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Team Previews |
Team Previews Rockwood 29-11 4th
State
012
The 2008 Rockwood Tigers return 8 starters from last years 29-11 State
Tournament team. Their lone Senior, catcher Marcus Whitaker, signed with
Roane State CC. Filling his spot behind the plate this year will be Senior
Chase Clem who started as an out fielder the last 2 years. Clem, batting
leadoff, hit .347 last year while stealing 41 bases and scoring 63 runs.
He also lead the state with 19 HBP's. Driving in most of their runs were
the 2-4 hitters. Senior first baseman, Zach Breazeale, hit .376 last year
while driving in 41 and scoring 51 runs. In the third spot is Senior,
third baseman, Bryant Allen, who hit a hefty .460 last year with 9 home
runs and drove in 54 while leading the team in runs scored with 64. He
also stole 19 bases. Clean up hitter, Senior, Left Fielder, Shane Doughty,
hit .391 and was among the state leaders in Home Runs with 18, while
driving in 67 and scoring 57 runs. Defensively, Doughty has one of the
best arms in Single A baseball. Both Allen and Doughty were voted Class A
All-State with Doughty earning District 3 player of the year. Playing
shortstop for the Tigers will be Senior Zach Duncan. Last year Duncan hit
.333 while driving in 26. Filling in at SS when Duncan goes to the mound
will be Senior Russell Tinker. Tinker will also have some pinch/courtesy
runner duties also. Playing second base will be Senior Beau Mayton. Last
year Mayton hit .349 while driving in 26. Mayton may be the Tigers best
defensive infielder as he was part of numerous double plays. Senior Colden
Cooper will also play first base and DH. Last year Cooper hit .286 and
drove in 17. Spots in Center and Right will be up for grabs at the start
of the season. Vying for the 2 spots will be Junior Tyler Skidmore and
Seniors Taylor Treadway and Matt Hill. Skidmore hit .264 last year with 1
HR and drove in 9. Treadway hit .125 and was used primarily as a defensive
replacement in the late innings. Matt Hill started numerous games in
center field, hitting .167 and was also used as pinch runner. Curt Boston,
the 6'4" Senior could play a big role as the DH and pinch hitting duties
as well. As you can see, the Tigers will be a Senior laden squad in 2008
and appear ready to make another run for a State Title. Their strength
again will be their bats as they slugged 43 Home runs last year while
batting .341 as a team and scoring nearly 10 runs per game.
The
Tigers return all 4 starting pitchers from their 2007 Staff. Their
ace will be the 6'2" lefty, Zach Breazeale. Last year Breazeale finished
with a record of 10-3. In 77 innings, he struck out 77 while walking 38
and posting a 3.86 ERA. Number 2 in the rotation will be Senior Right
hander Zach Duncan. Last year Duncan finished with a 6-5 record while
posting a 4.05 ERA. He struck out 67 in 60 innings of work. Duncan threw a
one hitter against Cascade in the 2007 State
Tournament in the Tigers only win. Battling for the third and fourth spot
in the rotation will be Senior Colden Cooper and Junior Tyler Skidmore.
Last year Cooper was 3-1 with an ERA of 3.00 after missing part of the
year due to injuries. Skidmore finished with a record of 6-1 while posting
an ERA of 5.23. Battling for spots as middle relievers will be Seniors
Andrew McCreary, Curt Boston and Cody Wampler.
McCreary recorded one save in 2007 while posting a 1-1 record and a 7.50
ERA. Boston threw 9 innings and recorded 1 save while posting an ERA of
5.00. Sophomores Zac Allen and Alex Bear could see some spot starts
and relief duty in 2008.
To be successful this year we .must have good Senior
leadership and become a better fielding team. Most of the 11 losses the
Tigers suffered in 2007 were due to fielding issues. If we can (1) become
a better fielding team, (2) replace Whitaker's bat and defense behind the
plate and (3) develop some middle and late inning relief pitchers, the sky
is the limit for the 2008 Rockwood Tiger Baseball team.
Harriman
W-L na
1/15/08
36 probable starters:
Pos. Name
Hit/Throw Class
C-Christian Pryor
Rt/Rt 11
1b-Cody Morton
Rt/Rt 11
2b-Cody Pierce
Rt/Rt 11
SS-A.J Johnson
Rt/Rt 12
3b-Houston Pass
Rt/Rt 12
LF-Caleb Dryman
Rt/Rt 11
CF-Damian Miller
Rt/Rt 12
RF-Nathan Smith
Rt/Rt 11
DH-Moneer Al-Husein Rt/Rt
11
Weekend Rotation
# Name
RH/LH Class
1 Taylor Walker Rh
11
2 Mark Chesser
Rh 9
3 Hershal Spears Rh
11
Closer Damian Miller Rh 12
Weekday Starters
# Name
RH/LH Class
1 A.J. Johnson Rh
12
2 Nathan Smith Rh
11
3 Tyler Dishman Rh
9
4 Christian Pryor Rh
11
2005 W - L- substate loss to Unaka
Starters returning : Position players: Pitchers:
Lost 0 players from 2007
Outlook by position: Several promising Freshmen to contribute on
defence and the
pitching rotation.
Infield -return /addition of Cody Benard a freshman that will contribute
Catching-return
Outfield- return
Pitching- return /addition of 5 freshman arms will help in relieve
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Team Previews |
Team Previews Oliver Springs 18-17
1/15/08 39
The Bobcats must replace District MVP, Blake Leach, as
well as Offensive Player of the Year, Cody West. They will look to Ryan
Bunch and Cruise Smith to provide power. Cody Brown and Bubba Bias and
Cody Brown must stay healthy to set the table.
3B Ryan Bunch SR .358 2 2B 2HR 17 RBI
LF Bubba Bias SR .295 2 2B 0HR 18 RBI
CF Cody Brown SR .281 4 2B 0HR 9 RBI
SS Cruise SmithSO.320 8 2B 0HR 24 RBI
Pitching:
SR Ryan Bunch RHP 3-0 2.63 ERA
SR Caleb Raby RHP 2-3 7.74 ERA
SR Bubba Bias RHP 1-0 4.38 ERA
SO Cruise Smith RHP 3-5 8.00 ERA
SO Cody Taylor LHP
The Bobcats Pitching rotation lose Hiwassee signee Blake Leach, who
accounted for 10 of the 15 wins by winning or saving. Bunch, Raby, Bias,
and Smith all showed signs of being able to step up and be consistent
District Pitchers. The top 4 need to step up and become more consistent
and Cody Taylor needs to settle in and live up to his potential.
"To be successful this year we the Bobcats have a strong core returning
with valuable experience. The key will be a couple guys step and quality
Pitchers. The Bobcats should again be good offensively. The question that
must be answered is, will there
be enough depth on the pitching staff," added Coach Kegley.
Coalfield 14-18
1/31/08
57 Top Returning Position Players
Logan Alley Catcher SR.
Taylor Newberry SS JR.
Noah Melton CF/C JR.
Kyle Warwick OF JR.
Brandon Evans 3B SO.
Top Returning Pitchers
Kyle Warwick JR.
Logan Alley SR.
Brandon Evans SO.
To be successful this year we... "The Jackets need to continue with the
Attitude they used to win the District tournament last season," said Coach
Wilson.
Key players return to this year's club, Logan Alley the
team's only Senior brings leadership to this team. Logan a good defensive
catcher can lead behind the plate and on the mound. Taylor Newberry
returns as the teams shortstop and one of the top bats, his leadership up
the middle will be huge to this team's success. Noah Melton returns to
roam the outfield, back up behind the dish, and brings speed and power at
the plate. Kyle Warwick returns as a versatile player in the outfielder,
and a good middle infielder. Up and coming sophomore Brandon Evans appears
to be ready to take the next step at the plate, and on the mound.
Warwick and Alley will lead the Jackets on the mound, with Evans expected
to be a force before year's end. Freshman Austin Hicks and Tyler Walls
will play significant roles on this year's team, as will the role play of
Adam Doughty and Darrell Kennedy.
The Jackets led by former Jacket Alum Jason Wilson look to add to the
success of last season's team as they compete in one of the toughest
Single A region's in the state. Next School
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