East Rowan

Can anyone give me a break down of this very impressive East Rowan team?? Thanks in advance!!

 

i don't have a full scouting report but i can tell you what i know about them as a fan.

centerfielder named micah jarrett who's headed to wake forest
shorstop named justin roland who's headed to unc-charlotte

ace pitcher is a junior named corbin shive, heck of a pitcher. some other pitchers include trey holmes and kent basinger. they have even more quality arms than this but some of the guys names have slipped my mind. justin roland was a closer most of the year but has started a couple playoff games, including game 3 of the regional series at south point.

east rowan is definitely an area that loves baseball. the players really understand the game, and eat, sleep, and breathe it. they are very savvy and look like ball-players, and play like ball-players too. they have probably the best fan base i have seen in north carolina high school baseball other than perhaps south caldwell. the fans are not obnoxious but they are loud, numerous, and very supportive.

they were 4-A last year but due to a new school (carson) being built in their area, moved down to 3-A this year. they used to play in the central piedmont conference with north davidson, west forsyth, davie county, mount tabor, etc.

they did not lose a home game all season. they have won 24 of their past 25 games i think.

when i filled out a playoff bracket at the beginning of the playoffs, i penciled in rocky mount vs east rowan as my championship matchup. i believe we will see the two best teams battle it out on the field.

out of all the players i have ever played against in any level of baseball, east rowan's shortstop/pitcher justin roland is the one player i always hated to see on the opposing team. i mean this with the utmost respect to justin. he's a tremendous kid and an unbelievable player. the reason i always hated seeing roland on the other team is because he flat out always finds a way to beat you. whether it was AAU ball with the East Rowan Stampede, little league all-stars for East Rowan, legion ball for Rowan County Legion, or high school ball for East Rowan, he's always been on very successful teams and done whatever it takes for his team to be successful. whether its getting the big hit, swiping the big base, making the big defensive play, or getting that big out on the mound, justin roland is a gamer who i have tons of respect for. i wish him the best of luck in the state championship series and at uncc next year.

 

Well first and foremost, it all starts with the SS and # 2 pitcher Justin Roland (UNCC committ); when Roland gets on base, East is going to score. He is a serious threat on the basepaths. He's also got some pop in that bat. As a pitcher, he is very agressive at attacking the strike zone and getting ahead, so he can use that curveball breaking away from the plate. Corbin Shive is the ace of the staff and has been dominant all year long along with all the other ER pitchers such as Cody Laws and Kent Basinger. Micah Jarrett (WFU Committ) roams centerfield and plays SS when Roland is pitching. Micah is very quick as well (great arm) and swings a good bat. Trey Holmes at first base is your prototypical firstbaseman who scoops up everything thrown his way. Also swings a good lefty bat. Noah Holmes (Trey's bro) is at third and is only a sophmore who is just a natural at the hot corner. Ethan Fisher mans second base and has been great defensively and has really helped this team. East Rowan's outfield has to be one of the best they've had with the ground they can cover, especially when Micah J. is in center. Ben Decelle is in left and Zach Smith is in right. This is just a brief summary of what kind of players East Rowan has. These guys are on a mission and they have something magical about them.

 

yes. apology to cody laws. thats the pitcher who's name i couldn't think of, and it has nothing to do with his performance, only my ignorance. i believe he has an 8-0 record or something this year.

 

Cody Laws is 9-0 with an ERA of 1.00. He has also thrown a perfect game this year. Summary of pitchers--

#1 Corbin Shive--(junior)--Throws around 88-89 with a curve and slider. Locates the ball extremely well. He throws hard, but is a pitcher who hits his spots and his variety of off speed stuff makes the fastball even sneakier. Can throw any pitch to any location, anywhere in the count. He suffered his only loss this year 1-0 on the opposite end of Zach Horne's no-hitter in the Western Championship. Enters the state championship with a 11-1 record and ERA around 1.00. There shouldn't be a better pitcher in the state next year.

#2 Justin Roland--(senior--UNCC committ)--Throws hard, but is a bulldog and competitor on the mound. Doesn't rattle and is very smart. Throws a very heavy ball that folks seem not to get "good wood" on. Small in stature, but there isn't anyone you would rather hand the ball to with the game on the line. Started games at the begining of the year while Shive, Trey Holmes, and Kent Basinger were nursing injuries, but then retreated to a closer role. Has since resumed a starters role in the playoffs. Is 5-0 on the year with a 0.80 ERA. You will not find a better SS in the state in the field.

3-5 are not in any particular order, but all can pitch.

#3 Cody Laws--(junior)--Laws, along with Roland, anchored the staff while Shive, Holmes, and Basinger were out. Laws threw a lot on jayvee last year, but was unproven on varsity. The 6'5" righty made the most of his opportunity rolling up a 9-0 record on the year while have an ERA in the low 1.00's. Laws gets the ball to the plate quicky (81-84), but his size makes it appear faster. Doesn't rattle at all. After East lost 1-0 to South Point in game 1 of the Western Championships, Laws was handed the ball for game 2 after not pitching for a month. He responded by throwing perfect baseball through 4 innings and was on the winning end of a 17-2 East victory. Laws is still growing into learning his large frame. Probably not as athletic as the other pitchers, but he has made significant strides this year, obviously.

#4 Trey Holmes--(senior--Pitt CC)-- Holmes is a lefty who suffered an elbow injury last year. Before the injury, Holmes was considered a division I pitching prospect and East Rowan's ace. He had enjoyed tremendous success as a sophmore and even some as a freshman in high school and Legion ball. The injury prevented him from pitching his junior year which slowed his recruitment. Holmes started pitching in games about mid season and was effective. He throws at almost 3/4 and gets significant movement on his fastball in the low 80's. He hasn't started a game in a while. I think his record on the year is around 4-0 and his era is 3.29. Very athletic first baseman who was a starter on the football, basketball, and baseball teams.

#5 Kent Basinger--(junior)--Basinger dislocated his knee cap in the third or fourth game of the year. He is a right hander who throws in the mid to low 80's and was projected as East's #2 when the season started. Very good breaking stuff. Hard slider that he can throw anywhere in the count. As a sophmore, Basinger threw 20 innings on varsity and did not allow a run. He started a game at the end of the year and threw five innings and completely shut down his opponent. He has been throwing on the side and looking very sharp.

Coach Brian Hightower and pitching coach Brian Hatley has managed this staff very well this year. When the injuries to Shive, Holmes and Basinger occured, Hightower, held them out and made sure they were completely healed before letting them assume a role on the mound. During this time, East lost two games to 4A powers North Davidson and West Forsyth. Against N. Davidson, he called up a jayvee pitcher to throw in order to save Roland for an upcoming game in 3 days against South Rowan. Allowing the other players to pitch in big games proved huge dividends now and in the future as East is loaded in pitching at the jayvee and varsity level for the forseeable future.

Others who can pitch:

If called upon, Micah Jarrett (Wake Forest--committ) can throw, as well as a couple of J.V'ers Parker Gobble and Will Johnson. I'm not sure if Johnson and Gobble are on the post season rosters however.

 

I know for a fact that Gobble is playing for the Rowan senior legion team right now and will probably be moved back down to the junior legion when all the East players join up with Rowan. I'm not sure about Will Johnson, he may be on the roster but he hasn't seen any action.

 

Thanks for all the info on ER. Shive did not have the velocity that was reported but was still pretty decent. He was 84-86 and topped out at 87. ER had a good hitting team but I will admit RM does not have dominate pitching just guys who hit spots and throw a lot of strikes. ER pounded the ball to all fields but the big outfield helped pitchers from both teams all weekend. On a normal size field there would have been a bunch of bombs. There were tons of outs on the warning track from both sides. I have a ton of respect for ER.

 

the radar gun at the mudcats stadium had shive 90-91 on a couple pitches in the first inning, and yes late in the game he was only about 84 when working out of the stretch. he was inconsistant but did top out at 91, according to that gun

 

Yes you are right the board had Shive hitting 91. The guns behind the plate that the scouts had is what i'm going on. Jim Leggett for RM ever since he tore his labrum has not thrown over 85 he did hit 86 once in the first inning most likely adrenaline. That board showed that Leggett hit 90 a couple of times and nothing against Jim but he doesn't throw 90. Also it showed the kid from AK hitting 96 in the late game Friday. Nothing against him but he doesn't smell 96. He was the hardest thrower in town though without a doubt.

 

I'm not doubting you. I didn't see the guns behind the plate, I was going strictly off of the one on the big scoreboard in right field. Its possible that the gun at the stadium could be inflated to try and "WOW" the crowds at the minor league games, too.