It has been a case of mixing and matching in the preseason for Randy Beck.
Great Bend High School’s head baseball coach, Beck has the task of replacing nine seniors from last year’s 17-5 team — a season that ended in a Class 5A regional title-game loss to Salina Central.
“For losing nine seniors, we are still trying to find our place right now and it may take a little while to see where guys fit in,” Beck said. “We only have four guys returning that lettered last season (Connor Sell, Jace Bowman, Matt Marshall and Mitch Kottas), so with a new team, you kind of have to play and kind of see where everyone fits into place.”
The Panthers open their season today at the brand-spanking-new City of Great Bend Sports Complex. They play host to Western Athletic Conference foe Liberal, with the first game of the doubleheader starting at 4.
Although the Panthers lost the likes of three All-WAC selections — shortstop Logan Buehler, catcher Landon Leuenberger and third baseman/pitcher Darien Blackwill — to graduation, there are several key returnees in the dugout.
And, it all starts with pitching.
“(The graduated) Nick Ney led the team in innings pitched (39 1/3) and he was kind of our go-to guy on the mound,” Beck said. “Darien Blackwill threw a lot for us, and that was a good surprise.
“He really kind of came around and came into his own during the season. The deeper he got into the season, the better he got and that’s what we’re hoping is going to happen this year.”
The torch, so to speak, will be passed from Ney — who had a 5-3 record, a team-leading 19 strikeouts and a 3.56 earned run average — and Blackwill, who was 3-2 and recorded 18 strikeouts — to Mitch Kottas, who had a 3-0 record last season.
“Mitch Kottas threw a lot of innings for us last year,” said Beck of the senior right-hander, who recorded 13 strikeouts, registered a 4.33 ERA and also grew as a pitcher last summer for the Great Bend Chiefs Class AAA American Legion baseball team. “He will be our No. 1 pitcher this season, at least he’s shown that so far this year. He’ll start in left field for us and hit towards the top of the order.
“We’re expecting a lot of things and leadership from him, and he’s done a great job in practice. He’s taking it pretty serious. He has a goal in mind, and that’s what we need from our leader.”
Senior left-hander Connor Sell will also be depended upon in the starting rotation. He had a 3-0 record and a team-low 2.02 ERA in 17 1/3 innings last spring.
“He threw 17 innings for us last year and having a lefty on the mound does make a difference,” Beck said.  “He had a low ERA and we talked to him last year about coming in and giving us some quality innings.
“This year, he’s going to have to start for us and we are expecting good things from him. Matt Marshall is going to be on the mound for us, too, and he’s going to have to be one of our starters.”
Right-hander Marshall also was 3-0 last season, like Kottas and Sell, as the returning trio combined for a 9-0 record.
“Matt’s had some good innings for us this spring, and Braden Jones is going to come in and throw a lot of strikes,” Randy Beck said. “Bryce Beck will give us some innings, probably a starter there.
“Bryce Hofmeister, Johnny Allende, Tristan Hall and Jace Bowman … we’re going to have to get innings out of all of those guys throughout the season.”
The strong-armed Leuenberger hit .508 last season, second on the team to Marshall, whose team-leading .520 batting average was the byproduct of 26 for 50 at the plate.
“We’ve been working with Eric Ruiz behind the dish and he’s shown promise back there,” Beck said of his projected starting catcher this season. “He’s caught for a long time, and he knows what he’s doing.
“He’s a good defensive catcher and he makes good decisions, I think, in the field.”
Up the middle, the Panthers need to find a replacement for Buehler, who batted .493 from his leadoff spot. He led the team in home runs (2) and slugging percentage (.783), while tying Leuenberger for the team lead in singles (22).
Buehler, now on the roster at Barton Community College, was also a nuisance on the base paths, stealing 14 bases.
Part of the Panthers’ double-play combination returns in second baseman Bowman, who committed only six errors while batting .375.
Sell, who likely will play center field when he isn’t pitching, batted .440, and Kottas hit .333 and ranked third on the team with 20 runs batted in.
The speedy likes of Allende and Bryce Hofmeister give added dimensions in the outfield.
Chad Touslee, Wyatt Bayless and Daniel Herrman, among others, will be vying for infield positions.
Marshall, a junior third baseman, can play virtually anywhere.
Bryce Beck, Randy’s son, might also be a utility guy for the Panthers.
“Bryce, we’re going to put him back there (at catcher), as well,” the elder Beck said. “Bryce is kind of going to be a utility player for us this year, kind of the Matt Marshall-type.
“Matt played a lot of positions for us last year, and Bryce can pitch, catch, play shortstop, second and the outfield. He feels pretty comfortable at all of those positions.”

2012 Baseball schedules

Varsity/JV               
Tuesday — LIBERAL, 4 p.m.
April 5  — At Hoisington, 4 p.m.
April 13 — SCOTT CITY, 4 p.m.   
April 19 — At Hays, 4 p.m.
April 21 — JUNCTION CITY, 11 a.m.
April 26  — At Pratt JV, 5 p.m.
April 27 — NICKERSON, 4 p.m.
May 1 — At Dodge City, 4 p.m.
May 3 — At Hays-TMP-Marian, 4 p.m.
May 8 — GARDEN CITY, 4 p.m.
May 10 — At Larned, 4 p.m.
May 14-17 — Class 5A regionals, TBA
May 25-26 — Class 5A state tournament, TBA
Note — All regular-season games are doubleheaders

“C” Team
Monday — At Hays, 4 p.m.
April 7 — HOISINGTON, 10 a.m.
April 9 — HAYS, 4 p.m.
April 16 — TMP-MARIAN, 4 p.m.
April 17 — GARDEN CITY, 4 p.m.
April 23 — At Hoisington, 4 p.m.
April 26 — At Dodge City, 4 p.m.
May 4 — At TMP-Marian, 4 p.m..
May 7 — At Garden City, 4 p.m.
May 10 — DODGE CITY, 4 p.m.

Great Bend High School
Baseball roster

Varsity/Junior Varsity
#   Name                          Yr       Pos.
 1  Sell, Connor          12     OF/P
 2  Riggs, Kyle            11     C
 3  Johnson, Mitch       11      OF/P
 5  Allende, Jonathan  10     OF/P
 6  Reiser, Dillon         10     OF/P
 7  Beck, Bryce            10     IF/P
10 Zecha, Logan         10     OF
11 Witt, Alec               10     OF
12 Sandoval, Jesus     10     OF
13 Herrman, Daniel      11     IF
14 Buehler, Brady        11     IF
15 Bowman, Jace         12     IF/P
16 Conaway, Dakota    11     IF
18 Marshall, Matt         11     IF/P
20 Kottas, Mitch           12     OF/P
24 Wondra, Shade        9     IF/P
25 Touslee, Chad        11     IF/OF
26 Jones, Braden        11     IF/P
27 Hofmeister, Bryce   11     OF/P
29 Conner, Elijah        10     IF
30 Lang, Mark            11     OF/P
33 Nieto, David           10     IF/P
34 Ruiz, Eric               11     C/P
35 Bayless, Wyatt       11     IF/P
41 Ward, Lance          10     IF/P
42 Hall, Tristan           10     IF/P
     Head coach — Randy Beck
     Assistant coaches — Michael Stetttinger, Kurt Schaub, Kelly Brack, Norbert Muth, Jason Perry,