Railroaders return to “Yard” June 5

“This Team will be fun to watch. We have local guys, we have a few returning guys from 2019, we have a mixture of great personalities. This team wants to win!”

That was the response of the 2021 Fulton Railroaders’ Coach Scott Guymon, when asked by The Current what local fans and spectators may expect from the team, following the wooden bats’ silence during the 2020 season, a casualty of covid-19 restrictions.
“We have talked in detail about what the Railroaders mean to this town and they want this team to be remembered for years to come. We have great character guys, that come from programs and coaching staffs that I have a deep respect for. These young men will represent this organization, this town, and the programs they come from, with hard work and grit,” Guymon added.

This year’s Fulton Railroaders will have a solid base of pitching, taking 14 spots on the 2021 roster, including Murray State University’s Jordan Naranjo and Adam Weihe, Montevallo’s Kaden Hill and Logan Samuels, Westminister’s Bode Gebbink and Grant Higginbotham, Bethune Cookman’s Bryan Pina, Bellarmine University’s Cody Medley, Lee University’s Cody Medley, Lee University’s Cole Matthaidess, Centrailia College’s Gannon Dow, Arkansas State’s Tristan Camp, Andrew College’s Keyshawn Mays, University of Tennessee- Martin’s Drew Bell and Tacoma Community College’s Seti Manase.
Alex Langford of Montevallo and Ryan Lee of Union University will share catching duties for the Railroaders with seven infielders listed, in Parker Estes of Murray State, Britt Netterville and Patric Music of Union University, Davis Crane and Webster Walls of Bellarmine, Grant Davis of Dyersburg State and Joe Flanigan of Tacoma Community College.

In the outfield, Railroaders’ fans will expect to see Jackson Case, from Bellarmine University, Yosnsell Diaz from Bethune Cookman, Kire Tribble from Berea College, Jarret Fowlkes of Southwest Community College and Dorian Berry, Union University.

He expects the team to be solid defensively with a lot of speed.

“We are bringing in the ASUN Conference Freshman of the Year in Davis Crane from Bellermine. I feel that we have five solid starting pitchers that can keep us close as games go on. We will run every chance we get. Our goal is to lead the league in stolen bases. If we do that, then we are getting on base,” he said.

Spencer Woods will be pitching coach, a familiar face to Guymon, as Woods pitched for Guymon at Jackson State before going on to Union University.

“He knows pitching and is one of the most competitive pitchers that I know. His experience will be his asset for this young pitching staff,” Guymon said last week.

Chance Foss is set to be first base coach and will work with the hitters. Foss was a member of the 2019 Fulton Railroaders team in Fulton and Guymon commented he knew he would be an awesome coach in the future.

“He played both middle infield and all over the outfield. He could run the bases with the best of them which made him the best choice for me,” Guymon said

The Railroaders’ schedule will be strong with Hopkinsville the reigning champion.

But the team Guymon is excited to rival is the “new kid on the block” Full Count Rhythm of Hendersonville, Tenn., under the leadership of a coach who has been in the business over 30 years.

“He has brought in guys from some pretty good D1 programs. Whoever wins this year will have to be really good and consistent because it will be a dog fight every night,” Guymon said.

While Guymon says he knows all the members of his 2021 Railroaders team can play the game or they would not be a part of their current program, he sees his job as not to try and change the way each one plays, but to add to their craft and assist them where they may struggle.

“My biggest asset will come from the mental side of the game. It is very hot in Kentucky in the Summer months and it is real easy for the players to not be there everyday, mentally. Baseball is the best game in the world and you have to have great respect for the game to make it through those hot days. I will work to get them ready mentally, every, single game. If they can learn to do that, then they will be able to get through just about anything when they leave here,” Guymon said.

“I mentioned Davis Crane from Bellermine earlier. He will be electric at The Yard. I love the fact that we have three returning guys in Brit Netterville, Jordyn Naranjo, and Keyshawn Mays. You don’t see a lot of guys coming back for a second year in this league for some reason. So to have three, shows what this organization is about and that we are doing some good things,” he said.

Guymon has coached for over 22 years, nine of those years at the college level.

He was the pitching coach for four years at Union University, four at Lambuth University and one year at Jackson State Community College, all located in Jackson, Tenn.
His other years in coaching have been either in high school or summer programs.

“I am currently the head coach at West Carroll High School in Atwood, Tenn. I have had the pleasure of seeing 10 of my former players get drafted and had over 20 plus players go on to the next level, either out of high school or JUCO,” Guymon said.
He has been married to his wife Tammy for 27 years, and as every year, the couple will celebrate their anniversary at a baseball field, June 4, which is the opening day game at Paducah for the Railroaders.
They have one son, Garrett, who is 23 and was a team member and Catcher for the 2019 Railroaders.

“With the 2020 season cancelled due to COVID, we have not played a game at the The Yard for a long time. We are looking forward to getting this season started and hope everyone will come out and support this team and be proud of the way the guys will represent the Fulton area with pride,” Guymon said.

General admission tickets to the Railroaders’ home games at Lohaus Field, “The Yard” are $5 per person with season tickets also available.

The Railroaders open at home on June 5, against Hendersonville.