2007 NW4A Conference Outlook

teams to look out for, and players that will lead those teams..

 

Could be a lot of parity in the league. South Caldwell is probably a heavy favorite. Reynolds has a talented group of seniors along with two solid pitchers in Runnion & Hailey. Alexander Central and Wautaga should both have solid teams. I was impressed with some of Wautaga's JV players last year that I assume will help the varsity this year. Could be an interesting year. Would be nice to see four teams make playoffs from this conference with expanded field for 2007.

 

baseball cat....

how about the other teams, are there kids from teams other than AC that stand out to you, that you know can contribute to their teams seasons?

and...i dont know if its true, but someone posted about Madie being hurt?? is that true?

 

Have heard many rumors about Bumgardner being injured. Hope the young man is ok, one heck of a baseball talent.

 

baseball cat....

how about the other teams, are there kids from teams other than AC that stand out to you, that you know can contribute to their teams seasons?

i hope he is ok too. he is a joy to watch

 

I heard that Madison crashed his four-wheeler, hitting his non-pitching arm pretty hard, but that his throwing arm was fine. We were playing a showcase dbl. header at USC-Upstate a couple weeks ago and one of his teamm-mates told us about it.

 

Madison

This rumor was started on another thread yesterday. I too talked to a team mate about it. He was riding his four wheeler and had a slight accident. HE WAS NOT HURT! It was a few weeks ago. Please be careful not to post things that are not positive if you do not have first hand information. By the way, Braves deleted that original post yesterday. Thank you Braves.

 

Since all I can give is the Spartan look on things... since I see those kids everyday... heres my predictions.

Coming out of legion ball this past year I thought the talent was there but there was no one on the field to be the leader. Because I thought the leaders graduated. BOY WAS I WRONG! Everyday I goto the weightroom after school and the guys that aren't playing football are working their butts off. The work ethic of these guys is truely amazing. If it transfers to a baseball diamond, its going to be a big season for the Spartans.

By the way, players to watch for for the Spartans this year. Everyone now knows about Madison Bumgarner, Jimmy Messer, Justin Poovey. Remember the names Josh Shehan, Daniel Coffey, Bradley Craig, Shane Clawson, and Brad Chavis. I honestly feel like there is not a soul in that lineup you can dodge because every single one of them can hurt you badly.

 

Everyone will be expectly AC Reynolds and South Caldwell to enjoy once again, great seasons. Arguably, they top out the toughest conference in WNC, every year.

With them deservingly getting all of the recognition, the other teams go slightly under the radar.

What do....

McDowell
Watauga
East Burke
Freedom
Alexander Central

...have to offer this year? and who will make it possible for them?

 

Freedom could surprise some this season. They only have 2 Senior starters back but they're good ones. This team, unlike last years' is loaded with talented players with travel ball experience. Freedom will be markedly better at each position save centerfiled where they lose all everything, Tori Conley to graduation. They will be very young however.
* Austin Attaway was an All-Conference selection last season batting .350and had an excellent Legion season hitting the baseball. He is stronger and throwing harder on the mound. He'll return to second base but is probably the teams best catcher.
* Zach Daw trailed only Conley in BA last season and led the team in most other offensive catagories including homers and RBI's. He spent the summer and fall pitching for the Charlotte Heat on the showcase circuit and has improved his velocity and control. His hitting conitues to improve over the fall as has his foot speed and agility. Defensively at first, he's as good as any but in a league loaded at his positions, he'll have to have a monster season in order to get any post season NW4A honors.
Both players should play college ball next year as several schools are recruiting them.
* Reggie Washington, a sophomore, is the third returning starter and was a teammate of Daw's on the Heat over the summer. He is playing fall ball with that organization's 17U team. He saw a lot of action in the outfield. He is a quality outfielder but not quite Conley-level at this point. Has great power and if his hitting improves...watch out.
Then there are the Freshmen. This is where the team really upgrades from last years squad:
Aaron Attaway, Dakota Speas, Chris Fine, and Ely Lawson are 4 players from the Little League World Series team that will play varsity. Several others may. All of the players from that group have been developing on the AAU circuit for several years and are very good players. They all would ordinarily provide the nucleus for the Patriot JV team but the Varsity needs several of them immediately. Add in junior's Steven Dyson, Jesse Williams, David Carswell, Devan Villanueva and Ryan Hassan and the Patriots have the chance to be much better.
They will play much better defensively at almost every position and have a much deeper pitching staff. The question mark will be how quickly the newcomers' bats adjust to the varisty pitching.