FRANKFORT, Ky. —

Defense and pitching are this year’s focus as the Kentucky State University baseball team works for a better season than last season, the team’s head coach said.

“They need to start the year off playing good defense behind our pitching staff, while the offense figures some things out,” said KSU head coach Robert Henry.

He said the team really needs to perform well as “we figure out our lineup.”

This season, they should have a deeper depth-chart of arms to use on the mound, with 12 seniors back, Henry said.

The KSU Thorobred Baseball team has 14 pitchers this year, and eight are returning seniors, according to Christian Flowers, KSU’s sports information director.

“So, there’s some guys who’ve been around the block, so to speak, when it comes to this conference and playing at this level, so I think that experience is something we can rely on. As I mentioned earlier, our pitching staff is much deeper and if we can play good defense and be opportunistic swinging the bats, I believe we can definately have a better year than last year.”

Henry said last season’s pitching staff had a lot of injuries, so the coaching staff had to put in reserve pitchers, and that’s what made the reserve pitching staff lose effectiveness.

“This year we should have many more available arms and much more depth on the mound that’ll help us go a longer way this year,” Henry said.

The team lost a lot of key pieces in the lineup from last season, but some “hard-workers” are back this year, Henry said.

Senior starting pitcher Eric Turner led the SIAC in strike-outs last season with 87, and he’ll be back on the bump this season.

Daccarius Chapman is another senior “who had a very good year last year,” Henry said. Last season, Chapman had 65 strike-outs.

On offense, Joseph Esparza returns, following a strong 2023 season.

Esparza, a power-hitting first baseman, had an all-American-type year in 2023. He was named all-region in the NCAA Division II South Region, had 16 home runs and 73 RBIs.

The KSU baseball team’s record was 21-23 for the 2023 season.

The 2024 season opens Saturday, Feb. 3, facing Morehouse College in Atlanta. Morehouse enters this season after a 15-24-1 record in 2023.

“Morehouse will be a good challenge for us to open the season. Coach [Antonio] Grissom does a nice job down there with his program,” Henry said, adding that the teams will play in a “nice ballpark” in the Henry Aaron Field at Gresham Park.

“Both teams are trying to finally get outside for one of the first early times of the year, so it should be a good match-up for both ball clubs,” he said.

Jeremiah Barker may be reached at [email protected].