The Catholic Crusader baseball team is no stranger to winning championships and Coach Seth Currie is excited to defend the district 1-3A title that his 20-win squad took home last season. That team came within one game, or some would say a few inches, of a berth in the state final four. Coach Currie feels good about his team’s chances of competing at a high level this season after only losing four seniors to graduation. Despite one of those seniors being Jordan McCants, the Pensacola News Journal’s Player of the Year, Coach Currie believes that this team has the pieces in place to make another run at a title. 

     The Crusaders return seven starters, four of whom were honored by the FACA on their All-State Team, from the 2021 championship winning team. Anchored in at the catching position is Will Barter, a Tulane commit and one of their All-State players, who batted .425 as a sophomore and had an 11 game hit streak to close out the year. His batting average during the streak was an astonishing .543. He also threw out 20 would-be base stealers. He’s also made the Academic All-State Team in each of his two seasons. Seniors Carter McCulley and Jackson Hiatt return to the infield. Both players have been consistent contributors since their freshman campaigns. Hiatt was an All-State player in 2021 and McCulley received the honor in 2020. Hiatt led the offense with 25 RBI and 4 home runs. McCulley was close by with 22 RBI and was second in doubles and third in runs scored. 

     Hiatt was also one of the Crusaders key guys on the mound in 2021. He pitched in 11 games and flashed an ERA of 1.40. In the playoffs he threw 8 innings and only allowed 1 run. They also return All-State sophomore pitcher Jackson Kohr, who after a mid-season call-up from the junior varsity, blossomed into the role of staff ace. He comfortably led the staff in innings pitched, recorded the second lowest ERA in program history (0.65), and notched 5 wins. He started 4 playoff games, including two complete game wins. Kohr showed that he can also handle the bat, hitting .455 (.500 in the playoffs). Catholic also has the luxury of having first team preseason All-American pitcher Will Krehely in their rotation. Krehely started 6 games on the mound and had 3 wins and was second on the staff in strikeouts. Also returning to the pitching staff are seniors JT Keller and Dreyeton Cunningham, who combined for 26 innings, 3 wins and a save. Also returning is All-State saves leader, sophomore Chris Rembert. In seven innings over 6 games pitched he did not allow any earned runs and only gave up two hits. 

     Rembert was also a huge piece of the offensive puzzle last season, batting .372 as a freshman, and he started every game. He was second on the team in runs scored and was in the top 3 in several other key stat categories. He was also an all-area first team player. Krehely also saw significant playing time in the field and at the plate last year. He had a game winning home run against a state champion team from Alabama. Later in the season he took over centerfield and had two big hits in the regional semifinal game. Also returning from the 2021 outfield is senior Trevor Walker. Walker won the right field job and responded by getting on base in 43% of his plate appearances. Also looking to make noise in 2022 is junior Zack DeJesus. DeJesus is a strong and versatile player who gathered valuable experience as a sophomore. Returning from injury this season is senior outfielder Reid Majewski. Majewski was hurt mid-way through the season diving to make a play. Prior to that, he had taken over the role of playing left field. Other returnees could also challenge for positions and playing time, including seniors Brian Rettig and Zack Vredenburg. Additionally, Coach Currie expects some players from last year’s JV team to contribute to their success in 2022. 

     When asked for a quote about 2022 Coch Currie had this to say, “We have a very talented team that has a lot of experience competing at a high level and our goal this year is the same as every other year, win state.” We are confident that Coach Currie and his squad will make the necessary moves to continue their winning ways.
     Their season opens with a JV/varsity doubleheader at home against Gulf Breeze on Feb. 22 at 4:30/7:00. Prior to that, they will participate in pre-season games at West Florida Tech on Feb. 15 against Tate at 7:00 and Feb. 17 against Escambia at 4:00. Mark your calendars for Mar. 25 for the annual Alumni Fish Fry games and for Apr. 8 when they will honor the 2012 state championship team prior to their home game against Lincoln. The schedule features local rivalry games against Pace (16-13 regional semifinalist), Milton (18-10 regional semifinalist), Gulf Breeze (18-9 regional quarter finalist), and Marianna (14-12). They also take on some of the best teams in Alabama in Pike Liberal Arts (28-7 state champion), Pike Road (26-10 state runner-up), Gulf Shores (25-12 regional semifinalist), Enterprise (20-16 regional quarter finalist) and Dothan (28-11 regional semifinalist). They also welcome back Owensboro Catholic (32-6 regional semifinalist) from Kentucky and will play Lighthouse Christian for the first time ever. Additionally, they will play two games at Hank Aaron Stadium in Mobile against St. Stanislaus, MS (18-8) and Teurlings Catholic , LA (20-16) and Catholic Baton Rouge (22-15) as part of the Southeast Catholic Classic. 
     With a schedule like that, fans can expect to see a lot of very talented players on both sides of the diamond each and every game. Coach Currie believes that playing these types of quality opponents during the regular season will prepare his team to meet their end goals in the playoffs.