North Davidson at Ardrey Kell

No...

Please stand corrected, you would of lost your money. The SW4A has been mentioned on this board as the toughest conference and I believe they are showing it.

Great job Purple Knights. Good luck the rest of the way.......

 

You're kidding, right?

Love the confidence and the positive self-esteem. However, if you think Providence was favored over SCaldwell and AK was favored over ND, then you must be smokin' something. (Providence was the bigger underdog....AK was a slight underdog, but a dog none the less!)

WONDERFUL victories by the SW4A.....which is WHY YOU PLAY THE GAME!!!
Kudos to the schools, the players, and the coaches!

Good Luck in the Series.....should be a great one!
How about "The War of the Wealthy"" or "The Upper-Class Clash"
Catchy enough? (Just pokin' fun.....)

 

They were NOT upsets. Nobody said Providence and AK were "favored", just that they were evenly matched with SC and ND.

And by the way, since when is calling someone "wealthy" or "upper-class" an insult?

 

Southwest 4A Current "RANKINGS"

1. Ardrey Kell
2. Providence
3. North Davidson (very worthy of being in the SW4A)
4. South Caldwell (great pitching but solid defense is critical to win consistently in the SW4A)
5. Myers Park (way better than people outside the SW4A realize)
6. Weddington (they won the conference tournament, no easy task!)
7. Butler (yet another SW4A team capable of beating SC and ND!)
8. South Meck (remember their dominance?)
9. East Meck (4A State Champions in Basketball)
10. Independence (Made the State Finals in 05. And they play Football too!)

 

aguyyouknow, I'm not exactly sure why you have a chip on your shoulder. Yea, AK won & have a right to crow. The proved their merit & deserve applause. But bashing ND (or SC) is a bit over-the-top, don't you think? After all:

* A one-and-done tournament doesn't mean the most talented team wins, right?

* AK played at home & faced ND's #2...and yet ND was one swing from defeating Darnell, who is a bulldog deservedly headed for Clemson.

* ND's roster: White - Wake Forest, Hanover - LSU, Michael - UNC, Joyce - Appy St, Watson - Catawba And that does not include Redmond who was D2 recruit who decided to take academic $$ to NC St.

* These scholarships were awarded by college scouts who saw these kids play in Summer Leagues (which you mentioned).

* This same ND team was an eyelash from upsetting S Caldwell a year ago in the Region Finals. That would have been a HUGE upset, no doubt. Seems to me this one is an upset too...to a lesser degree.

So explain to me why this wasn't an upset. I'm willing to learn.

 

An Assessment (not bashing)

All I said was that ND would be worthy of competing sucessfully in the SW4A. Why did you take that as bashing? I ranked them at/near the top of the conference. Why is that bashing? It was an honest assessment after having seen them play. If they were in the SW4A I'm sure they would have done very well. Right up there with the top teams. Why is that bashing?

Maybe you have an inflated view of ND? AK's win over ND wasn't an upset at all. Just a really good baseball game between evenly matched teams. Just like we see day in and day out in the SW4A.

 

unbiased assessment

I agree that the SW4A is arguably the toughest conference in the state top to bottom, however, to say that the recent wins by AK and PROV. weren't upsets is not entirely accurate. The general public opinion expressed by statewide top ten polls and even postings on TBR was that in a one game situation that ND and SC would probably win. Remember its 7 inning baseball and anything can happen. Seven inning baseball games generally come down to who's pitcher is the hottest and who avoids errors with runners in scoring position. If you don't believe in upsets in one game situations then Weddington is the best team in the SW4A having recently won the conf. tourn.

 

There is no question in my mind that North Davidson is the most talented team in the West and perhaps the State. What AK accomplished last night does not change my mind. Whether Clay Watson is the #2 pitcher on ND played no bearing on this game. He pitched outstanding. He was just as effective as any pitcher out there. AK battled, ND battled and it came down to the final pitch to determine the outcome...just as one would have expected in this type game. There were some crucial plays made by both teams and there were crucial mistakes as well.

Levi Michael effortlessly made a play at ss that encouraged the ND supporters to holler "ESPN, ESPN--Tar Heel Tar Heel"...and they were right.Jonny Eaker made a play at SS where he went deep in the hole and the ball appeared to leave his hand before it got to his glove to beat the speedy Michael at 1st.

There were critical decisions and plays that determined the outcome of this game; and in my opinion it were these:

- 1st inning Darnell was too pumped. He was struggling with his location and ND loaded the bases. Darnell proved his nickname "Bulldog" by bearing down and making perfect pitches when he must....and ND only scored 1 run.

- Man on 3rd (no outs, I believe) and ND brought in White to pitch to Ryan Stetson. Stetson may have the quickest hands of any hitter in the state; the kid never strikes out and instead of walking him, they decided ti challenge him. Stetson hit the 1st pitch to the wall in cf scoring the runner.

- Brett Nyenhuis rarely gets the respect he deserves. This kid can flat out hit from both sides of the plate, which he did last night. I don't know if he does this only when I attend the AK games, but for the past two years, every game I have seen his bat is automatic.

- The last inning, Coach Bagwell made a controversial decision that many questioned from the stands. He intentionally walked Hanover to load the bases and putting the tying run on 2nd. But what most people don't know is that Bagwell does his homework. He spends countless hours scouting teams and he made a decision based on that. There were 2 outs and Bags saw that Hanover was dialed in on Darnell's pitches. He also knew that Darnell had a good plan and had executed it very well on how to pitch to White. Bags homework and decision paid off with White popping up to 3rd for the final out.

I know I have said this countless of times. Most pitchers rarely have their "A" game. So the good pitchers learn to compete by being pitchers, not throwers. The great pitchers learn to beat you with guts, determination and moxie. Jordan Darnell has all that and then some. He just battles and battles and battles until the last out is made and his teammates are crushing his back.

Here is the last thing that stands out in my mind about this game. Singularly, AK does not have the talent to match North Davidson and perhaps some of their other opponents. But, collectively, it may have the best team in the state. They rarely make mental errors. They never panic and if a big play is needed they always find a way to make it. They have done this all year long, so am I surprised that they did it again?......No.

But my hat goes off to North Davidson. The most talented team in the state with some of the most classy players I have seen over the last two years.

 

The other component that leads to a State Championship is just as important as talent and coaching...........Luck!!!!!

 

Perhaps "LUCK" moreso than alot of other components/variables!?!!?!? hehehehehehehehe