing 7-2. Overall, the strong program finished the season 22-14.
With more than half of the starting line-up returning this season including the pitching staff, there are no shortage of expectations this spring.
“Optimistic, yeah,” Bowles said on Monday as the team prepares to open the season on Friday at home against Meade County. “And we have a lot of competition for places that we do need to find replacements. We won’t know about our depth for a little while, but we have plenty of choices.”
Bullitt East, despite just five seniors, has 55 players in the program. Over 40 players showed up to try-out for the freshman team.
“With 1,700 students you should have good numbers,” Bowles pointed out. “That is good. We hope that translates into success on the field.”
You can’t talk about the Chargers without starting with Henson. The senior recently committed to Kentucky State. Henson is not a particularly hard thrower, but his ball is active and he finds the right spots. Last season, Henson had a 9-0 record with a 1.77 earned run average. In 71 innings of work he only struck out a modest 53 batters while walking 20.
Henson just gets the job done.
“Good to have a guy coming back who threw a no-hitter in a regional final,” Bowles said with a big smile. “You can’t say that very often.”
The coach feels that Henson has pushed himself in the off-season to get even better.
“He has worked so hard in the off-season,” his coach said. “I’m so proud of him. He wants to prove that he is the man.
“He won’t light up the radar gun,” Bowles added. “But guys are shaking their heads when they walk back to the dugout.”
With the way the post-season is presently set up, teams only need two starting pitchers and maybe a little relief.
The top candidate for that second spot in the rotation is senior Ty Hayden who pitched the 7-1 regional semifinal game victory over Southern. He has already committed to Campbellsville. Hayden had a 3-2 record with a 3.21 ERA in 32 innings of work last season.
Bowles then read off a long list of names of players who will get an opportunity to impress the coaches on the mound early in the season before the rotation gets cut down to five or six arms by mid-season.
That list includes juniors Devin Elder, Connor Sauss and Garrison Miller. Further down into the younger players, the coach mentioned sophomore Bryce Abrahamson, Kadin Adams, Hunter Holland, Chase Litton, Ayden Lynch and Cooper Warnecke. Two players who could work shorter shifts will be senior Bryson Sharp and Miller. Miller is coming back after arm surgery last season.
Bowles also said that it is possible that freshmen Keeton Kleinhenz and Caden Phelps could also get varsity innings. Kleinhenz is 6-4 and 180-pounds and perhaps the hardest thrower in the program.
“We don’t put a gun on them,” Bowles said of his pitching staff. “But we have guys that can get it up there in a hurry. And others work the spots.”
The Chargers also have a strong one-two punch to work behind the plate. Luke Renfrow, a junior who has committed to Eastern Kentucky, already has two years of varsity work behind the plate. Last season he did move to first base at times and will do that again this spring as senior Cade Owen is also a strong catcher.
Both will likely be in the line-up for most games as Owen will also be a designated hitter. Renfrow batted .420 last season with a team high 15 doubles. Owen hit at a .304 clip with 14 doubles.
With an eye to the future, sophomores Dylan Haas and Channing Bibelhauser might see a few varsity innings this season.
At first base, all four prospective players will also catch or pitch. That group includes Renfrow, Hayden Miller and Warnecke.
There might not be a regular starter in the middle defense for the Chargers. The candidates at either second base or shortstop include senior Bryce Elder, juniors Oliver Barnhouse and Ethan Wolfe along with sophomore Kadin Adams. Some will also pitch and others will have to produce at the plate.
“Who is pitching and who is producing at the plate will get the time,” Bowles said. “That will solve itself.”
At third base, Bowles said that either Devin Elder or Sauss will man the position. Another player who could see time at that spot is sophomore Jack Rodgers.
In the outfield, there are not quite as many options. Bowles listed junior Jack Willard in left field with Chase Meredith, a junior, in center field and sophomore Hunter Holland in right field. The coach also said that juniors Will Calhoun and Keegan Cheatham as well as sophomore Dee Simpson will also get a look.
Normally, Bowles likes to have a set lineup by the time the team returns from spring break and the trip to Florida. Even with three weeks before that trip and a flurry of games that week, the lineup might not be set just because there are so many options.
“It might take a little bit to get a set lineup,” the coach noted. “It might be a little tough this year because we have so many competitions. A lot will likely depend on the five starting pitchers. That is what drives the bus.”
In the dugout, Bullitt East did lose long-time assistant coach Larry Williams as he moved to Australia.
Most of the rest of the coaching staff does return including Bowles’ right-hand man for so many seasons, associate head coach Craig Sharpe. The other assistant coaches are Mike Bryant, Larry Marcum, Bryant Miles, Trent Murphy, Dallas Adkins, Loren Renfrow and Nick Marcum. David Boyer is also back as a graduate assistant.
As always, Bullitt East will face a challenging schedule. The Chargers will play both intra-county games on consecutive Saturdays. Bullitt East will play at Bullitt Central on April 13 and then host North Bullitt on April 20. The teams are trying something new as these will be triple-headers with the varsity teams playing at noon with junior-varsity and freshman games to follow. The Chargers will do the same on ‘Oaks Day’ hosting North Oldham on that Friday.
Bullitt East will face the other top teams in the Sixth Region with a district game against Fern Creek and also contests against Pleasure Ridge Park, Southern and DeSales. The Chargers also have games this season against St. Xavier, Male, Lexington Catholic and Boyd County (in Florida).