MORENCI — The Morenci varsity baseball team will begin its season with a new leader at the helm. First year head coach Anthony Pasley inherits a squad that went 11-13 last year on the heels of a one-win season in 2024.
This will be Pasley’s first year serving as a head coach at the varsity level, but he has already coached at Morenci.
“I started in January as the middle school wrestling coach and we had a great year and had a lot of fun,” he said of his first coaching experience. And he’ll be looking to continue that fun as the season changes over to baseball.
“We have our goals,” Pasley said. “We want to go off last year’s momentum.”
The Bulldogs welcome back three seniors from last year, including Talan Kruse, who led the team in batting average, RBI and runs.
Kruse is joined by classmates Blake Moran and Evan Gould. All three seniors could toe the rubber and fill in at catcher this year.
Junior Jonas Castillo will be the main hurler for Morenci throughout the year and classmate Damon Casebere can fill in at catcher and first base but will also patrol the outfield. Castillo went 4-5 last year over 42.1 innings pitched and tallied 61 strikeouts.
“We have strong players coming back from last season that are ready to get back to work,” Pasley said of his upperclassmen. “This year our goal is to go .500, be a contender for the TCC title, and win at Districts.”
Pasley also has eight underclassmen, four sophomores and four freshmen, that he will rely on for production.
Sophomore Drew Joughin will look to build on a freshmen year that saw him post a .345/.493 slash line while also having 15 RBI, 20 runs and 9 steals. He also went 2-1 over 19 innings with 23 strikeouts.
Sophomores Alex Lauffer, Harrison Sarnac and Paul Bongiorno will all provide depth in the outfield.
Holden Hutchison, Colson Waltzer and Brenden Hudik are all freshmen outfielders looking to carve out a role. Classmate Jayse Dunn is able to fill in at every infield position.
“A great set of freshmen came in this year, and from what I’ve heard we have another great group of athletes coming in next year,” Pasley said of Morenci’s youth. “Things are looking bright for Morenci baseball in the coming years.”
Pasley will lean on assistant coach Joe Castillo for any support he needs.
“Joe has helped coach some of these athletes all their lives. Joe has great connections with our athletes and the community,” he said.
“We are looking forward to having fun this season and hitting our goals.”
The Bulldogs started their season on March 30 with a home game versus Stryker. They will begin league play on April 8 when they host Sand Creek.