Lake Oconee Academy baseball is coming off its best season in program history and wants to build off that success this year.
In 2024, the Titans won a program record 26 games, captured their first region championship, and made their longest postseason run. They reached the Class A Division II semifinals before losing to eventual state runner-up Charlton County.
However, the team lost several seniors who were major contributors, including shortstop Ian Watson and catcher Will Moore.
“We made it to the Final Four last year and won the region championship for the first time. All that was well and good, but we lost some pretty good seniors in our shortstop and catcher,” Lake Oconee Academy head coach Mark Miller said. “Our shortstop, Ian Watson, was Region Player of the Year, and Will Moore was behind the plate at catcher. So, we feel like we’ve got to make sure things up the middle are pretty secure, but we’ve got a lot of talent returning.”
John Funderburke, Dylan Hiter, Ty Hiter, Cam Kelley, and Ike O’Neal helped Lake Oconee Academy make a deep playoff run last year. However, adding William King from First Presbyterian Day will greatly enhance the Titans’ depth.
King, an Emory University commit, will be a reliable arm, along with Funderburke, O’Neal, the Hiter brothers, and others.
Last year, Lake Oconee Academy’s strength was its pitching, and King will complement the Titans’ talent on the mound.
Miller is confident the depth on the mound will suffice but admits he just wants his pitchers to throw strikes.
“We’re deep on the mound, but like anybody else, we really preach just throwing strikes,” Miller said.
Miller feels that this year’s defensive group is solid. He also said there are several options regarding who will play where.
Jake McDonald, a freshman, will start at short for LOA. He will also provide depth on the mound. Kelley, a veteran who usually plays right field, will fill in at catcher, but sophomore Tate Lipscomb will likely take over behind the plate.
Miller expects the group to play solid defense and not give up many errors.
“We want to be solid up the middle defensively,” Miller said. “We’d love to strike people out, but even if they hit the baseball, we want to play good defense behind the pitcher. We just want to throw strikes and not hurt ourselves on defense.”
Moore and Watson’s departures will be significant on offense, but the Titans will have a strong lineup at the plate. Kelley will likely bat leadoff, while O’Neal and Funderburke will possibly follow. King will be the team’s slugger.
Miller believes the lineup will be consistent and said the team’s approach at the plate hasn’t changed.
“At the plate, we’re just a bunch of contact hitters. We’re not hitting any long balls anywhere,” Miller said. “A lot of good sticks throughout the lineup, and then guys that run the bases really well, too. We want to put the ball in play. We’re going to bun a lot. We will sacrifice a lot and then be aggressive when we get on the bases.”
Miller has high expectations for this year’s team but wants his kids to take the season one day at a time.
“Our number one goal is to win the region championship,” Miller said. “Our second goal is to make the playoffs, and our third is to win the state championship.”
LOA will begin its season on Monday, Feb. 10, at home against ACE Charter of Macon.