New players ready to prove that Hartselle is still championship material
For the Enquirer
If there is a word to describe this season of Hartselle baseball, the first one that comes to mind is “new.” The Tigers have a new coach, Brad Phillips, Hartselle’s first new head coach since 1988.
There are also a lot of new faces. Only two position players, Cole Miles and Asher Doepel, and only one pitcher, Jace Meadows, are back as starters from last year’s Class 6A state runner-up team.
If you’re looking for familiar faces, Sparkman Park, home of the Tigers, isn’t the best place to look.
“It’s been a new year for a lot of people,” Phillips said. “That includes me, our staff, guys that moved in and guys that moved up. For a community and a program that has championship expectations, there has been a lot of new to get used to.” Despite all the fresh faces, however, one thing that has yet to change is Hartselle’s place on the Class 6A baseball totem pole.
Hartselle is 25-7 and ranked No. 1 in Class 6A, having held the top spot since the season’s first poll.
Three new additions have helped the Tigers maintain that high standard of play: Easton Nelms, Ty Marsh and Cruise Baker. Not only are they new to the Hartselle lineup, they’re new to Hartselle.
All three players moved to town prior to the 2024-25 school year, citing their desire
Hartselle, Page B-2 to win as the biggest reason why.
“This is arguably the best program in the state. The culture here, you can’t find it just anywhere,” Baker said.
“I’ve always wanted to be a part of a winning program and Hartselle’s history speaks for itself,” Nelms added. “I couldn’t pass on the opportunity to play here.” Coming to play for a new coach who came to Hartselle after 14 years of coaching Division I baseball at South Alabama and Troy was a good reason, too.
“Getting that college coach before you even go to college is huge for development,” Marsh said.
Nelms, a Samford commit, is lead-off hitter and is batting .372 with 22 RBIs, 14 stolen bases and a .492 on-base percentage. Marsh, a Western Kentucky commit, bats third with a .331 average, 22 RBIs, three home runs and a .477 on-base percentage. Baker is clean-up hitter, batting .282. He leads the Tigers in RBIs (32) and home runs (6) and has 11 stolen bases.
“All those guys have come and fit right in, not just with the team, but with the school and the community,” Phil-lips said. “That’s really been the most important part because when you add guys as talented as them to the talented players you have coming back and coming up, if they’re able to fit together, then you have something special.” Even though the new players were already friends with each other and current Hartselle players, it still took time for everything to come together.
“We were close with the guys on the team, but you still have to learn to adapt to a new team,” Nelms said. “Learning how someone plays and how they practice, that doesn’t just happen overnight.” Nevertheless, the Tigers made it look easy from the start, stacking wins and grabbing the No. 1 ranking. In the last few weeks, however, something has clicked even more.
Hartselle has won 13 of it’s last 14 games, outscoring its opponents in that span 105-29.
“I think everyone on this team is tough and talented but being tough as a team and playing together was something we needed to address,” Marsh said. “Coach (Phillips) addressed it and then the players got together and talked about it. Ever since then we’ve played better as a team and no we don’t expect to lose.” Tonight, Hartselle begins postseason play as the Tigers are set to host Southside-Gadsden for games one and two of a best-two-of-three series (game three on Saturday if needed).
In its history, Hartselle has won nine state championships and has advanced to the state finals in three of the last four years. While there may be a lot of new faces for the Tigers this season, the expectations remain the same and that’s something the new players are embracing.
“It doesn’t matter who’s playing, the expectation at Hartselle is always going to be a state championship. It never changes,” Baker said. “In order for those expectations to not overwhelm you, you need to have an edge and I think a lot of us do. I’m excited to play.” The players said they’re taking the postseason as a challenge to show everyone that, even with all the new surrounding the program, Hartselle baseball will continue to deliver.
“Before I came here, I heard a lot of people say that with a new coach and new players, there’s no way Hartselle can be the same,” Marsh said. “I think there’s people out there that don’t expect us to win as much anymore so we want to prove them wrong.”
