Fresh off of a State Championship and an appearance in the American Legion National Region Tournament, the Owensboro Bombers have their eyes on another deep run. This past off-season, they saw plenty of turnover, with only six returners – Easton Blandford, Talan Cartwright, Logen Thomas, Grayson Smith, Garrett Lanham, and Carter Kimmel.
” Our returners are going to be the leaders for this group, and we have high expectations,” Owensboro Bombers head coach Matt Freeman said. “Kimmel was one of our starting pitchers last year and had a great summer on the mound. Grayson Smith has anchored us at short and has always had stellar defensive play. Blanchard was one of our biggest bats last year.”
Despite the turnover, the Bombers enter the season with plenty of depth at key positions, including first, third, and on the mound.
“Like every year, we are very excited for the opportunity to play baseball,” Freeman said. “We have been practicing and were looking forward to seeing what pieces of the puzzle fit and where. …”We sent a significant portion of the fall and winter calling and recruiting players from throughout the area and this year we had a really good crop.”
The Bombers’ start to the season was delayed due to inclement weather and officially kicked off yesterday against Rockport, with a 6-2 win. Kimmel threw a complete game, allowing two runs over seven innings, striking out three. Brody Brubaker shined at the plate, going 2-3 with three RBIs, while Parker Heistand went 3-3 with an RBI.
While the roster has some uncertainty due to the number of new faces, Freeman and his team still have three goals in place -winning the state, winning the National Regional, and winning the World Series.
“The Bombers have a long tradition, and one of the things that we try to cultivate with these kids is to get them to become better leaders and shepherds of men,” Freeman said. “That is a big deal because that is something they will have to utilize as they get into the real world.”
