Class B state championships in four of the past five springs is a pretty good track record for the Roff Tigers as they head into another spring season ranked No. 2 in the state in the early polls. And this spring will perhaps be a bittersweet one for the Tigers as they will bid farewell to seven talented seniors and their head coach Danny Baldridge.

“We’ve been really blessed to have had a lot of success here at Roff,” said Baldridge who served for 18 years as an assistant to legendary coach Ead Simon. “We won the fall and spring titles last year and entered the state finals undefeated last fall but lost out to Fort Cobb-Broxton.”

The same Fort Cobb-Broxton team is the only team preceding Roff in the preseason rankings.

“Five of our seven seniors are going to play in college next year. Cale Baldridge and Tallon Bagwell are going to Cowley County, Brad Wilson and Easton Riddle have signed with Connors [State] and Bill McCarter is going to Seminole State. Our other two seniors, Dylan Reed and Beau Joplin, have the talent to play at the next level but have decided to go a different way,” said Baldridge. “Cade is our catalyst. He hits leadoff and plays shortstop. Wilson and McCarter are my big sticks. Pitching will be our strength with Bagwell, Reed, Wilson, Riddle and McCarter all having good arms.”

Baldridge himself has decided to hang it up after this season so he can watch his son play at Cowley County – a plan he made clear when he took on the head coaching job two years ago.

“After coach Simon went on to become superintendent, I told them I would only do it for a couple of years but they were good with that. It was an easy transition because of all that coach Simon did for so many years,” Baldridge said. “I think Roff is one of the few places you can still coach and not be scrutinized by parents or outsiders and I think that’s a reason we are good, year in and year out. And a lot of these kids have had older brothers that have been through the program, and they know what to expect.”