By BAKER ELLIS / Sports Editor

NORTH SHELBY – In the six seasons under Steve Renfroe, the baseball team at Briarwood has incrementally improved, advancing farther and farther in the state tournament almost every year during his tenure. Renfroe, who spent 32 years coaching at Auburn University before coming to be the head baseball coach for the Lions, is also no stranger to his Briarwood teams looking dramatically different from year to year. This year will be no different, as the veteran coach has to find a way to replace what was a very potent offense in 2015.

Even though Briarwood is a 6A school, the enrollment is not nearly a high as other 6A schools due to the private school attendance multiplier. This leaves the Lions uniquely susceptible among 6A programs to seeing more turnover from year to year compared to other schools they match up against. Even still, Briarwood has been able to consistently put a winning product on the field under Renfroe. Last year’s Briarwood team, for example, finished with a 25-9 record and advanced to the third round of the 6A playoffs before losing to Pinson Valley in three games. The Lions have proven to be a consistent and adaptable program under Renfroe, and only time will tell if that trend continues into 2016.

Gone are outfielder Pierce Merry, shortstop/pitcher Carson Cupo, third baseman Harrison Cain and first baseman John Michael Pegusky from the 2015 squad. Those four combined for 137 hits, nine home runs, 118 RBIs and a cumulative batting average of .317. That’s a lot of offense to replace.

“We’re replacing a lot,” Renfore admitted in a Feb. 2 phone interview. “That was a lot of guys, but every year is a new team. You have to redo (the roster) every year.”

The Lions do benefit from the return of centerfielder Jake Morris and outfielder/second baseman Carson Eddy. Morris will be a senior and the leader of the outfield while Eddy will just be a sophomore this season. Despite his tender years, the youngster had a sensational freshman campaign a year ago, finishing with 42 hits, 28 RBIs and a .350 batting average not to mention a very impressive .935 fielding percentage to boot. While Morris and Eddy did both post impressive offensive numbers, and catcher Carter Bankston will also bring an offensive spark as well, the fact remains the offense has holes that need filling.

“We’ll have almost all new hitters,” Renfroe said. “We need to pitch and play defense well if we’re going to be able to compete. We have to become strong in those areas.”

That pitching will come primarily from Trey Mitchell and Sam Strickland. Mitchell, a senior, is no stranger to the mound as he threw 54.1 innings worth of work over 11 games as a junior. Nine of his 11 appearances were starts, and he accumulated a 6-4 record on the mound in 2015 with a 2.7 ERA and 41 strikeouts. Strickland, a junior, also saw pitching action in 11 games last season, although only six came as starts. Stickland was called on to save a game five times in 2015, and did not blow a single one. Whether he will concentrate more as a starter or a late-game pitcher remains to be seen, but whatever the case, Renfroe will rely heavily on his two returning arms.

As far as expectations for the season are concerned, Renfroe tries not to put a win-loss expectation on a season, instead only hopes for marked improvement over the course of the year.

“We try to play the toughest schedule we can put together,” he said. “We try to teach them how to compete every day on an every-pitch basis. We have great confidence in our players, but most of it here is they get better as the season goes, we’ll have a chance in the playoffs.”

Briarwood starts the season on Feb. 15 with a home game against John Carroll Catholic.