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CLASS AA  REGION FIVE

District 9

Greenbrier
White House
Sycamore (Pleasant View)
Goodpasture (Madison)
Westmoreland
Macon County (Lafayette)

District 10

Hume-Fogg (Nashville)
CPA (Nashville) (FB)
David Lipscomb (Nashville)
MLK (Nashville)
East Literature (Nashville)
Pearl Cohn (Nashville)
Stratford (Nashville)
Maplewood (Nashville)
Whites Creek

 

CLASS AA REGION SIX

District 11

Cheatham County (Ashland City)
Harpeth (Kingston Springs)
Creek Wood (Charlotte)
Montgomery Central (Cunningham)
Camden
Stewart County (Dover)
Waverly

District 12

Marshall County (Lewisburg)
Page (Franklin)
Fairview
East Hickman (Lyles)
Hickman County (Centerville)
Lewis County (Hohenwald)
Giles County (Pulaski)
Spring Hill (Columbia)

Team Previews Team Previews
CPA  25-12                 1/8

The CPA baseball team dreams of making it to their first region championship, sectional, and state tournament. To accomplish that goal, the Lions are going to need to replace 4 exceptional Seniors from the 2011 Squad.  

Offensively the Lions return 6 Starters.  The returning Seniors include Jackson Cothren (.329 BA), Josh Gunter (.322 BA), Zane Russell (.304) and Hunter Thurley (.368 BA).  The two other returning starters are Brandon Jean (Jr.) and Carson Shrode (So.).  There are several talented young players that are expected to contribute to the offensive production this year (Alex Phillips Jr., Peyton Allen So., Andrew Knell So., Seth Thomas So., and Houston Nichols Fr.).  The biggest concern for the Lions offensively is finding 3 good middle of the line-up RBI type players.  

The Lions have three returning pitchers for the 2012 season.  Zane Russell (Sr.) battled injury for the past two seasons, this pre-season he is healthy and expected to have a huge season on the mound.  The other two returners are Davis King (Sr. 4.2 ERA, 4-3) and Brandon Jean (Jr. 2.24 ERA, 7-1).  Three Sophomores are also expected to log a lot of innings this Spring (John Elliott, Graham Hawley, and Seth Thomas).  The Lion pitching staff will be deep this year when you add several other upper classmen to this rotation, but will this staff be able to win when it matters?  To get over the hump and win the big game the Lions need a pitcher that is willing to rise to the occasion and win that elimination game.

The defense for the Lions in 2012 will be one of its biggest strengths.  The middle of the field positions are all expected to be filled by great defenders with strong arms (B. Jean Catcher, Andrew Knell SS, Zane Russell 2B, and Jackson Cothren CF).  The lions will need to find a solid replacement at 3B and if that is achieved the lions should be strong on defense.

The key to this season will be the inner conceit of the players.  Coach Nesbitt said "Will our players believe that they are good enough to achieve? I know they are talented enough, but the main question is do they believe that".  

 

Macon Co.  15-15   1/8

The Tigers are entering a new era as former Cumberland Univ. assistant Juan Clariday returns to lead his alma mater in 2012. Clariday has spent the last 17 years as an assistant coach at Lincoln County, Grundy County, and was the head coach at Sequatchie County. Macon County will field a roster that is big in numbers and short on experience, as the 25-man roster will have only one senior. The roster has one senior, nine juniors, six sophomores, and nine freshmen.
Offense and Defense- Right now all line up spots are open because of the coaching change happening real late in the summer as the coach has not had a good look at his team yet.
Pitching- Macon County has 14 pitchers on the roster, that's a good problem to have. It will be a competitive pre-season practice to see who will step up and earn spots in the rotation.
Wrap up-The regular season will see a more difficult schedule compared to past years. In addition to District 9-AA games that are always competitive, MCHS will play in the Wilson County Invitational, the Macon County Invitational, and the Mountain Valley Classic. Key non district games will be against DeKalb County, Friendship Christian, Smith County, and Trousdale County. The key to the season is the players buying into the new coaching system and younger players stepping up in key spots.

Goodpasture   21-17           1/11

The Goodpasture baseball team returns 6 starters from a very young 2011 team. Many young players stepped up last season and gained some valuable experience. The Cougars returning starters include C Kyle Strickland (Sr.), 3B Hunter Newman (Sr.), 2B Ryan Kemp (Soph.), OF Carter Wiseman (Soph.),SS Brandon Ashworth (Jr.), and 1B Jay Rhoten (Jr.). Other players who will compete for a lineup spot are OF Colton Sweet (Sr.), OF Wes Demirjian (Sr.), and C/1B Conner Crocker (Jr.). Last year our offense was our weak-ness. We were competitive in many games but could not score enough runs to win. This group must learn how to manufacture runs and get hits with RISP.  

Two pitchers return for the Cougars. Senior, Hunter Newman will be the ace of the staff.  He was injured the majority of the season a year ago. He threw 3 complete game shutouts in 2011 before getting hurt. Jr. JP Brenzie will be our #2 starter. He pitched the most innings for us a year ago as a sophomore.  After these two we will have to find who can get people out and perform. Soph. Alex Junior, Sr. Colton Sweet, and Sr. Wes Demirjian will see some innings and are competing for the 3-5 spots. Pitching depth will be an issue. Defensively, the Cougars lost the SS, CF, and RF. Our defense will be one our strengths in 2012.

The 2012 Cougars goal is to find a way to make it back to the state tournament. The focus is to improve daily and live in the moment.

 

Sycamore 17-17           2/1

The 2012 Sycamore War Eagle baseball team returns 6 starters. These 6 are Caleb Patterson (SR), Zach Gentry (SR), Kevin Heath (SR), Brock Simon (SR), Brett Waller (SR), and Josh Graham (JR). There are 7 or 8 more varsity spots available to earn. Some of these players will be competing for starting positions or a lot of spot duty; Ben Knack (SR), Bryan Jacoway (JR), Michael Brown (SO), Kane Fenters (SO), Adam Clanton (SO), Trent Mayberry (SO), and Robert Newton (FR). We return our top two hitters in the average category and RBI. Caleb Patterson .411avg and 28 RBI. Zach Gentry .346 and 21RBI. Offense was by far our weakest category last year. We struck out entirely too much, and did not play very good situational baseball. We have to get better at this.
 
The War Eagles return all 3 of their top pitchers from a year ago. Kevin Heath 2.32 ERA - 6 wins, Brett Waller 2.87 ERA - 4 wins, and Brock Simon 3.23 ERA - 3 wins. All three will have the opportunity to compete for the number one spot. Amongst the ones competing for some other starting and closing roles are - Caleb Patterson, Josh Graham, Dalton Garrett, Ben Knack, and Adam Clanton.
 
We luckily return our starting catcher (will be a 4 year starter behind the dish) and also our starting SS in Caleb Patterson and 2B Brock Simon. They will be 3 year varsity starters this year. I think that means a lot the we have 2 guys up the middle that have played together for four straight years (including freshman team). We have a really good 1b to replace from last year as well as a great defensive CF. We will rely on some sophomores and juniors to fill those voids.

 


 

 Spring Hill   32-9      State Semifinals        1/21

With 8 everyday starters returning that combined for an .382 batting average, 173 RBIs and 22 HRs there is plenty of veteran experience and proven production coming back. Anchoring the defense for the third year in a row will be SR. Catcher Taylor Ellis(.358,29,3). His experience and leadership behind the plate will be pivotal to our teams success this year. Backing him up will be Junior J.T. Farmer and Freshman Josh Frantz who both had very productive summers. At 1st SR. Luke Bigler(.415,31,7) will again start out as the everyday guy after playing the position for the first time last year and excelling there. However Bigler is a versatile defender and could be used else where depending on pitching situations. JR. Dylan Stewart will be ready if called upon after coming up big in the State Tournament last season when an injury side-lined Bigler. Jr, Jake Usher(.286,2,16) will be at 2nd again after holding down the position all last season as a sophomore. When Usher takes to the mound JR. Cody Endicott or Soph. David Andrews and Brandon Hardison will be fighting for the spot. At SS will be MTSU signee SR. Dathan Prewett (.484,36,5). Prewett had an outstanding year in the field after making the switch from 2nd following his sophomore year. At 3rd JR. Ryan Helgren has proven himself ready to take over the reigns after spot time last season as well as a great summer. In the outfield the Raiders are blessed with many options. Soph. Centerfielder Darian Prewett (.388,17,0)had the best season any freshman has ever had for Raider Baseball both at the plate and in the field. His run saving ability is a key to our success. SRs. Nathan Anderson(.468,17,1)and Heath Petty (.354,0, 15) along with JR. Cole Barksdale(.300,2,12) will all spilt time between all the outfield positions as well as DH depending on who is pitching.  

Pitching- On the mound the Raiders return three of their five main starters from last season as well as two others that logged many innings. The big three for us will be Lefthanders Petty(5-0,2 saves,1.39 ERA), Barksdale(9-2,1 save,3.43) and Righty Usher
(1-1). If these three can have the types os seasons their capable of they may turn into the best starting staff we've ever had. In relief Bigler(2-0,0,5.60),Darian Prewett(1-1,0,3.82) and Stewart could all see signif-icant action as well as spot starts.  
     "For us to be successful this year are experience will be key. This is the most we've had coming back as far day to day players and starting pitching. All that means nothing if we don't execute and perform to our ability. If we do that and have some leaders to really step up this could be another exciting season for Raider Baseball."

Summitt High School  0-0   First Yr.  1/21

Summit High School's baseball team will have a season of firsts. Summit is the newest high school in Williamson County.  They opened their doors in August with Freshmen and Sophomores only. Being brand new there is much to the unknown. Their team will consist of 1 player with varsity baseball experience and only 4 players with any high school experience at all. The rest of the roster will get their 1st taste of high school baseball on March 12th.

Although they are fully aware of the challenges they will face this season they are excited and ready to compete in this traditionally competitive district.