Andrew’s baseball continues to be a work in progress

By Neill Kirkpatrick

Special to the HSSR

Andrews – The Yellowjackets baseball program has made significant progress under the watch full eye of head coach Richie Poston, but despite coming off a region championship in 2023 the Yellowjackets are still a work in progress.

“I do not believe in defending a championship. I believe that we have to continue to chase the one ahead. Keeping that mindset of always chasing allows us to not get complacent on past success,” Coach Poston said.

Coach continued, “the expectation is to continue improving upon the success we have had over the last few years. The younger guys who have played varsity baseball for a few years now have to step into those leadership roles and be the players that teams can depend on to perform each night.

The Yellowjackets have gotten off to a so-so start to the season as they currently sit at 4-4 overall, but they are 4-0 in region play. They will take a break from region play as they play in the South Atlantic Bank Invitational next week.

Coach Poston has a young team with no seniors on the roster but returning for the Yellowjackets are several All-Region performers in Sloan Harper, Khalil Dorsey, Brycen Cannon, and Jaxon Baker.

Harper, a junior, plays shortstop and leads the team in hitting with a .562 average. He also leads the team in RBI’s and doubles while Doresy, also a junior, is fourth on the team in hitting with a .365 average.

Dorsey is also part of the starting rotation on the hill for the Yellowjackets. He will be joined on the bump by freshman Baker and sophomore Cannon. Baker is averaging over one strikeout per inning and is holding teams to a .250 batting average in his outings.

Sophomore Riley Jordan is also a returning All-Region performer who would have been in the lineup but had a season ending knee injury early during football season.

One of the team’s top newcomers is sophomore Levi Marlowe. He missed last season with an injury. He is second on the team with a .467 batting average. He is second in RBI’s and doubles.

Junior Maddox Cooper is third on the team in hitting with a .385 average and Aden Cooper, another junior, is also hitting over.300 for the Yellowjackets.

“Maturity is the main goal for us as a group right now, taking ownership of personal and team performance and being objective while looking at how the games are going and being honest with ourselves about where we are and where we want to go as a group,” said Poston. “We have to be a solid defensive team that can keep other teams off the scoreboard, but for us to contend we have to hit the ball more consistently.”