Sweet Sixteen Preseason Poll

softball4ever, you lead the way......start a topic Top 5 in Each Classification(work it the way YOU prefer) in 2003 season! Wonderful topic and would love to hear others opinions on this!

 

I think TarheelTitan is pretty much on the money with the list except I would have to put Indian Land in the slot where Enka is. East Lncoln might need to jump up a little also, I think they are a little underrated.

 

The Official Sweet 16 should be released soon as will Players to Watch list! Let's just Pray for some..

 

I can't come up with 5 for all classifcations because I don't know enough about some of those teams not in 3a or 4a. Here are my picks in no particular order.

4a
Butler
South Caldwell
Hopewell
Providence
Central Cabarrus??

3a
East Lincoln
St. Stephens
West Rowan
NW Cabarrus

2a
Forbush
East Ruthford
West Stanley

 

I usually stay away from most of the predictions, but everyone seems to forget about Ashe. Their pitcher gives them the opportunity to be one of the top teams in 2A. The gave Forbush 3 of their toughest games last year with 2 of them being extra innings.

 

I have seen South Caldwell play several times. Although they may run the table on the non-conference opponents and do very well in conference, they do not have a strong enough pitcher, solid enough defense and hitters to make very much noise. They break down this way. The only hitters they have are the Prichard, Adams and Anderson. After those three , there is a drastic falloff. defensively , they are not pressed to hard because of there non-conference schedule and when the pressure is on, I have seen them fall apart. The pitcher is a fine athlete and great girl, but a 55 mph fastball can only go so far. Yes, she is a pitcher and not a thrower, but the overall lack of ability to throw something by a hitter will come into play down the road. Souith may be 24-0 going into the playsffs, but Hibriten, West Caldwell, freedom, watauga, AC reynolds, and etc do not offer many challenges to any worthy opponents. Stay away from the three hitters I named and South will not score a run on any quality High school pitcher.

 

Thanks for your insight on SC! I have also seen them play and agree with you on the scouting report you provided us. Why would they schedule such cupcakes and think seriously about going deep in the playoffs .

Dont Adams, Anderson and Pritchard play BB......they had better get the priorities straight when its time to decide on college Ball, BB or SB? fastpitchpro, it is so nice to have you join us and you are a valuable asset to this board and to the sport itself! I will talk with you soooooon and have a great day!

 

I think picking apart South isnt the righy way to go. I have heard that the pitchers have worked all winter and have improved greatly, Both Winebarger and Reid have picked up new pitches and shouldnt be underestimated. And they didnt schedule just cupcakes they had a tournament schedule as there first game against Forbush, Hopwell, and Butler ( i think), but was rained out. Those arent too much of cupcakes it seems to me. Yes they have 3 Varsity players who are out with Basketball (anderson , pritchard, and ford) but they will return shortly. They have worked hard on there hitting and defense. In my opinioin they have one of the best defensive teams around. But they do have some problems to work out, such as working uder pressure, but they are not to be underestimated this year.

Another thing, i dont think that Alexander should be underestimated this year either.. althought Sherrill has resigned..you cant forget his assistant coaches havent.





RIP- Tiffany

 

I was just stating the facts as I know them. The games you have scheduled are cupcakes and this past saturday was a scrimmage. I was just stating the facts surrounding the team. I hope South wins the state, but let's get real with the schedule. The pitcher, Winebarger, works as hard as anyone in the business. No doubt about her love and dedication to this fact, but a 55-57 mph fastball is the same whether you have heart of a lion or your are the tinman out there throwing. She is a very good pitcher, not thrower, but this is not in the league with Bowen, Small, CC's pitcher, or the twins at Hopewell. I will go back to the fact that South does not play very well under pressure and against worthy opponents. What was their records against teams with winning records in 4A play?? Something like 2-4. Alexander should be tough with the assistants like Donny Pennell. He has the burden of the program on his shoulders and some of the most talented players in the program's history in the dugout. It may be the most talented team in the history of the school. the NW 4A is wide open with quality teams in Mcdowell and AC Reynolds too.

 

Hey guys I'll give you a little info on South Caldwell. As far as schedual I have a copy here for this year. They play A very good St. Stephens team once, Providence once, East Lincoln at least 3 times maybe 4 including the Easter tournament, Lake Norman who has a good pitcher and Alexander twice. And they did have 3 good scrimmage games set with Hopewell, Forbush, and Davie co. That is not an easy schedual. They do have to play W. Caldwell and Hibriten (a county thing) but those are their only 2 easy non-conference games.
As for weak hitters I don't know where that comes from they are one of the best in the state when you figure from top to bottom. I looked up their stats from last year and their top 5 hitters went like this Anderson .500 with 3 homeruns, Adams .439 1homerun, Benfield ..404 1 homerun, Austin .325, and Pritchard .315 with 3 homeruns. and I know for a fact that a few of the other girls really came on strong this summer. Admittedly Mecimoer had their number in 2 out of three games but that is nothing to be ashamed of she did that to a lot of people.
As for defense I'll put these girls against anyone. I've seen a lot of teams and this defense is very very good. and for the pitching it is not overpowering but is very good. As for speed even Crystal Cox only threw 57 or 58 so speed is not everything.
I know the coaches keep hoping that people think SC has only 3 girls who can hit because that will make it a lot easier for them
Good luck to everyone hope to get to see some games soon