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Seniors laid foundation for Van Buren baseball
VAN BUREN — The dust has finally cleared as the seniors on the Van Buren Bulldogs baseball team took their final swing at the bat as high school athletes.
A few short weeks ago, the Bulldogs went head-to-head against Portageville in the opening round of the Class 2 state tournament, where they fell short 3-1 in a close contest. Despite not going further into the postseason, head coach Jacob Nicholson believes the foundation for the program is in a good place to do bigger and better things in the future.
The Bulldogs closed out the season with a 19-8 record and were led by seniors Noah Keeney and Benjamin Hawkins. After falling short to East Carter in last year’s district tournament, the Bulldogs fought their way back to be crowned as this year’s Class 2 District 2 champions.
Nicholson said Keeney and Hawkins were the leaders on the field this past season, and it showed the younger players the proper work ethic needed to be elite on the field.
“They have been a stepping stone for what’s to come here and Van Buren,” Nicholson said. “I was only with them for two years, but they’ve worked their tails off all four years. They have shown these underclassmen what it feels like to win and what it takes to get deep into the postseason. We will return most of our core team, and I have to thank those seniors for putting this program in the right position to project us into next year.”
The Bulldogs had multiple players named into the Class 2 District 2 all-district team, including Hawkins, Keeney, Brady Smith, Gage Vanlandingham and Chase Carter. Nicholson also received the nod as the Coach of the Year.
While Keeney will be moving on to play college baseball for MSU-West Plains, he said helping his team capture a district title was a huge accomplishment, and he believes the program will be in great hands with the younger group after his departure.
“After having the season that we had, I think there’s a lot to learn for these younger guys,” Keeney said. “I hope they understand the work that goes into having a good team. I had a great final season and I love every single one of them. Despite being so small, we had a great team, and I just appreciate everyone. We haven’t won a district title since 2017, so it was great to win it, especially in my senior season.”
Keeney hopes to land a Division I offer after finishing at MSU-West Plains.
Fellow teammate Hawkins agreed that the team was locked in this season, and getting a district title has put the Bulldogs in a good position to add more for years to come. He credits the coaches for helping them this season, and it did not go unnoticed by anyone on the team.
“I think our coaches helped us evolve as ball players and prepared us seniors for the rest of our lives,” he said. “I had so much fun playing with all these guys, and I’m going to miss it. This season has really set the tone for Van Buren baseball. I think we’re gonna have some more good years, and hopefully, we’ll have many more district titles to come.”