RINGGOLD, Ga. — Good thing for Devin Lancaster there's not a category on Yelp for reviewing assistant baseball coaches.
Lancaster's first few weeks on the job as his high school alma mater's pitching coach were met with more than a few quizzical looks (and, no doubt, some grumbling). He was tasked to bring out the potential in a talented group of Ringgold pitchers who had underachieved last season, but to begin that process, the former Tigers ace didn't start tearing down mechanics.
He went to work on their heads.
Or maybe it was their hearts he was targeting in preseason camp by making bullpen sessions competitive.
"If you look at the stats from last year with pretty much the same group of guys, the first thing that jumped out was there were too many walks," said Lancaster, who went 16-0 as a Ringgold senior before becoming one of Tennessee Tech University's top pitchers.
"You could tell they were all talented, but they seemed to lack the mental toughness to commit to every pitch and own every situation. We didn't do much with mechanics — just a tweak here and there — but we decided to make them compete by doing competitive bullpen sessions. I can say they didn't much like it at first."
Lancaster would draw a strike zone — always smaller than the pitchers would see in a game — and the pitchers would compete to see who hit the target the most. The loser usually had to run.
"The strike zone they had to hit was small, but it was a pitcher's execution zone," Lancaster said. "To get good hitters out, you have to be able to hit your spots, and after doing it for two or three weeks, they started getting into it and our sessions became a great atmosphere where they all just competed.
"Now, when you compare stats from this year to last season, they don't look like the same guys, and it's all because they bought into everything we are teaching — even the crazy stuff. It's just competing and having confidence in all their pitches. Now, when they throw a pitch, they have 100% conviction in that pitch."
Staff photo / Devin Lancaster pitches against Peach County as a Ringgold senior in May 2016. Lancaster went 16-0 on the mound that season before going on to Tennessee Tech, and now he's back with the Tigers as their pitching coach.The team's earned run average is 1.75, while the walks plus hits per inning is less than 1.00. Opponents are hitting .173, and the staff has accumulated 352 strikeouts and just 73 walks. Each of those numbers is a massive improvement over last year — the ERA, WHIP and walks have been cut at least in half — when the team still won 24 games.
The proof of the plan's success is easy to see in the seasons put together by senior ace Ross Norman and fellow right-hander Sebastian Haggard, a junior.
Norman has become one of the state's top starters, contributing to a run through the GHSA Class AAA playoffs as the Tigers (30-6) seek the program's first state title. He will be on the mound in game one of a best-of-three semifinal series against Savannah Christian (29-6) that starts with a 2 p.m. doubleheader at Bill Womack Field. If necessary, a third game would be played Monday, also in Ringgold.
The 6-foot-7 Norman, who has lost only one of his 13 starts, has an ERA under 1.00 and averages nearly two strikeouts per inning. After having by far his worst outing in game one of the second-round series with Wesleyan (seven earned runs in five innings), Norman regrouped by throwing a 12-strikeout no-hitter against Columbus last Saturday and ended the quarterfinal series with a three-out save Monday.
Norman's rise has been more than just limiting walks. Lancaster also wanted him to become a leader, which meant reaching a different maturity level while on the mound. The two share a lot of similarities, including successful runs as the Ringgold football program's quarterback, which helped them bond.
"I didn't get to spend a whole lot of time with him because I coached basketball last year, so I came out here kind of late," Lancaster said. "If you look at film from last year, you could see his immaturity on the mound.
"Him being a quarterback and having to lead a team helped him grow up. Getting to see him become a leader this year has been tremendous."
Staff file phot by Patrick MacCoon / Ringgold junior Sebastian Haggard, pictured, has paired with Ross Norman for a strong 1-2 punch in the Tigers' rotation this season.Haggard would be an ace on most teams, having won 11 games with a sub-2.00 ERA and twice as many strikeouts as hits allowed. No. 3 starter Jackson Black, just a sophomore, is 7-0, including a pivotal win over Wesleyan in an elimination game in which he allowed one run and four hits in five innings.
Sam Crew, who earned the win in game three against Columbus with four innings of one-run relief, and Devin Black give the Tigers elite depth.
"Really, this staff is like night and day from last year, and you have to give Devin a lot of the credit," said Ringgold coach Drew Walker, who also played for the Tigers. "I just voted for him to be the assistant coach of the year. What he's done with those kids, especially the mental work, has been incredible.
"We definitely wouldn't be here without him."
Contact Lindsey Young at lyoung@timesfreepress.com.