West Platte senior Cohen Kite is bringing back the most firepower after being an all-conference and all-district player.
WESTON – Ending the last three seasons with more losses than wins, the West Platte baseball team is hoping to turn a new leaf under first-year head coach Mitch Giger.
In the last six seasons, West Platte has failed to win more than 10 games in the aftermath of a seven-year stretch that saw six district titles and at least 15 tallies in the win column each time. The Blue Jays have finished each of the last two springs with nine victories and want more.
“We are going to be a scrappy team that plays hard,” Giger said. “We’re going to play disciplined this year, I think that we’ll be a team with solid defense and offensively we will be pesky and put the ball in play. We need to put the ball in play and be aggressive on the bases.”
Cohen Kite and Gunner Smith are the only two seniors on the roster, having both started last season. Matthew Cook, Jaxon Turner, Kane Cogan and Jhett Chandler filled out the infield in 2023 and plan to do that again.
“The core of our team is young, so we hope to get better throughout the season and peak in May. We’re going to play hard, disciplined baseball and believe that will turn into success down the road,” Giger said.
Freshmen Cuin Vincent and Blaze Carpenter are going to add more, young depth to the Blue Jays. Sophomore pitcher Alex Allison is going to see some time on the mound as well as five other guys.
“We have six guys that are going to come in and throw strikes to put pressure on batters. We’re going to look to Gunner Smith and Jaxon Turner to lead our rotation,” Giger said.
On offense, Smith is going to be the lead-off hitter for the second straight season and Kite is a returning all-conference and all-district player. The mixture of talented veterans and hungry rookies is a recipe that West Platte is cooking up this season.