With seven starters returning and 11 seniors on the roster, head coach Brian Harris is hopeful the most experienced roster during his Brownwood Lions tenure results in greater successes in 2023.

The Lions – coming off a 7-15-1 overall record and 5-7 district mark, which left them as the fourth seed for the playoffs a year ago – open the 2023 campaign at 7 p.m. Monday when they host San Angelo Lake View at Morris Southall Field.

“We’ve got seven returning starters,” said Lions fourth-year head coach Brian Harris. “We match up with Glen Rose in that regard, they have seven returning as well. Out of those seven, all of them were all-district players in some regard. We’re really excited about those kids. I’m looking for this senior class to be a very good leadership group. They know what’s expected, they’ve put in the hard work, so now it’s time to just go put it all together.”

The seniors on the roster include Case Markham, Campbell Gilmore, Taylor Bessent, Eli Goodrich, Cameron Harte, Aidan Howard, Tristan Salinas, Matthew Ochoa, Jaiden Perez, and Aaron Moody.

Bessent, along with Owen Huntsinger, are returning this year from injuries that cost them the 2022 season.

“We look at those guys as returning starters as well because the year before they saw a lot of time on the varsity,” Harris said. “Owen and Taylor are coming in in great shape and they fed off each other in the weight room. We’re looking forward to seeing the results on the field from that.”

Junior Gavin Brandstetter returns as well after being tabbed the Offensive MVP of District 6-4A last season, and again will serve as the ace of the pitching staff. Fellow junior Cole Miller is also back to provide a spark in the middle of the lineup as well as on the mound.

Among the players who have most impressed Harris in the offseason are junior catcher Logan Posey and junior pitcher/infielder David Turner.

“David Turner had a phenomenal offseason,’ Harris said. “He brings a level of energy I’d like to see other kids feed off. Logan Posey is another one who had a great offseason. He came in stronger than he’s ever been and has really stood out.”

Other key contributors back include Justin Valdez and Jordyn Nickerson, while Noah Gonzalez and Jack Field are among the newcomers on the varsity roster.

“Our strengths are the varsity game experience, nearly every one of them have that,” Harris said. “They know the speed of the game and the level of pitching they’re going to see. They’ve played in important district games and they’ve played in the playoffs. They are game-tested and battle-tested and it’s time to go out and put it together.”

Where the Lions need to improve from last year, according to Harris, is consistency.

“We were not consistent at all last year and this year that’s what we’re after from day one,” Harris said. “We want to be consistent when we come into practice and be focused from the start of practice to the end and not lose the focus and the fire. We have to understand the sense of urgency it’s going to take to be different from last year. That’s what we’re going to stress and emphasize.”

Heading into the season opener, Harris feels the offense may hold an early advantage over pitching.

“They’ve been hitting since June and you can drive by the field on the weekends and see a few kids in the cages,’ Harris said. “They’re always asking if they can use equipment and that just tells me they’re interested and excited about the season.

“Our arms a little bit behind, but if they stay with our throwing program they’ll be ready to go. You can tell the kids that work on their own and take those things serious. We need to get on that and make sure everyone is healthy and ready to go.”

Following Monday’s season opener, the Brownwood Lions host their portion of the Brown County tournament Thursday through Saturday and will play five games in that span. The Lions will also compete in the Stephenville and Boyd/Krum tournaments before jumping into the 12-game District 6-4A slate.

“It’s going to be a very competitive district top to bottom and we’re looking forward to gearing up for that,” Harris said. “We have a ways before we get there, but we’re expecting to be right there in the mix.”

Regarding the Lions’ four district foes, Harris said, “Mineral Wells has a new coach, I don’t know him personally but I know he has 10-plus years of head coaching experience. I would expect them to be coached well, but I don’t know a lot as far as what they having coming. Graham has five kids coming back and I know their coach, Allen McGee, a good man, a very good baseball coach and comes from a successful program. Stephenville also has five kids back and all of them were all-district. They have a winning tradition and two years ago they went to the state tournament.”

District action begins March 7 at Mineral Wells as the Lions will face each of the four teams individually, then begin Tuesday-Friday tilts with the schools starting March 28.

***

2023 BROWNWOOD LIONS

VARSITY BASEBALL SCHEDULE

Feb. 20	San Angelo Lake View	7 p.m.
Feb. 23	Andrews	5 p.m.
Feb. 23	Sweetwater	7:30 p.m.
Feb. 24	Perryton	5 p.m.
Feb. 25	Jacksboro	12:30 p.m.
Feb. 25	Jim Ned	3 p.m.
Feb. 28	at Clyde	7 p.m.
March 2	Boyd (at Stephenville tournament)	1 p.m.
March 2	Decatur (at Stephenville tournament)	3 p.m.
March 3	Tolar (at Stephenville tournament)	3 p.m.
March 4	Grandview (at Stephenville tournament)	10 a.m.
March 7	at Mineral Wells*	7 p.m.
March 9	Argyle JV (at Boyd)	6 p.m.
March 10	Grandview (at Krum)	3:45 p.m.
March 10	at Krum	6 p.m.
March 11	Parish Episcopal (at Boyd)	11:15 a.m.
March 15	Graham*	7 p.m.
March 16	at Stephenville*	7 p.m.
March 24	at Glen Rose*	7 p.m.
March 28	at Mineral Wells*	7 p.m.
March 31	Mineral Wells*	7 p.m.
April 1	at Godley	1 p.m.
April 4	Graham*	7 p.m.
April 6	at Graham*	7 p.m.
April 11	at Stephenville*	7 p.m.
April 14	Stephenville*	7 p.m.
April 25	Glen Rose*	7 p.m.
April 28	at Glen Rose*	7 p.m.

* District 6-4A Game