Scots Return to 5A With Young Roster, Difficult District
HP hopes daunting schedule will be beneficial in preparation for league games, playoffs
With varsity experience at a premium and a new district to navigate, Highland Park enters this baseball season with plenty of questions.
The Scots won’t have much time to discover the answers, either, with a challenging nondistrict slate that doesn’t give their young hitters and pitchers much time to acclimate.
“We try to compete at the highest level,” said HP head coach Travis Yoder. “That prepares us no matter which district we’re in.”
HP is back in Class 5A this season, in a difficult district that includes Frisco ISD foes Reedy, Lone Star, and Wakeland. The District 12-5A grouping also includes The Colony and junior Trey Rangel — a Texas commit who is among the top high school pitchers in the country.
Meanwhile, the early schedule for the Scots includes a pair of home tournaments. In addition to the annual Scotland Yard Classic in early March, HP also is a host site for the Five Tool High School Festival beginning Feb. 27, which includes some national and regional powers among its 32 teams.
“The pitching we’re going to see is going to be really good,” Yoder said. “There’s no letting down. As we try to build our team and figure out who our team is, we’re doing that by throwing ourselves in the fire.”
About 90 percent of last year’s innings pitched were by graduating seniors. However, Yoder is confident that Ty Moorhead, Isaac Hutchinson, Henry Gahagan, and Gray Miller, among others, are ready to step into the spotlight.
“We had some young guys who got some playing time to prepare for this year,” Yoder said. “We feel like we have six or seven guys who can log some major innings.”
The lineup should take shape behind dynamic sophomore Cole Flashnick, who will lead off and play shortstop. He is joined by returnees such as Hutchinson, Martin True, Will Schultz, and Parker Yoder. Lennox Byrd and freshman James Siegler also should get plenty of at-bats.
“We are very athletic. Every hitter top to bottom is going to be a hard out,” Travis Yoder said. “This year, not having the top power arms that we’ve been used to, we’re going to have to play a lot of good defense.”
