Who are they returning from last year?

 

Looking at the 2012 Team Photo on the Ryle Baseball Website there were 23 Varsity players. Eight of the 23 players graduated so the remaining 15 are mainly Seniors this year. Graduates included Leiff Clarkson, Comora, Mark Downs, Ernst, Hughes, Lawson, Long, and Winchester. Ryle did graduate some very good talent (especially in the pitching position) but should backfill nicely with players like Bellew, Cordrey, Jeremy Downs, Forbes and Welsh to name a few.

Looking at the 2012 Team Photo on the Ryle Baseball Website there were 23 Varsity players. Eight of the 23 players graduated so the remaining 15 are mainly Seniors this year. Graduates included Leiff Clarkson, Comora, Mark Downs, Ernst, Hughes, Lawson, Long, and Winchester. Ryle did graduate some very good talent (especially in the pitching position) but should backfill nicely with players like Bellew, Cordrey, Jeremy Downs, Forbes and Welsh to name a few.

I don't think Cordrey can pitch this year due to his shoulder surgery, but I may be mistaken.

I'm a little biased but I really like the Conner team this year. I'd guess they will have 3 seniors hitting 1-2-3 in the lineup. Fogle has serious wheels and will be on base alot. He also has some nice power. Maines will also be one of the top hitters in the region, along with Padgett. I look for big things for Williams this year, too. I'd really like to see a big year out of Smiley on the mound. Struggled at time last year, but kid has all the tools/mechanics to have a really big year. From a defensive standpoint, Conner is pretty solid as well. Pitching will be the key (no big secret there) as it will be for many teams this year.

I think Conner will be pretty good also but one thing that may hurt them is the number of games they have to play on their home field. Unless it gets some serious attention, that could hurt them some this year.

I would give Conner the slight edge going into the season. They have the best 1-4 lineup Cameron Fogle, Jared Williams, Blake Maines, & Brady Padgett. Maines should be the best pitcher in the district as well.

 

Conner needs 2 or 3 other kids to step up and hit and they need one pitcher to step up and be a strong #2 to complement Maines.

 

Ryle didn't have a strong hitting team last season so that's why I ask what their lineup will look like. Baumann and Tyler Mason are good returning hitters. Who else? Ryle will have the most pitching depth in the district with Justin Hoard, Eric Clarkson, Mitch See, Josh Bellew, and probably another kid or two I can't think of.

 

Cooper has Hunter Dunn returning as #1 pitcher and he needs to get consistency to challenge Maines for #1 in the district. They have a lefty pitcher that doesn't throw hard but mixes it up well and keeps hitters off balance. I can't remember his name. AJ Collins is a really good pitcher too.

 

What about hitting for Cooper? AJ is the only major threat I can think of that's returning. I suspect Cooper will have to win with pitching and not out-scoring opponents.

 

Trey Ganns will be the #1 for Boone and he's a really good hitter too. They lost Teegarden who was the guts of that team. I believe they lost Stanley, Schwartz, and Church to graduation?l? Who will step up?

 

Trey is the one go to guy they will have but it seems Boone lost a lot of quality depth.

The Cooper pitcher you are thinking of is Jake Lawhorn, a crafty lefty.

as far as hitting for Cooper you forgot about their best hitter Jared Blank, so along with Collins and Dunn who has some serious power you have a Junior who has played with Varsity for 3 years now who 2 years ago had the 2nd highest avg in his games with varsity and highest BA in JV games played that year(Fussinger) and Lawhorn who can downright stroke the ball and hits for average also and Shoemacher a great contact hitter. So Cooper has some bats in the lineup to go with their pitching.

 

Cooper is again a very young team, very junior heavy to go with 4 seniors who will be starting. They were very young last year and hopefully they have matured enough to make a run. Their strong suit as everyone has mentioned is their pitching, which is scary when you realize that there is only 1 starting pitcher that is a senior this year.

Wow, Sounds like Cooper is loaded and will be the class of the 33rd district. With all of that talent Cooper should win a bunch of games.

Wow, Sounds like Cooper is loaded and will be the class of the 33rd district. With all of that talent Cooper should win a bunch of games.

 

Still has to be decided on the field.

Just sounds like they will be very tough to beat. You can never have enough good players and it sounds like they will be loaded at pitching.

Just sounds like they will be very tough to beat. You can never have enough good players and it sounds like they will be loaded at pitching.

 

They do have quality players.

Still has to be decided on the field.

You are 100% correct. Last year I thought they would be better than they were. They underachieved big time last year and unless they can put it together on the field then all this talk is just that, talk.

I'm still not totally convinced on Cooper's hitting. We all know AJ and Jared can hit pretty well but outside that I feel like they're all so young. Lawhorn should be okay but I would be opposed to saying Boone's (Klein, Ganns, Huff) hitting is up to par with Cooper

I'm still not totally convinced on Cooper's hitting. We all know AJ and Jared can hit pretty well but outside that I feel like they're all so young. Lawhorn should be okay but I would be opposed to saying Boone's (Klein, Ganns, Huff) hitting is up to par with Cooper

 

You could be right about Cooper. We'll just have to see. Last year was a tough way to tell since they played small ball every single opportunity it seemed which took the bat out of a lot of their players hands. I like small ball and all but just hope this year they use it only when the situation calls for it instead of every single opportunity. Too many times last year it seemed they would play small ball every time they had a base runner on 1st no matter what the score or time of game it was. Too many times it seemed they were simply giving up a batter just to move a runner to 2nd even when down several runs in the last inning and 1 out already. Just my opinion, but I thought it was a big reason they underachieved last year. Tough to see how good or how bad their hitting really is when you don't get to see them hit.

I'm still not totally convinced on Cooper's hitting. We all know AJ and Jared can hit pretty well but outside that I feel like they're all so young. Lawhorn should be okay but I would be opposed to saying Boone's (Klein, Ganns, Huff) hitting is up to par with Cooper

 

No disrespect, but I'm not sure I agree with your opinion.

You could be right about Cooper. We'll just have to see. Last year was a tough way to tell since they played small ball every single opportunity it seemed which took the bat out of a lot of their players hands. I like small ball and all but just hope this year they use it only when the situation calls for it instead of every single opportunity. Too many times last year it seemed they would play small ball every time they had a base runner on 1st no matter what the score or time of game it was. Too many times it seemed they were simply giving up a batter just to move a runner to 2nd even when down several runs in the last inning and 1 out already. Just my opinion, but I thought it was a big reason they underachieved last year. Tough to see how good or how bad their hitting really is when you don't get to see them hit.

 

Maybe you should stand along the 3rd base fence, right next to the coaches box and let Coach Bieger know when he should play small ball and when he should hit. You seem to have it all figured out.

Maybe you should stand along the 3rd base fence, right next to the coaches box and let Coach Bieger know when he should play small ball and when he should hit. You seem to have it all figured out.

 

No reason to get nasty young man. It was just my own opinion of what I saw, nothing more nothing less. Maybe you should know what base coach Bieger coached last year because it is clear you have got nothing figured out.

I do alot of scouting so I think what Mr. Hellbird is saying is that there's a right time and a wrong time for small ball and that an offense/team/coach needs to be able to adjust to what the game is dictating. Every game is a little different.