Kicker9 ???

bring us up to date on the East? Who is flying under the radar?

 

Sorry for the delay, Braves. Christmas activities and work have kept me from visiting my favorite web site recently. As far as the East, I can only speak about teams east of I-95. I am most familiar with the 4-A teams. I certainly agree with most on this board when it comes to the favorites. I personally feel that Hoggard is the team to beat. They are returning a great defensive team, especially the infield, and they have some great hitters led by Garrett Gore. Kyle Musselman who certainly ranks as one of the top pitchers in the state returns to lead the team from the mound. The only questions that I see are, the rest of the pitching staff and the replacement for Adam Deleo at catcher. I don't see any of the other teams in the Wilmington area seriously challenging Hoggard, so the other playoff team from that conference will be a toss up.(I am hearing some interesting things about New Hanover's pitching staff, so they may be a team to watch.)

The Big East conference will be very interesting this year, with D. H. Conley, Rose, and New Bern fighting for 2 playoff spots. Again my personal feeling is that this is New Bern's year, but not for the same reasons that some others have expressed. I think that this team will establish itself as a very good hitting team lead by Matt Sanders, David Towarnicky, and Patrick Ball. The big question for New Bern is pitching depth. If Patrick Ball(who is ranked by Andy Partin as the 5th best unsigned pitcher in the state inspite of the fact that he has never pitched in a high school game) is able to be a closer/3rd starter to go with Adam Warren, Joey Young, and Brian Fuller, then New Bern could be very special this year. Conley will also be strong this year. They also have a very experienced team. Their strength should be their pitching with Aubrey Edens and Alex White leading a deep staff and their hitting with Landis Wilson, Jason Cargyle, and Edens. Conley's big hurdle will be figuring out how to beat Rose-they have been unable to get over that hump in recent years. And then there is Rose, the 2 time defending State champs. It is crazy to pick against them, but they have the least varsity experience of the 3 teams. They will be led by Garrett Bullock who is an outstanding pitcher and Ryan Graepel who is a great hitter, but the rest of the team has very limited varsity experience. However, Rose is a baseball factory and I am sure that they have a few surprises for this season.

I am not as familiar with the 3-A teams in the area, but one team I think that is worth following is West Carteret. I think that they made it to the 3rd round of the playoffs last year and they return some very talented players led by Clayton Pittman and Drew Poulk. Clayton, arguably the best 2-way player in the area, has committed to Campbell and Drew is one of the top 06 prospects in the state.

Another team in the east worth following is Pamlico High School. Pamlico is a small 1-A school but they are loaded with talented players who love to play the game. They have the potential to make a strong run at the 1A state title this year. They are led by LHP Chris Davis and Patrick Williams. They are a fun team to watch.

 

New Bern Bears

Kicker9, great thread. You have done your homework. Are you from the area? The names that you have listed are very talented players as you had said. The Bears are complimented with quality players such as outfielders mike o'conner and todd seymour who can handle the stick and covers a lot of ground defensivevly. They also fill the one and two slots of the batting order. Jimmy lee being the third outfielder who will probably step into the nine hole with the best speed on the team. Cannon Forrest is a consistent second baseman and is a good contact hitter. Max Schott will be taking over the catching duties, and brings a good stick and good defense. Just to let you know some of the names that you dont hear about or dont come up in the forums. Before the year starts, maybe you should reconsider who the team to beat should be?

 

West CARTERET?

condones runers slamming into catchers? :scared2:

 

Nice summary Kicker9. In my opinion this year more than any is a toss up in the 4A division. There are so many above average teams who can beat anyone on any given nite. You have 4-5 teams in the east with dominating pitchers. If you happen to run into a Adam Warren, Drew taylor, Josh Dowdy, or kyle M in the playoffs then you are in for a long nite. Better be Manufacturing some runs. But if one of them is "ON" for those 7 innings then I don't care who you are........your run is over! I really think the flaw for each of those teams is round 2 in the playoffs when your #1 is spent. I don't personally think any of the teams in the East are what you call "great hitting" teams. Each team has some weaknesses. And I don't see any of them having dominating pitching staffs. My list for the East............In NO ORDER!!


1. Greenville Rose- The East still goes thru them. I do not think they are the best team this year. But they will be talented thats for sure. Garrett Bullock is one of those 5 pitchers in the East who can win a game by himself on the mound. Great coaching doesn't hurt either

2. New Bern - We all know about Adam Warren........but who steps up behind him? Patrick Ball can throw it........but never being on the mound in a HS game...that remains a question mark. Must score.....I think their offense is a weakness.

3. Hoggard - I like these guys. I think they will score runs. Gore has one sweet swing. And Thompson and Rizzuto will set the table. But who throws after Kyle Musselman?

4. DH Conley - They will surprise you. Alex White(RHP) is up there with Addison Johnson as the top Jr in the State. And Aubrey Edens can throw it also. I think they are pretty solid. Could be my Dark Horse.

5. Wakefield - They are loaded at first glance.......but there is some weaknesses. Dowdy can be dominating and Quate is very good also. But i don't know who the #3 and #4 will be on the mound? Who will get those last 3 outs in a 2nd or 3rd round playoff game? They will be very good 1-5 at the plate. Halford and Quate can really hit. But 6-9 will be young and unproven. But, with all that said they are my favorite.

6. Wake Forest-Rolesville - Drew Taylor gets all the attention. But they return 4 other Varsity pitchers from last yr who all got over 15 inngs of experience. Coach Austin Smithwick(Impact baseball) does a very good job of developing 5/6 pitchers during the pre-season. They only lost 3 starters from a team that went 7-3 in the CAP 6 and missed the playoffs last year. All 3 losses were in extra innings. But they got to score runs!! They are weak at the plate and the CAP 6 is loaded with pitchers this year.......not a good combination!!!

7. Fuquay Varina - Seems like you always have to mention them. I think they are down this year but they still have Frankie Lewis and Greyson Evans so thats a pretty good start. Will Have to find some pitching. I think the Tri-Seven is down from years past.

8. Millbrook - Always seems to be in the middle of it. Good Experienced pitching with the 2 Jr's....BJ Dale and Sam Brown. Jacob Allen at SS will provide offensive punch but he can't do it alone. They lost alot of Sr production and experience. But they always seem to be there contending at the end.

 

These are some great posts. Thanks Kicker for your insight and getting this thread going.

With all the information we are getting from everybody this year, I feel like I know what's going on out East for the first time. Thanks guys...keep us posted

 

C'mon Kicker...where's your priorities?