Tyler Junior College Apache baseball players look on as a hacky sack flies through the air as they wait to take team photos during media day Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2020, at Mike Carter Field in Tyler. (Cara Campbell/Tyler Morning Telegraph)

Winning a national title isn’t just a goal for the Tyler Junior College baseball program, it’s an expectation.

“Anything less than that is kind of a disappointment,” sophomore second baseman Ren Reynolds of Kilgore said.

The Apaches won four straight national championships from 2014-17.

In 2018, the Apaches lost in the national championship game to Oakton (Ill.), 14-11, in 13 innings.

Last season, however, was a rare occurrence as TJC didn’t even reach the NJCAA Division III Baseball World Series.

“We have had kind of a bad taste in our mouth since last May,” TJC head baseball coach Doug Wren said. “Obviously not getting back to Tennessee and not getting a chance to do something special there was hard, so we’re excited to get back on the field and get playing again. It seems like this offseason has been a lot longer than normal just because of the desire to get back out and compete.”

“That was one of the big reasons I came here was because of the national championships,” sophomore pitcher Cooper Rawls of Hallsville said. “We didn’t get to do that last year, so we are hungry, especially the sophomores that were a part of that team. We felt that hurt at the end.”

The Apaches will open the season Friday at Paris. The home opener is Saturday. TJC will take on Centenary at 12:30 p.m. at Mike Carter Field and Paris at 6:30 p.m.

Rawls and Daylon Farmer are returners on a pitching staff that features a lot of new arms.

“We really like our staff,” Wren said. “We’ve got 15 guys on the staff right now, and we really feel like there are quite a few of them that can have an impact.”

Nick Sestito, Zach Williams, Grabe Craig, Duke Jordan, Callahan Baldree and Matt York were pitchers Wren mentioned.

Craig played at Grace Community School, Baldree at Carthage and York at Hallsville.

At the plate, Wren said he expects big things from freshmen Mike Schrab, Alec Williams, Dalton Davis and former Edgewood standout Tye Elie.

Former White Oak standout Heath Hood is a returning offensive threat for the Apaches.

“The season of experience helped a lot,” Hood said. “It’s a big difference for me this time last year to this year.”

The Apaches put in a lot of work in the offseason, but they also had some fun. During their annual Halloween game, a video of Reynolds dressed as Forrest Gump went viral.

“It was crazy how much it blew up and how much attention it got,” Reynolds said.

Now, Reynolds and the Apaches hope to sweep the nation with their play on the field. TJC is ranked No. 2 in the preseason behind Rowan Gloucester (N.J.). Oakton is No. 3.

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