Brian Harris’ first season as Brownwood Lions head baseball coach ended almost as quickly as it started due to the COVID outbreak last spring.

The Lions’ second go-round under Harris begins at 7 p.m. Monday as Brownwood begins its baseball season with a trip to the Brock.

Despite the winter weather of the past week, the Lions were able to get in lots of preseason work before the Arctic blast.

“This year we really have been blessed with good weather,” Harris said in a Friday morning interview on KOXE. “I know right now it’s kind of hard to say that, but we’ve been outside and been on the field quite a bit. This year was quite a bit different from last obviously in a lot of ways. Last year I can remember we started off and it was cold and wet. We were indoors for quite a few days to start the year and it was really hard to get an idea of who we had on the team and what they could do. Being indoors, it’s just hard to do that.”

Brownwood’s scrimmages this past week were called off, but Harris feels he’s seen enough from the Lions thus far to have a good idea of what to expect.

“We’ve only had one scrimmage, we lost every other scrimmage, but just from what I’ve been able to see in practices and the cage, and we’ve done some intrasquad scrimmages, we’ve been able to evaluate some kids,” Harris said.

The Lions will be led by their six seniors – Hunter Day, Kris Hobbs, Byron Foster, Xadrian Mares, Trynten Slaughter and Reece Bolton.

“We’re looking forward to having every one of them and the leadership these guys bring to us,” Harris said. “Hunter Day is a utility player that can play infield, outfield and pitch for us a little bit. Kris Hobbs is a third baseman, and those guys are three-year lettermen. Byron Foster is a corner defender and will pitch for us as well. Xadrian Mares will pitch and play the outfield. He’s a fast kid and we’re looking forward to having him run the bases for us as well. Trynten Slaughter will play first base, he’s a big left-hander and I’m looking forward to having him in the middle of our lineup this year. Reece Bolton came over from Early and he’ll play middle infield and may see some time on the mound as well.”

The seniors will also likely receive the bulk of the time on the pitching mound as the season progresses.

“Nearly every one of these kids I mentioned can pitch,” Harris said. “Xadrian pitched for us quite a bit last year before COVID hit. If I remember right his ERA was may have been the second-best on the team. He spots his fast ball pretty well, has a good secondary pitch and throws it for strikes. Byron has put in a ton of work, I’ve saw him on the mound a few times already and like what I see there. He comes in and is really strong. I look forward to having Hunter up there as well.”

Newcomers to the varsity roster include Gavin Brandstetter, Logan Posey, Cole Miller, and Jordyn Nickerson – all of which may see time on the mound early.

“We have several kids we’re going to be looking at that are really young that we’re excited about for the future of Brownwood baseball,” Harris said.

After Monday’s opener the Lions host Wall and Jim Ned Thursday, Andrews Friday and San Angelo Lake View Saturday. The rest of the pre-district slate includes games against Sweetwater, Crandall, Abilene Wylie and Midland before District 6-4A action starts March 16 at home against Lampasas