By John Henson
Managing Editor
In a quest to improve on last year’s 5-14 mark, Pineville coach Tay Zachery knows his Mountain Lions must embrace “small ball” and make routine plays.
The Lions lost their three top hitters to graduation and another starter to transfer, leaving behind an inexperienced squad with only five players back who who saw significant action.
“Our word for the year is ‘routine,’ because we know we have to make all the routine plays to win,” said the second-year Pineville coach, who played on a 13th Region championship squad at Bell County in 2008 before going on to play football at the University of Pikeville. “We’ve worked a lot on bunting because we don’t have a lot of power or experience. We know we have to be able to play small ball and be able to scratch out runs whenever we can. We have to be able to bunt and move players over and get them in when we get the chance. We have to get runs where we can when we can.”
Kaiden Robbins, a senior who helped lead the Pineville basketball team to a district championship earlier this month, is the most experienced pitcher on the roster and the only player back who saw action on the mound last year with 13 appearances. Preston Zachery, a freshman, and Kaden Taylor, a junior, will also see action in the rotation.
“We will focus on throwing strikes. I’d much rather our guys throw it over the plate and trust their defense than walk a lot of people. If you get hit, you get hit,” Zachery said.
Robbins will also play a key role on offense as the center fielder. His brother, Landon, will play right field and the two will fill the top two spots in the order where Zachery hopes they can give the Lions a boost with their speed and athleticism. Landon Robbins hit .286 last year with eight hits. Kaiden Robbins hit .205 with nine hits and 14 runs scored.
“I think Kaiden is one of the best outfielders in the region. If the ball is hit anywhere, I’d like it to go to him. I think he’s also the best athlete in the school,” Zachery said. “Landon has a real good arm. We hope those two guys can steal a lot of bases.”
Landon Abner, a sophomore, will round out the outfield in left.
“He has a good glove out there. It’s only his second year playing baseball, but he’s catching on pretty well. We hope he can also steal some bases,” Zachery said.
The Pineville infield will feature senior Nasir Wilson at second base with Zachery, the coach’s son, at shortstop. Wilson stole 12 passes in 13 attempts and will again be a key player in the Lions’ running game.
“Nasir is a good fielder and runner. We need him to steal bases for us this year,” Zachery said. “Preston is one of our best fielders and has a good arm. This is his first year at the high school level.”
Kaden Taylor, a junior, has taken over at first base and is the probable cleanup hitter.
“This is his first year as a full-time starter, and he’s progressed a lot from his freshman year until now. We need Kaden to produce runs,” Zachery said. “This is his first year as a starter, and he has improved a lot already.”
Tristan Johnson, a junior, will hit third or fifth in the order as he returns at third base. Johnson hit .250 last season with 10 hits and eight stolen bases in eight attempts.
“He’s a good hitter and run producer,” Zachery said. “He’s one of our top hitters.”
After seeing action at both third base and behind the plate last year, sophomore S.B. Pursifull will take over as the starting catcher.
“He did catch a few games last year. He’ll be our main catcher this year. He’s gotten better at blocking and framing his pitches,” Zachery said.
The Lions open their season on Tuesday at Thomas Walker, Va.

Tue, Mar 18, 25	Thomas Walker (Ewing), VA	at Thomas Walker	(W)	12	–	9	no
Wed, Mar 19, 25	Red Bird	at Red Bird Christian School							⇄
Fri, Mar 21, 25	McCreary Central	away					6:00 PM		⇄
Mon, Mar 24, 25	Harlan	away					6:00 PM		⇄
Tue, Mar 25, 25	Thomas Walker (Ewing), VA	home					6:00 PM
Tue, Apr 8, 25	Knox Central	home					5:30 PM		⇄
Thu, Apr 10, 25	Jellico, TN	at Jellico Baseball Field					6:00 PM
Fri, Apr 11, 25	McCreary Central	away					6:00 PM		⇄
Tue, Apr 15, 25	Barbourville	home					5:30 PM		⇄
Fri, Apr 18, 25	Hancock County (Sneedville), TN	at Hancock Co.					5:30 PM
Tue, Apr 22, 25	Lynn Camp	home					5:30 PM		⇄
Thu, Apr 24, 25	Cumberland Gap, TN	at Cumberland Gap					5:30 PM
Fri, Apr 25, 25	Middlesboro	home					5:30 PM		⇄
Thu, May 1, 25	Lynn Camp	at Lynn Camp Middle/					5:30 PM		⇄
Fri, May 2, 25	Somerset Christian School	away					6:00 PM		⇄
Tue, May 6, 25	Middlesboro	away					5:30 PM		⇄
Thu, May 8, 25	Williamsburg	home					6:00 PM		⇄
Fri, May 9, 25	Cordia	away					6:00 PM		⇄
Mon, May 12, 25	Cordia	home					6:00 PM		⇄
Thu, May 15, 25	Williamsburg	away					6:00 PM		⇄
Fri, May 16, 25	Buckhorn	away					6:00 PM		⇄