Jefferson High School’s 2024-2025 baseball team poses together in Sager Memorial Field. Courtesy photo

SHENANDOAH JUNCTION — Serf Guerra, Alex Danner, Brady Roberts, Sam Hefner, Nayan Dominguez, Jett Gross, Conner Williams, Liam Sager and Cole Smith give “Jefferson Baseball 2025” a group of players with varsity experience. Those hitters were very important in the Cougars, achieving another 20-plus win season in 2024.

But only Gross pitched more than 25 innings and most baseball enthusiasts believe the sport’s most important position on any given day is pitcher.

It may begin with the day’s pitcher, but he has to be given runs or he can’t haul his team into the winner’s circle, because he may be gone to the pitch-count rule before he receives any offensive support.

Even as a freshman last season, Guerra led the Cougars in batting average with his .357 showing. His on-base percentage was .448 and he slugged six home runs, drove in 40 runs, scored 25 runs and had 40 hits.

Danner batted .342, scored 33 runs had 40 hits and 26 RBIs.

As a junior, Roberts had a useful .465 on-base percentage and .296 batting average. Hefner batted .304, Sager hit .305, Gross .242, Dominguez .222 and Cole Smith .211.

With a mostly senior class pitching staff in 2024, the Cougars still return Gross and his 50.2 innings, Easton Pruitt (with a 2-0 record, 3.36 ERA and 25 innings from 2024) and Cole Smith.

Guerro was the lone returnee who showed much power, even though both Sager and Williams each hit a home run in 2024.

Jefferson has always known the sometimes infinite value of the stolen base, gleaning walks and hit batsmen, heads-up base running and finally exposing the opposition’s pitchers to higher pitch counts.

Even in seasons where it doesn’t reach the big-school state tournament, Jefferson rolls out a group of pitchers that don’t allow many walks, base runners or lengthy times in between pitches.

The Cougars last won state championships in 2016 and 2015.

Last year’s edition had a 25-13 record, leaving longtime coach John Lowery, Sr. with an overall lifetime record of 1,442 and 382 in his coaching career at Harpers Ferry High School and Jefferson High School. Jefferson had its first baseball season in 1973 and Lowery, Sr. has been the school’s only coach in its 53 previous years of baseball.