The Panola Ponies will take to the field for their opening game this weekend at Jim Reeves Memorial Field in Carthage, Tx.
The Ponies will host Baton Rouge Community College in a 3 game series scheduled to begin Friday night with a single 9 inning game at 6 p.m. then a double header on Saturday beginning at 1 p.m.
The Ponies and Head Coach Todd Shelton are excited about 2017 as they return 12 sophomores off of last years team that went 39-18 in 2016. "We feel very confident going into the year with the returning lettermen and our recruiting class," stated Coach Shelton.
On the mound the Ponies return 6 pitchers from last year's team: All Conference Pitcher Logan Bailey, of Hallsville TX, pitched 43 innings with a 5.02 ERA and was also 3-2 on the season., Cayne Ueckert, of Jasper, TX, pitched 39 innings last year with a 4.3 ERA and was 3-2 on the year. Cole Clinton, of Carthage, TX, pitched 20 innings with a 3.15 ERA and had a record of 3-0. Colton Brasher, of Hallsville, TX, saw 28 innings with a 3-0 record and a 3.53 ERA; Taylor Tomlin, of Center, TX, added 21.1 innings with a record of 2-1; and Erik Key pitched 20.1 innings with a record of 2-1 also, and Kyle Rogers returns this year as a pitcher, last year he was behind the plate as a catcher.
At the plate the Ponies return 4 starters and 2 other returners with a lot of experience: All Conference Freshman Player of the Year, Colby Price, left-fielder from Nederland, TX, had a .373 avg last year with 11 HR, 15 doubles, and 44 RBIs; All Conference firstbaseman, Logan Bailey, of Hallsville, TX, had batting avg. of .342 with 10 HR, 16 doubles, and 50 RBI's; Other starters returning are shortstop Chandler Morris, of The Woodlands, TX,, and outfielder, Andrew Pace,of Beaumont, TX. Other returners include: infielder, Cal Smith, of Keller, TX, and infielder, Cameron Jacobs, of Shreveport, LA. The Ponies have 3 weekends in a row with 3 game series coming up with Baton Rouge, Vernon College, then Coastal Bend College before they go on the road.
You can catch the Ponies this year on Game-Changer for updated live game stats and conference games will be broadcast on KGAS Radio.