2012 SPC Preseason Predictions

1. NW Cabarrus
2. Hickory Ridge
3. Mt. Pleasant
4. J.M. Robinson
5. Cox Mill
6. A.L. Brown
7. Central Cabarrus
8. Concord

Any thoughts?

 

It should be an interesting year, pitching depth on most all of the teams could be a big question. A lot of teams have a strong/solid # 1, but after that, there will be questions. And the one team with maybe the best pitching depth, Robinson, will be offensively challanged. I agree with the top 2 and the bottom 3 although I see A L Brown at the bottom. In the middle is where it'll be interesting. Mount Pleasant lost a lot in last years senior class and Robinson will be most every game if they score enough runs. Cox Mill returns 9 seniors and all conference selection Austin Fox as a freshman last year and will be a deep team. It's shaping up as another real competitive year in the SPC...... only 4 months to go !

 

Heads or tails for the middle of the pack in the SPC! NW will definitely be the run producers the way it stands and Hickory Ridge has some good bats depending on who shows up. Mt PLesant probably had the deepest pitching staff until a month ago, with their big lefty transferring to Greystone(???) and Nick Coble having Tommy John. So, they went from 4 solid starters, 3 being lefties, to 2 solid and a couple of position players. I believe Robinson has a solid chance to place high. Brody is the man to beat and Perry will give them some chances to stay ing the ball game. Central could suprise some people depending on how well their pitching come around past Freeze.

 

1. NW
2. Cox Mill
3. Hickory Ridge
4. Mt. Pleasant
5. JM Robinson
6. Concord
7. Central Cabarrus
8. A.L. Brown

Some of these are pure guesses based on past history of programs and kids I've seen play in the past two-three years on those teams. I do think CM will have the deepest pitching with Watkins, Keyes & Pepper, just not sold on power within rest of team. Not sure any team in the SPC will have the total package of pitching and hitting to stand head and shoulders above the rest of the league. Some will have adequate pitching and lack hitting, others will be just the opposite. In Ktown's case, they have neither.

 

Since I am now a retired "old ball coach", let me add a couple thoughts. Not going to put them in order - just some info to munch on as the weather gets colder! ​

NW Cabarrus - Talented bunch if they can find pitching to go with Weston Smith. A lineup with Seager, Bigham and the rest will win a lot of games and Joe Hubbard is an outstanding baseball guy.


Hickory Ridge - Lost a lot in last year's senior class, but had a strong JV team. Sides is a legit ace and they will be strong.

Mt. Pleasant - Sad to hear about the pitching troubles, but Tyson & Laws will have them ready. Lost more than anyone in the conference with 4 D1 guys graduating (Atwood, Allende, James & Burris), but JV was stout and Jake Kimble is possibly the most underrated player in the conference. Expect the Tigers to be in the thick of it.

J.M. Robinson- Comes down to whether or not they can support the pitching staff. Koerner and Perry are as good a 1-2 punch as any in the conference, but can they hit and field enough to support them? Sarvis is a good coach and Hartsell is a guy I really respect....but they need to replace the most senior-dominated lineup in the SPC from a year ago.

Cox Mill - Love where this program is going right now. Vidal might have been the coach of the year in 2011 based on what they accomplished (with no disrespect to Coach Hubbard). Pitching will be strong and they have excellent chemistry in that bunch. Can JV replace what they lost? That's the question.

A.L. Brown - Senior dominated team last season, could be tough to replace some key parts. Eldon Peters is an underrated arm, but they have a lot to replace.

Central Cabarrus - I'm a bit biased on this one, but I see them contending. Just picked up a transfer from Hickory Grove (Kevin Cliff) who will make that pitching staff really good (with Freeze, Burgesser, Bruce, Pressley and others). Team has the talent to be tough to beat the next 3 years....definitely proud of this group. Expect new coach Ronnie Bost to have them in the hunt.

Concord- Lost some key players that have started for years (Jenkins and Todd to name a couple), but had a lot of young guys on varsity last year that had to step up quickly without a JV team. New coach Jaymie Russ has a job to do, but the young kids could bond and be strong.

**Should be a fun year in the SPC. Will be a battle every night and the title is waiting for someone to claim it. NWC is the front runner for me until someone knocks them off the throne, but a lot of teams should be in the race until the last week.

 

Well thought out and worded post - I think it will be a great year of baseball in the SPC

 

Great post Coach... Eldon Peters got a lot of action last year due to injuries and mixes his pitches well, which includes one heck of a curveball. The Wonders JV team had a lot of talent as well, but success is determined by how hard you work in the offseason. Good luck to all the SPC....

 

After this years fall league results at East Rowan, you need to bump up Kannapolis. They have a new player transfer from Myers Park ( not Mallard Creek) who looks really good pitching and hitting. Brown did win the League championship at ER so don't sleep on them. They may be young but Peters and the new kid will keep them in a bunch of games especially with the new sponge bats(BBCOR) everyone has to use. If i'm a hs coach, i'm practicing allot of small ball and making my infield players situational ready for anything on every pitch.
JD is right about Cox Mill, as for now they have three arms they can count on for sure.

 

In that Fall League Kannapolis was playing with almost there whole Varsity team minus maybe two players and every other team was playing with JV players or kids with only Middle School experience. But like you said with the new bats i believe everyone will be pretty close.

 

It will be interesting for sure...........fundamentals, pitching & experience will be key.......