The 2023 high school baseball season is quickly approaching and as usual, our staff is excited for the upcoming spring season.  Players and coaches have been working all fall and through December, in preparation for the upcoming season and as is the case each year, there are some very talented players and teams across Louisiana.

Programs across the state have goals and aspirations to finish the year in Sulphur, LA at the LHSAA State Tournament, but there is plenty of work to be done before that becomes a reality.  We hope to familiarize our readers with many of the teams and players across the state, as we preview many of the great programs from Louisiana.  We will take you right up to the first pitch of this season with these team previews and we'll continue providing coverage throughout the spring. 

Please keep checking back throughout the season, as we strive to be your one-stop shop for everything related to high school baseball across Louisiana.  Each week we will release our players of the week, as well as our Power 25 Rankings, which encompasses the top 25 teams in the state, regardless of class.  

*Please note that all information is based on team preview questionnaires that were sent out and returned by the participating high school coaches.  If you did not receive a questionnaire and would like to fill one out, please send an email to [email protected].

-High School Name: Doyle High School

-Coach’s Name: Tim Beatty

-Classification: Class 3A (Non-Select Division III)

-District: 6-3A

-No. of Returning Positional Starters: 6

-No. of Returning Pitchers: 3

-Team Strengths: Pitching

-Top Returning Players: 2023 UTIL Peyton Woods (Jones Community College commit), 2023 OF Dru Beatty, 2024 LHP Caiden Barcia, 2024 INF Dathan Cummings

-Top 2023 Prospects: 2023 UTIL Peyton Woods (Jones Community College commit), 2023 OF Dru Beatty

-Top 2024 Prospects: 2024 LHP Caiden Barcia, 2024 INF Dathan Cummings

 

 

Team Outlook

Doyle finished the 2022 season with a 25-16 overall record and made it to the state championship game, for the second consecutive year, before losing to Rosepine.  The strength of Head Coach Tim Beatty's team, heading into this spring, will be the pitching staff.  Leading the way will be senior Peyton Woods, who is penciled in as the team's #1 starter.  The Jones Community College recruit is a strike thrower with a 3 pitch mix.  Uncommitted junior LHP Caiden Barcia is also back for another year of action for the Tigers.  Barcia has a mid-80's FB and spins a really good top to bottom breaking ball.  Offensively, Woods will be relied upon for his bat as well.  The left-handed hitter can hit to all fields with power.  Senior Dru Beatty is another veteran four-year letterman who returns back in the outfield for the Tigers.  Beatty is a really good defender, who can cover a lot of ground in the outfield and is a guy who with very good strike zone awareness at the plate.  Junior Dathan Cummings is another returner back on the infield for Coach Beatty.  The uncommitted infielder has great hands and a strong arm across the diamond.  Doyle will compete in the newly created District 6-3A, where they will compete against the likes of University Lab and Parkview Baptist, who both made the state tournament last spring.  That's not the only change for the Tigers this year, as they have been moved from Class 2A to the Division III Non-Select playoffs bracket, where they will see programs such as Grand Lake ('22 Class 1A state finalist), Loreauville, Oak Grove ('22 Class 1A state champion), and Springfield, whom the Tigers beat in last year's Class 2A semifinals.  Coach Beatty and his players have made it to consecutive state title games, so they are as experienced as anyone, when it comes to competing in the playoffs.  Pitching will likely lead the way early on in the season, while the newcomers on offense gain experience, and come playoff time, we expect Doyle to be right in the thick of things in the LHSAA's Non-Select Division III playoff bracket.  

 

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