Three teams to watch
* Soddy-Daisy: Coach Jared Hensley's team is loaded with veterans, including already signed pitcher/third basemsn Andy Wright (MTSU) and catcher Dillon Clift (ETSU). Pitching is as deep as the Trojans have had in Hensley's time as head coach -- five who have thrown varsity innings and another four or five who have shown potential.* McCallie: The Blue Tornado have added to a strong nucleus returning from last year's Division II-AA championship team with Matthew Brock and Justin Glover coming off injury-plagued seasons. Both are pitchers and will be in the mix at third base. Also, Jackson Bell, a junior who was Dalton's No. 1 pitcher last year, has joined the team. The anchor is Lee University signee and shortstop/pitcher Tyler Payne.* Boyd-Buchanan: The Buccaneers, who got into the state tournament last year (1-2), return seven of nine starters and a strong pitching staff that includes Skyler Anderson, Josh Antwine, Brandon Willingham, Josh Sewell, Cade Evans and Colby Morgan. A sophomore who also plays shortstop, Evans led the team with a .500 batting average (55-for-110).Three players to watch* Tyler Payne, McCallie: Payne, a Lee University signee, will spend much of his time at shortstop but also will pitch for the Blue Tornado. He hit .354 last year and was a basepath pest with 49 stolen bases. He'll likely hit leadoff.* Andy Wright, Soddy-Daisy: While he hit .432 last year and played third base most days, he is likely to make his mark this season as a pitcher. The right-hander has signed with Middle Tennessee State.* Skyler Anderson, Boyd-Buchanan: The right-handed anchor of Boyd-Buchanan's stout pitching staff, he struck out 73 in 67 1/3 innings while compiling a 1.45 ERA during the 2014 season.
There are a handful of new baseball coaches in the Chattanooga area, but none has stepped into a bigger task than Randall Boldin at East Ridge.
Some of the coaches are old faces in new places, Whitwell's Scott Barton now at Marion County and former Sale Creek coach Josh Gandy surfacing at Signal Mountain as Bumper Reese's replacement.
Rocky Stephenson has taken over at Whitwell, Jack Hatchel at Sequatchie County, Matt Traylor at McMinn Central and Brian Paris at South Pittsburg.
Boldin, a University of Tennessee at Chattanooga graduate and National Guard veteran of Iraq, hurricane relief and border patrol, inherited a once proud program in disarray and down on its luck, one whose stock could honestly be termed embarrassing.
"When I got here I didn't really know how to approach it, but the kids, the faculty and administration have been awesome," said Bouldin, a multisport athlete who played for the high school in Waverly, a community about an hour west of Nashville.
"I spent all summer trying to get the grass off the infield," he recalled.
The infield, as overgrown and neglected as it had become, was the least of his worries.
"As much as I wanted to take care of the field, there were other things to cover," Boldin said.
There were no uniforms to be found; no helmets, no baseballs, no equipment.
"It had just disappeared," he said.
With the help of principal Tammy Helton and some donors, East Ridge had the essentials to begin anew -- two sets of uniforms, catching gear, bats, helmets and balls.
"Our principal has really helped out. When she hired me she told me she wanted to get the baseball team back up and running," Boldin recalled. "Thanks to her and some boosters, we got uniforms and we're now set as far as playable equipment."
But square one, first and foremost, was players. East Ridge finished last year with just enough players to field a team.
"Last year they struggled to get enough kids to come out. This year we had 30 that were interested, and 28 tried out. We kept 23," he said.
The field has been getting Boldin's attention since last summer, when he'd make sure the grass was cut and the infield was dragged.
"The first time I saw the field I was shocked that they had even played on it. It has the capability of being a nice field. It had just been neglected," he said. "We still have a good bit of work to go, but the infield was almost unplayable and there are still holes in the outfield we're working to fix. And we still need to add more (infield) dirt. We just can't afford it right now."
There is, though, for the first time in several seasons, some pride in the program, one of several steps to becoming competitive.
"Our team is junior-heavy with a handful of seniors that will be counted on to lead," he said. "East Ridge has not had much success in baseball in a long time, and I have tasked this team with bringing baseball back. The excitement and enthusiasm is building throughout the program and the school. The kids have bought in and contributed many hours to getting our facilities up to par. There will be some growing pains, but they are a hard-working and coachable group."
Contact Ward Gossett at wgossett@timesfreepress.com or 423-886-4765. Follow him at Twitter.com/wardgossett.