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LORANGER BASEBALL REPORTS
Wolves begin a new chapter as they welcome new Head Coach Kevin Carr.
2022 Baseball Preview
LORANGER—With the departure of Brain Corr, who returned to Mississippi to coach at his alma mater, Loranger Baseball welcomed a new head coach in Kevin Carr and begins a new chapter. Carr, who most recently coached as an assistant under Scott Tribble at Ponchatoula, takes over a program that has enjoyed recent success winning the District Championship in 2019 and 2021 with the 2020 season being cancelled due to the pandemic
Carr will bring an abundance of baseball experience to the 2022 Wolfpack having played both college and pro ball and serving as an assistant coach for five years in two different programs. Carr was also director of baseball operations at the SportsPlex in Hammond and coached travel ball teams and worked with numerous athletes providing instruction and training. He attended Mesa Community College in Arizona and complete his degree at Southeastern where he was a part of two baseball conference championships. His pro career took him to Canada and back to Arizona before he retired from playing and went into teaching and coaching
“Leaving Ponchatoula was one of the toughest decisions I have had to make,” said Carr. “I did not want to leave. I loved the environment in the classroom and the environment in general there. Tribble was an unbelievable role model as a teacher and coach. I was just ready for the challenge of taking on something of my own. I felt like I was ready to take the next step. I talked with a lot of people in the Loranger area and heard a lot of good things about the kids and the school. My original plan after graduating from SLU was to go into broadcast journalism. Maybe work for ESPN one day so it has been quite a journey, but I am excited about what we can build here at Loranger and the opportunity to work with these young men.”
While the welcome to Loranger was warm and the Wolves will have a roster of 24 players including eight freshmen this season, the weather was not so welcoming at the start of school and saw a good bit of damage to Loranger’s baseball park as a result of the hurricane. “Certainly it could have been worse and it has caused us some delays not having lights, some fencing and netting down along with damage to our batting cage, but we are getting things repaired and expect to make a good place for our guys to play,” explained Carr.
Loranger’s new coach hit the ground running in dealing with storm repairs and getting to know all his charges as he and his staff worked to get the team ready for the season. “From the short amount of time I have had to observe the guys we have, I would consider us pretty athletic,” said Carr. “I feel like we can put 9-10 athletes out there that can track down balls and make some plays defensively. We can put guys in multiple positions and they can perform. We are athletic, but depth is probably the thing we lack right now.”
“We have a core of seniors this year that can play,” continued Carr. “These are the guys that need to go out and lead by example. They have been there and done that and we expect good things from them. I have made a point of letting them know that this is their team and they will set the tone. I am pleased these seniors have developed a bit of pride and are taking responsibility.”
While Loranger is a rural community school that does not have all the feeder systems you would find in larger towns like Covington, Mandeville and even Hammond, it is not without great tradition. The Wolves have made a pair of final four playoff appearances in 2009 and 2012 and most recently hosted a quarterfinal series in 2019. “As a program if your goal is not to end up in dog pile in Sulphur then you are not shooting high enough,” said Carr. “Obviously you have to take it one pitch at a time and one step at a time. We want a program that can go beyond winning district or just a playoff game. We want to develop a program that can push the envelope and open some eyes.”
In baseball a good program starts on the mound as pitching starts every play and the new Loranger coach is excited about a pair of seniors that will head up his staff while working to develop a bullpen. ”Pitching and defense is always a head of hitting and early on we will have to find a ways to win some one or two run games,” explained Carr. “My old pitching coach used to tell me, hitters are not that smart. Throw strikes and put them in uncomfortable situations and they will find ways to get themselves out.”
“For us on the mound it starts with seniors (Brandon) Graham and (Cade) Harper,” continued Carr. “They bring the experience. We hope to have four starters and some guys that can give us some help out of the bullpen. (Lane) Rivers, a junior and (Lane) Alack, a sophomore, are two guys that have a chance to work into the mix for us on the mound. They both throw from the left side and that is always a plus. There is also (Connor) Morris, our right fielder, he has three pitches he can throw for strikes. Just watching these guys I believe we will have some options to give us some depth. The key will be can guys be consistent and time will tell.”
The Wolves feature eight freshmen on the roster and among them he sees Noah Rivers as one who could find himself in a varsity game on the mound. “Noah is big tall guy and certainly should have success at the JV level” said Carr. “He, like all the freshmen, will just have to mature some more and continue to learn the game. You see the game speed up on them at times and they are one step behind but it is a process. The more reps they get the more progress they will make.”
“For a school our size, we have a pretty good mix on the mound,” continued Carr. ” Graham is strong and can over-power teams at times, Harper gives us a good mix of pitches, and Lane Rivers in his recent bullpens has been getting up in the low 80s range.”
While pitching has been a strong point for the Wolves in recent years, manufacturing runs has been something of a weakness at times and while there is nothing like having players with a lot of natural talent, Carr believes hitting can taught. “I am big on development,” said Carr. “I am not saying you can turn a .150 hitter into a .400 hitter, but if you have a guy with some strength and perhaps a little speed you can help him make some adjustments to bring him to 280 or even a 300 hitter at times. When you mix in a walk or bunt and a guy can get on base maybe three or four times out of ten then it changes your lineup for the better.”
“Maybe I am different in my view that progression is possible but I know my first year at Southeastern I really struggled,” said Carr. “I knew I had to find a way to make adjustments. I went back and watched a lot of videos and worked on my mechanics and it did wonders for me and I became a better hitter. I believe you can teach a guy who is willing to do some work how to be a better hitter and when several guys do that it changes your team’s production. I was able to make mechanical adjustments through movement and positioning and timing mechanisms and all that good stuff. Putting yourself in the best possible position to create a good barrel path and understanding where the force is being created through the body along with minimizing head movements to increase vision is key. Hitting is so much about timing and recognition.”
However, Carr is quick to point out that the mental part of hitting may be the most important part. “Having some swagger in the batters box being ready to go to battle is more important that most people want to acknowledge or teach,” continued Carr. “You have to have a refuse to lose mentality when you step in the box, no fear.”
Defending the center of the field is key in baseball and Loranger graduated a senior catcher and center-fielder in 2021, but Carr believes he has guys that can step in this year and have success. “(Tristan) Ackerman is our senior catcher, but he also plays first base,” said Carr. “We have a freshman, (Blake) Calderone whose natural position is catcher. He has no fear and will do whatever you ask. If he is able to develop and handle the position then it will make us better on defense.”
In centerfield, Carr sees a lot of speed. “We have a ton of speed in the outfield,” said Carr. “Bryce Baham, a junior, is the likely leading candidate in centerfield. He is one of those guys that will make the routine catches and then make a highlight reel catch as well. He will lay out and put in the effort wherever he is within reach. He is fearless. He wants the ball and likes the moment.”
“Lane Rivers is another one who will help us in centerfield and compete for that spot” continued Carr. “He can really play any of the outfield positions. He can run and throw. As I have said about all these guys he has a no fear mentality. So often guys worry about making a mistake so they play tentative, but with this group it is the opposite I have to tell them to tone it down sometimes. They just have no fear. I tell them that if we are going to make mistakes we are not going to make them playing cautiously.”
“There is also (Lane) Alack and Morris both have a lot of experience in the outfield,” added Carr. “We have a new guy this year (Kendrick) Thompson, a football player and senior, he has been a real pleasant surprise. He just looks like a deer running around in the outfield. He covers a lot ground and gets great reads. He is electric and brings excitement the way he plays. He has a really good arm as well. He can actually pitch some. Will Stansberry is another one with solid speed that flies around out there and can help us. Again we do not have much depth but we have guys that can play and we just have to find the right combination on the field, and we will likely move some guys around from game to game at different positions.”
The Wolves return experience at shortstop and second base with Harper and Brock Kinchen able to play both positions depending on who is pitching. “Together they will command the middle of the infield,” said Carr.
For any team to reach its potential leadership is essential but not everyone leads the same way. “We have a good mix of leaders on this team,” said Carr. “You have a guy like Graham that will not say a lot but his handles his business and has a presence on the field that guys respond to. Then you go to a Harper who is also not a big talker but you can tell the competitiveness is there. You just know both of these guys want it and they want the ball. Ackerman is a fun guy that likes to talk it up some and brings some energy. Junior Brock Kinchen who is so technically sound the way he handles himself brings the vocal leadership. When we are out there taking ground balls in shorts he is not afraid to slide and get dirty. The way he works sets a good example. Guys feed off his energy. His presence in the middle of the field changes the game for the better.”
The Wolves won the District the last two years it was played. In 2020, the season cut short was perhaps one of Loranger’s best teams so they may have easily won the league three years in a row. With graduations the last trio of years the Wolves do face some rebuilding and the 2022 District race will present its share of challenges. “It seems like every game in our district is a rivalry game,” said Carr. “The front end of our schedule is going to be a grind, but hopefully it will help us grow up some and get better as guys gain experience and more confidence.”
Wolves are the 2021 District 8-3A Champions!
LORANGER—The Loranger Wolves played one of the toughest non-district schedules and met with a lot of disappointment early in the season but with one of their goals still reachable as they entered District play, Loranger did not disappoint. The Wolves collected seven league win against one loss and earned the outright District Title with a 9-2 win over rival Albany in action Thursday. Loranger is currently ranked 18th and will wait to see where they will play when the 3A playoff bracket in announced on Sunday.
Senior Ethan Crayton was solid on the hill for Loranger he fanned 10 Albany batters while allowing two runs on six hits. The senior lefty also helped himself with three hits scoring one run. Connor Morris closed out the contest in impressive fashion facing just four batter and striking out three.
The Wolves jumped out early scoring three runs in the first inning and never looked back building a 7-0 advantage before the home-standing Hornets got on the board. The Wolves ran the bases well collecting eight stolen bases. Morris led the way with four.
DJ Brumfield took the loss for Albany. The hurler surrendered seven runs on six hits over four innings, striking out four.
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