BENTON. After finishing 22–9, including winning their first 14 contests and losing the quarterfinals to eventual state champion Marion, the Benton Panthers Baseball team looks tight and loaded for the 2023 season. The Panthers have seven starters on the Field and most of their quality guns are on the hill, not to mention the depth to go on top of it.

“We’re excited to have a comeback,” said longtime Benton coach Mark Balisterri. “We only lost two in the starting lineup. There was a part of the year where we had a third starting lineup, but we had the whole infield back.”

Benton lost to state pick Ethan Perry, starting with all-conference catcher Jackson Cobb and Dawson Turner, who spent a lot of time on the field, prior to graduation, but returned All-Stater player Jake Jones, leader on the mound, to the plate and UCA signer and all-time favorites conferences by Brooks Lane, Cayden Phillips, Dalton Adair and Logan Hope.

“For the most part, we got back the bulk of our team,” Balisterri said. “We probably have more depth than ever, especially with regards to the infield.”

Playing at third base last year when he wasn’t on the mound, Jones is initially looking to see time this season after hitting .322 with eight doubles, 20 RBIs, 21 walks and a .451 percentage on base. On the mound, Jones was 5-0 with a 1.01 ERA, hitting out 82 in 48.1 innings.

Balisterri also sees sophomore Brock Muttox and senior Seth Mejia, also strong on the mound, at first base. Mejia had a 0.83 ERA and 38 strikeouts in 33.2 innings.

“He’s probably one of our most versatile players and plays well,” Balisterri said of Mejia, “so we’ll need to find a place to play when he’s not serving.”

The senior lane will return to his post at second base to start his third year after batting .350 and stealing 11 bags.

“He’s just a leader and sort of an anchor of our infield and will probably be our leader,” Balisterri said, also mentioning the older Drake Womack as a contender for second, or pretty much any spot in the field.

The older Hope returns as a shortstop with the versatile Mejia as backup. Hope hit .259 with 15 RBIs at the plate and had a 1.45 ERA with 26 strikeouts as close as last year.

The Panthers will have new blood at third base this year with rookie Marcus Bates, who has already committed to playing for the Arkansas Razorbacks.

“He is a very talented young man,” Balisterri said. “He is an average infielder, but given Logan’s experience, we think this will help him become a better shortstop in the future. With these two guys on the left side of the infield, we have a chance to be better than ever.”

Of course, Jones will play third as needed, and versatile senior Jack Wolbright could also see time there, though he’ll probably start in the outfield first.

“There are eight guys we can play anywhere in the infield with,” Balisterri said. “We could play there with another band and be very, very competitive.”

Sophomore Mason McDaniel will take over the supporting role in Cobb’s absence, while Bates, Mejia, Woolbright and senior Donovan Pearson will compete for backup roles.

“He did a really good job,” the coach said of McDaniel. “He has gotten better in the last four weeks and continues to get better. We have some depth, but Mason will be ahead.”

Senior Cayden Phillips returns to the outfield after earning an All-Conference last year. A year ago, Phillips hit .303 with 23 runs and 15 RBIs but is currently dealing with a nagging injury.

“We hope he does great things,” Balisterri said of Phillips.

Womack could have started from right field from the start, with Woolbright taking left field.

“We really feel like he should be on the field somewhere,” the coach said of Woolbright. “He’s just a player. He’s really good at the plate and knows how to handle the ball.”

Sophomore Elias Payne is looking forward to scouting in midfield in the future, but was sidelined due to a knee injury sustained in football. Senior Justin Mitchum will be in the center for now.

“Justin Mitcham is probably the most complete outfielder we’re bringing back,” Balisterri said. “He has really stepped up his defensive and offensive game and we expect him to be an important part of our squad.

“We have 12 or 13 guys that we feel comfortable with.”

The aforementioned Jones, Mejia and Hope will immediately contribute to the mound, but the younger Adair, 5-0, 1.88 ERA and 80 strikeouts in 56 innings, will be out at the start.

“Adair is not 100 percent,” the coach explained. “At the end of the summer, he had a problem with his hand, and now he is in a rehabilitation center. Two or three weeks behind. We hope that immediately after the spring break it will be ready for work.

“These four guys will be the backbone of our squad.”

There are several other Panthers expected to see the fight in the hills, including senior Braden Campbell, who was eliminated last season with Tommy John surgery, and southpaw Payne when he returns from the shelf.

“I think he will really help us,” Balisterri said of Campbell.

While Benton has plenty of depth and experience, there is one aspect of the game that involves Balisterri.

“We don’t have a lot of command speed and that’s a big concern right now,” he said. “Putting pressure on people really makes a big difference. We’re going to have to put pressure on people by being smart on the bases, playing smallball. Our goal is to score four runs per game. If we can get those four passes over the plate, we think we have a good chance of winning the game with our serve.”

At 5A Central, the Panthers moved south last year, which won’t be a cakewalk. The conference is also planned in a new format where teams will play each other twice in the same week, presumably to help level the playing field where a team’s start number 1 will not play against the same team twice.

“Our conference starts right away,” Balisterri said. “I don’t know if we were lucky, but we lasted the first week bye, but all the rest of our conference participants start work on Tuesday. We are lucky that we have a week break to participate in the conference because there are nine teams participating in our conference.

“This is going to be like a fucking killer brawl. When you look at us Sheridan, Lake Hamilton, Lakeside, El Dorado, Texarkana, White Hall and then Hot Springs and Pine Bluff. Pine Bluff has a guy who goes to Little Rock to pitch, so they’ll have a dude on the hill who can beat you.”

The Panthers played North Little Rock in a charity game at Everett Field at Panther Stadium in Benton on Thursday and officially kicked off their season in the Panther/Yellowjacket FCA Classic starting on Monday. Benton will play Russellville on Tuesday at 7:30 pm at Everett Field, play Catholic Thursday at 6:45 pm and end the Classic Friday against Bentonville West at 5:45 pm.

In addition, the Battle of Balisterris will take place on April 4 and 6, when the Panthers will play the Lakeside Rams, whose new coach will be Brooks Balisterri, the former son of Panther and Mark.

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