Bell baseball pushing for return to normalcy — the postseason

Last season was a little different, and perhaps even a shock to the system, for the L.D. Bell baseball team.

It was the exact opposite of what the program has enjoyed for many years.

After four straight seasons of reaching the playoffs, players emptied their lockers after the final regular-season game. And, surprisingly, they were never even in contention for a postseason berth.

Just two seasons after reaching the regional semifinals for a third straight (including a regional finals berth in 2011), they slipped to 10-13 overall and just 3-9 in District 7-6A.

Blue Raiders coach Paul Gibson is counting on senior leadership to get his team back into postseason contention. However, he does acknowledge his team plays in one of the toughest districts to be found, 7-6A.

Seniors back for their second varsity season include pitcher/second baseman Jarret Fuller, first baseman/pitcher Preston Newman and outfielder Nathaniel Bassett. Also back for a second varsity year are junior catcher/designated hitter Collin Killough and sophomore shortstop Michael Bernhardt.

Fuller was the only full-time starter of the aforementioned.

One senior, however, will not be on the roster this season. Pitcher Mason Peterson, a four-year starter, is out due to Tommy John surgery.

Peterson was a second-team all-district selection last season.

“Pitching will be a work in progress, with a couple of young arms in the mix,” Gibson said.

Ditto for hitting, he said. The Raiders will likely have to manufacture runs by playing small ball, getting runners on base and finding ways to move them around to score.

“Hitting will be a work in progress. Not a lot of power.”

Scoring runs was a challenge for the Raiders last season. In district they were outscored 72-27, an average of 6-2.25.

And while the returning experience can only help, Gibson said it’s “too early to tell what our strengths will be this year.”

If the Raiders can put things together this season, they will nonetheless be facing a tall challenge each time they take the field for a district contest. But then, so will everyone else in the league, Gibson said.

Quite simply, District 7-6A is one of the toughest to be found. Last season, no team went through unscathed. Even champion Coppell had a couple of losses.

But to the survivors who advance into the playoffs go some spoils. That toughness continued well into the postseason in 2015.

Coppell was eliminated in the postseason by Southlake Carroll, third in district, when the two met in the regional quarterfinals. Carroll was ousted the next week by Arlington Martin.

“District is going to be a dogfight every week,” Gibson said. “You try to play a tough nondistrict schedule every year to prepare for battle.”

Since 1995, the Raiders have reached the playoffs 14 times. In those appearances, they have enjoyed much success.

Bell has reached the area (second) round 10 times, the regional quarterfinals (third round) four times, the regional semifinals three times (including 2011, 2012, 2013), and the regional finals in 2011.

This story was originally published February 29, 2016 at 11:26 AM with the headline "Bell baseball pushing for return to normalcy — the postseason."