Charlotte Observer preseason coverage

Weddington Baseball

Weddington lost two starters from last years conference championship team. Last years squad had wins over Butler, AK, Hopewell, JM Robinson and Mt Pleasant. They have depth in the pichting rotation, returning Spivey and Newsome (both signed at Wingate). They are solid in the middle infield with juniors Honeycutt and Prillaman starting their 3rd season of Varsity Ball. They've got a solid line up at the plate and speed on the bases. Coach Poole must really feel good about this team based on the difficulty of the schedule.

Of course it isn't the preseason poll that's important, it's the season ending poll that counts. I'm just excited for some warm weather and the sound of the ball popping in the mitt!!

 

I don't recommend posting links unless they are TBR. Langston won't dare click on one

But the gist of the link is ranking Cuthbertson as the only NC HS ranked.

 

Mallard Creek

Don't sleep on Mallard Creek. They will be tough.

 

Keep 'em coming guys. Wanted to let you know that we've started posting our team previews

Team Previews
http://obsprepspot.blogspot.com/2011/02/2011-baseball-team-previews.html

Team Schedules
http://obsprepspot.blogspot.com/2011/02/area-team-baseball-schedules.html

Will update later about new coverage plans coming.

 

NC "POY"

North Carolina
Mikal Hill, Mallard Creek (Charlotte), Shortstop - Committed to South Carolina as a sophomore, Hill earned player of the year honors from the Charlotte Observer last year after batting .566 with 39 RBIs, nine doubles and seven home runs.

Fresh off the Maxpreps website and I couldn't agree more, but he would have looked really good in "Carolina Blue"!!! lol!

 

LW, I don't know if you saw this, but it is an excellent resource for teams, players and schedules for all SW4A teams: http://www.thisboardrocks.com/forum/showthread.php?t=174994

 

Langston,

Many of the top Charlotte area baseball and softball players and teams were honored at a dinner last weekend. The following link provides names of award winners and finalists that may be a resource for you.

Thanks for all of your dedication and sports reporting!

http://www.hotstovedinner.com/

 

North End of County

Players to watch from the North End of the county that I am familiar with are:

North Meck - Anthony Dimino - others on this team will step up for sure this season as well.

Hough - Johnny Piedmonte, Nick Daddio - will be fun to watch as this young team grows during the season.

Hopewell - Hunter Conley, Michael Russell others will step up here as well.

I-Meck conference, in my opinion will be one of the most exciting races in the state, just look at last year and nothing much has changed!

 

Alot of key players left off of the original list. Maybe we can all contribute and piece together a nice conference profile with key players for Langston like mincmi does for the SW4A.

 

Mooresville

Mooresville does not have many "key players" as they are more a "key team". These boys have all played together since they were 11 years old for the Mooresville Gators and the Mooresville Racers as well as other teams. They have grown and developed with each other and have loads of trust and chemistry with their teammates. The 12 seniors on the team have accomplished a lot since they began playing with each other. Winnining countless tournaments throughout intermediate and middle school, going 25-1 in their middle school career, 39-2 or something like that in their JV years, and many of these boys played for the 2009 Jr American Legion State Championship team and 2008 Jr Legion State Runner-Up team which were coached by Johnny Meadows, the assistant coach for Mooresville. It should be a great year for Mooresville if the pitching from Keith Little, AJ Nelson (St. Scholastica), Ryan Brennan, Kyle Altizer, and company can pitch the way they are capable of doing. Their offense led by Jake Beaver (UNCP), Joshua Holcomb, Caleb Raper, Ryan Brennan, Jimmy McElhany, and Joe Cobb will definitely put some runs on the board.