THOMASVILLE — Baseball practices are in their second week across the Georgia High School Association. It continues to be a time of evaluation for the Thomasville Bulldogs, who must replace eight seniors, including their top three pitchers.

Following last year’s season that ended prematurely due to COVID-19 and the lack of a normal summer schedule, Thomasville coach Erik McDougald is valuing this time with his players in trying to determine who can do what.

“Not having summer and then coming back out here with these young guys, I haven’t seen them. I”m not real sure what can they really do,” he said. “Can they handle the speed of the game coming from middle school to high school? Can they come and handle the JV speed versus the varsity speed? 

“Missing that time, even the guys that didn’t get to finish the JV season, is just experience lost and practice time lost combined with not having a summer; it’s very different for me personally. I feel like I’m behind in knowing the players and their abilities.”

Thomasville’s lack of experience is especially noticeable on the mound. Thomasville’s top hurlers from last year included departed seniors Hurston Waldrep and Jacob Bradshaw. 

“The guys that we graduated were about as good a three as you’ll find really anywhere,” McDougald said. 

Junior left-hander Gabe Duncan will provide some experience on the mound.

“(Gabe’s) had real good innings under his belt. He’s not completely inexperienced,” McDougald said. “He’s started some games. He’s come in relief. He’s probably got 40 to 50 innings of high school experience under his belt. 

“Then we have some younger guys that are talented. We’ve just got to see what they can do in the span of a season. I love pitching and defense. Is it going to be a different style of pitching? Of course it is. It still boils down to not walking guys, not committing errors. 

“We don’t want to go into a situation where we’ve got to score a ton of runs. When you face a front line guy, it’s just not going to happen. We’re working on executing the simple things; the hit and run, the bunt, the little things that ultimately win you the big games either way.”

The lack of experience is not only on the mound but in the field. Thomasville returns one senior this season, Eli Newsome, who will play in the outfield. 

McDougald is focused on the little things that win ballgames as the Bulldogs try to replace last year’s production.

“We don’t want to go in with a mindset of we’ve got to club out 15 hits every game to score eight or nine runs. I don’t think that’s a realistic expectation over the long haul,” McDougald said. “Don’t get me wrong — if we do that, I’m way OK with that.

“We’ve still got to throw strikes. We’ve still got to play defense,” McDougald continued. “We want to balance it out over everything; put the three pieces of the puzzle together. Put the ball in play, throw strikes and play defense. It’s going to set you up with an opportunity to win, hopefully.”