I-Meck Predictions

I second that!!! A good "thread" gone bad.

 

I agree 100 %! There are great teams and many accomplishments earned by the players in this conference which should be recognized. It would be nice to keep this thread above board, unbiased, and classy like the SW4A thread.

The I-Meck conference is shaping up to be very tough. Let's all have fun and support our players on the field, in the classroom, and on this board.

 

My question is, who is going to start where on the field.

 

C: Caleb Raper SR.
1B: Jake Beaver (Returning Varsity 3B) SR.
2B: Joe Cobb (JR. JV SS) Chase Burford SR. (no previous varsity time) Jimmy McElhany SR. (Returning Varsity LF)
3B: Josh Holcomb SR (DH, a little 3rd last year) Jimmy McElhany SR (LF)
SS: Josh Skidmore SR (Returning Varsity SS)
LF: Jimmy McElhany SR (LF), Andrew Meadows JR (JV CF)
CF: Kyle Phillips SR (Varsity CF last year)
RF: Ryan Brennan JR (JV C) Andrew Meadows JR (JV CF)

SP: Keith Little SR
SP: Ryan Brennan JR

RP: Stephen Calhoun SR
RP: Bradley Miller SR
RP: AJ Nelson SR
RP: Andrew Meadows JR
RP: Chris Blocher JR
RP: Josh Holcomb SR
RP: Kyle Altizer (assuming arm troubles clear) SR

Seems a little messy but every position is just about up for grabs. My infield if I was coaching (thank god I'm not...too many options)

C: Caleb Raper SR (R)
1B: Jake Beaver SR (R)
2B: Jimmy McElhany SR (R)
3B: Josh Holcomb SR (R)
SS: Josh Skidmore SR (R)
LF: Andrew Meadows (JV)
CF: Kyle Phillips (R)
RF: Ryan Brennan (JV)
DH: Joe Cobb (JV)

SP: Keith Little
RP: Kyle Alitzer

Assuming we could get through the game on two arms, everyone is healthy, and paying to potential at all the positions they are capable of playing, this is the 9 I put on the field.

A little rundown:

Caleb Raper: Pretty decent little catcher. Can swing the stick from time to time.
Jake Beaver: Bangs it around a bit. Plays really well defensively at first.
Joe Cobb: All or nothing hitter. Little bit of an attitude. But is definitely ready to contribute on the field from day one.
Chase Burford: May not be starting this year, but the kid's a trip in the dugout and the team wouldn't be the same without him.
Jimmy McElhany: Utility player all his life. Hit respectably for a returning JR. He'll be on the field somewhere, the question is, where at?
Josh Holcomb: Bangs the ball around. Hits it out to all fields. Tough out at the plate. Struggled defensively last year, but he's worked hard all winter and so far it's looking promising.
Josh Skidmore: I've seen him make 5 errors in 3 years at the high school level. Most likely be the lead off man. Gap to gap hitter. Not the fastest guy on the field but most likely the most intelligent.
Andrew Meadows: Powerful left-handed stick. One of the quicker guys on the field. Don't see the transition from JV to Varsity being much of a struggle for this kid. Can pitch and play the field. Look to see him do both at a high level.
Kyle Phillips: Quick as lightning. Definite threat on the bases. Hopefully contribute from the bottom of the line up but a defensive stud.
Ryan Brennan: Swings the stick the best of any of the rising Varsity players. Will definitely contribute on Varsity from game one. Can throw the ball as well as he hits and has a shotgun from right field.

Pitchers:

Stephen Calhoun: Pretty good showing in the few innings he had last year.
Bradley Miller: Who knows what the year will bring. Hasn't been able to make it to the field yet because of MHS basketball's conference tournament run. Should be exciting to see how quickly he can swap the kicks for the cleats.
AJ Nelson: Struggled a little last year. Showing some promise in the pen. Game time will only tell.
Andrew Meadows: Had some success but also got banged up from time to time on JV. Not anything unexpected being a position player, a hitter, and a pitcher. I think Andrew will key in on the bump and in the field this year. He has a whole new level of focus from what I can see. Excited to see his hard work turn over.
Chris Blocher: Got banged up a little bit on JV. Been working hard all winter and came back with some promise. Doesn't throw quite hard enough for his size but if he can learn to control his pitches and work off of his off-speed he may turn into a good set-up man late in the year.
Josh Holcomb: Hasn't thrown the ball since being the #1 starter in middle school but every time this kid tows the rubber whether it be to finish out a scrimmage or just messing around in the pen he always seems to have good stuff.
Kyle Altizer: Really impressed with how far he's come. He's MHS' version of Michael Jordan. Cut all the up until his Sophomore year but has taken off from there. Barring arm trouble he will definitely be one of the top guys on the roster and will definitely be all conference if he stays healthy.

 

Season

How has everyone's start of the season go including scrimmages?

 

Mooresville has won both scrimmages as well as a 3-0 win in their opener against Alexander Central last night.

 

Hough wins Opene

Hough looked really good for a first year program. Kudos to Coach Cochran for the work he has done bringing these players together. Hough Has a very competitive team and will not be respected by most teams since they are a first year program. They are a scrappy bunch of players that are aggressive at the plate. They have as much pitching depth as any I-Meck team with Peidmont, Bruner, Dueitt, Gragilla, Venator, and Ober. Look out I-Meck!

 

Glad to see Hough started out well. I do believe they have more respect than you feel they do. their players came from strong hs programs, and many have high level tournament experience. I know that no-one from Mooresville is overlooking them.

 

Hough

 

Mallard Creek
Hough
Mooresville
Hopewell
Lake Norman
North Meck
Vance
West Charlotte

in that order. I may be from Southern Iredell, but baseball in our area is a little down then what it has been. Ofcourse, Mooresville was final four in the West four years ago and Lake Norman won State two years back, both coming in 3A so there is room for a drop off. Wish both of those schools the best but thats what I am going with.