southeastern district

A little early for this. But since you're asking, I think that you could rearrange any of those top 4 in any spot. Do any of these teams have more than one top notch pitcher? Is there any one pitcher that will dominate?

Hickory's coaching is much better this past year. The development of the young talent has turned around 180 deg. They've got some really good young players coming up. And they'll have excellent defense behind their pitching in the spring.

great bridge has cooper and conner jones comeing back
western branch has johnsonbaugh and a sophomore
nansemond river has zach rice
hickory has ryan blake

but wasnt hickory jv like 11-7 last year!

Western Branch has senior Ryan Bennett who, with a record of 6-1, pitched almost 50 innings last spring for the Bruins. Bennett's sole loss was a complete game effort against a very strong North Broward (FL) team, losing 4-3 in the bottom of the 7th.

Nansemond River will most likely look to senior Tyler Brown who threw 50+ innings last year going 6-3 with hard fought losses to Hickory, Grassfield and South County in the state quarterfinals. Junior Zach Rice finished last season at 5-0 with wins in elimination games in the district tournament against Western Branch and regional tournament against Churchland. Senior Kyle Moore has looked very good in the fall and appears poised to make an impact on the mound in the spring.

Any of those four teams can finish at the top, but until someone knocks off Great Bridge how can they not be #1?

Well, looking forward to a competitive season.

true but great bridge lost alot!
the southeastern district lost alot of pitching!
i forgot about kyle moore pitching!

wbreporter,isnt shane johnsonbaugh coming back!

Great Bridge will be fine in the OF. Replacing Higgerson and Lee will be a question mark for them. They had a DP combo on the JV ready to move up but the SS transferred to Kellam.

If Great bridge is going to repeat they will need Conner Jones to be the difference in the key games.

Nansmond River will have the best offense in the district. Their pitching will be better.

Western Branch will be dangerous but not sure they will hit enough to beat out either NR or GB.

Hickory will need better in all phases if they are going to contend.

i herd brian beard is suppouse to the infield
they have a good freshmen 2n baseman!

plus connor jones pitched just as much as flaherty last year!

The other big change for 2012 is that ole Wiley won't be prowling the 3rd base coaching line. I am sure thier games will have a totally different feel.

It was always amusing to watch him call time, stomp 75' down the line, snatch a bat out a kids hands and show him how to bunt after they fouled one off. Good times!

A couple of our SED players in Ft. Myers Florida today:

The Canes Prospects scored 7 runs over the last 2 innings to take a 7-5 win over the Longshots Baseball Teal. 3B Charlie Cody (2014, Great Bridge HS, VA) led off the bottom of the 6th inning with a triple and was singled home by 1B Nathan Blaylock (2013, A.C. Reynolds HS, NC) to provide the lead and eventual winning run.

LHP Zach Rice (2013, Nansemond River HS, VA) threw the final 1 2/3 innings for Canes to get the win. The 6-2/175 Rice topped out at 85 mph with a 69 mph curveball.

i think the only ace i dont know is lakeland!\

nr-tyler brown
gb-connor jones
wb-shane johnsonbaugh may have a freshmen catcher]
hickory-ryan blake
grassfield-kolby white
indian river-roger hall
kings fork-? dombroski
deep creek-seth winslow

i did see the freshman catcher in jv for western branch he looks like he will be a good catcher they have another guy bobby barefoot but he may mostly play of!

So, we all know who the popular names are. Who, in your mind, that doesn't get much press here on this forum will make a big contribution next spring?

I'll give you a couple of young players from Hickory that I feel we'll be hearing about:

Jake Tandy and Spenser Carter. Both are solid, and clutch with the bat and both are exceptional defensively. Both play 3rd base but I believe that one or the other will be playing OF just to get them in the game.

i know both of those young men and their families very well. Both are good solid ball players that will need to make big contributions to Hickory this year if they want to close the gap on the top three teams.

Unfortuneately I don't think either will be better than their counter parts at GB, WB or NR this year.

I've seen the Barefoot kid from WB play all fall, he's a D1 outfielder, he has alot of upside, he should get alot of attention, Beard form GB is one of the best, where has all the pitching gone? alot of talent, few over the top great?

pilots, the district lost alot of pitching last year!

gb-andrew flaherty
wb-nick thompson
nr-josh howard
grassfield-jason ingrham
kf-travis cherry
lakeland-lost there ace [cant rememebr who]
dc-kam stewart
hickory-t.j. lighton

I believe David Waterfield was Lakeland's ace.

yes he was ty wb reporter!

is shane johnsonbaugh the ace this yr for western branch?

Pilots81 and ofs10,

The district lost a significant amount of pitching. Was Matt Outman a senior at Grassfield last year? If so, Grassfield lost their top two pitchers. Certainly, WB lost its top pitcher, and GB lost either its top pitcher or a very close #2.

I think Bennent is the #1 at WB this season. I think the overall quality and depth of pitching in the district will be down this year compared to past years.

Connor Jones emergence at Great Bridge was the reason they won last year and he should be the best pitcher in the district this year. If he is and wins the key games he will be the difference maker in the district.

A write-up on the perfect game website from sunday night at the 2011 WWBA Underclass Championship in Fort Myers, Fla.:

"3 Canes combine to 1-hit Aces Baseball
10/10/2011 9:03:56 AM

Canes Baseball RHPs Andy McGuire (2013, James Madison HS, VA) and Connor Jones (2013, Great Bridge HS, VA) as well as LHP Zach Rice (2013, Nansemond River HS, VA) combined to strike out 10 Aces Baseball hitters, limiting them to just 1 hit, in a 9-0 win. Jones and Rice each struck out 3 in 2 innings, while McGuire struck out 4 over the final 3 frames.

Jones showed a plus fastball, commanding the pitch well and throwing it consistently in the 85-87/88 range. He also threw a low-70s curveball.

Rice was 81-84, showing good feel and comfort throwing his 69-71 curveball."

While Zach Rice was credited with throwing 2 innings he only threw 1, striking out the side.

yep matt outman was a senior!

Ouch! That will put a dent in your pitching rotation. Hard enough to lose your ace, but to lose your number one and two. Hope the farm system is deep.

As for Bennett and Johnsonbaugh, don't know who will emerge as the ace, but teams need at least two good arms to compete.

So, the top 3 teams have 2 solid arms
GB - Connor Jones and Cooper Jones
WB - Bennett and Johnsonbaugh
NR - Brown and Rice (Moore in relief)

Everyone else has 1 and looking for another

quote:

Originally posted by ofs10:
i think the only ace i dont know is lakeland!\

nr-tyler brown
gb-connor jones
wb-shane johnsonbaugh may have a freshmen catcher]
hickory-ryan blake
grassfield-kolby white
indian river-roger hall
kings fork-? dombroski
deep creek-seth winslow

IMO i wouldnt say Kolby is the Ace of the staff at GF.

gf who has been the ace of fallball?

well i guy i dont think gets much press is stephen lorkiewicz a sr which got hurt for oscar smith game 4 last yr.

im not sure, mostly by committee. Stephen has looked good, Walker and Kolby have also started, AO hasn’t played this fall; I think Coach Todd is trying to determine that. Of course it’s hard to compare to the last couple of years of GF pitchers. I think coach Liebo does a great job with the pitchers, I anticipate them improving by spring.

what grade is stephen in?i have the roster from whos returning i dont see a stephen!and i know stamp isnt coming back!

quote:

Originally posted by GF:
... I think coach Liebo does a great job with the pitchers, I anticipate them improving by spring.

Liebo does a great job. Plus, having a quality catcher helps.

Problem for GF is that they gave up only 60 or so runs last year in district play and finished about 4-5 games off the pace. They lose all that pitching so will the hitting improve enough to cover the additional runs they are likely to give up? They will probably score a little better but not that much more.

my prediction would be grassfield 5th.

Just for yucks I went to the ancient posts from 2004 and if you change the players names this is almost the exact same conversation with the same schools.

Sometimes the more things change the more they stay the same.

gf,how is grassfield looking in the fall?

Since its fall, I’m hoping we don’t have all our players. In a word - fair. It would appear our pitching is getting better but I would like to see more explosiveness from our bats. It’s tough to compare with the competition we are playing in the fall to the competition we will be facing in the spring. However, I understand we are playing Hickory (not sure when) which would give me a better idea of how we are doing.

i understand fall is different!because we are undefeated and 1 tie but it is fall but it is also good to see these boys do good!i think we will be on the uprise the next 1-2 years!we do have all our varsity players in the fall!have u seen yall's spring schedule yet?

i hope u will find out when yall will be playing hickory! maybe i can come watch!

Just looked at the schedule and it said we play hickory at grassfield Tuesday Oct 25 6pm. I think Hickory could be as high as 2 or three in the SE. Also, i would be surprised if OS doesnt make the playoff's this year.(Spring)

thanks i hope so!we have a varsity game that day!

the 1 inning yesterday was the best form of hitting i have seen them hit!i think hickory's problem will be pitching depth!

quote:

what grade is stephen in?i have the roster from whos returning i dont see a stephen!

Stefan is a senior.

oh ok its stefan!

quote:

Originally posted by ofs10:
oh ok its stefan!

Zach Stefan is a Sr. Great kid!

quote:

Originally posted by ofs10:
the 1 inning yesterday was the best form of hitting i have seen them hit!i think hickory's problem will be pitching depth!

Hickory's pitching will come around. It's been a good fall. With winter workouts, strength gain, and personal lessons throughout the winter to improve mechanics... by the time spring rolls around, I won't expect a drop off from last year.

tj lighton i think was a big loss for hickory!

Agreed. Not only his arm, but his bat, his first base play and most of all...his leadership on the team. He will be tough to replace.

so diamond i guess u have seen hickory played this fall?

but of course tj didnt pitch that much last year because of injury!

If Hickory is still working on turning players like Campbell and Best into pitchers then that probably means they will have inconsistent moments. Almost certainly better than last year but still shy of the teams they need to catch for the top spot.

They will move above GF and stay ahead of the rest of the pack but I think they will struggle with WB, NR and GB. I would look for something like 10-6 from them in the district.

I think GF is 5th but OS has a chance to catch them if things break right there. OS should get ahead of IR this year for a playoff spot.

thanks it would be nice to make the district playoffs!

Depending on who they play that same week, I think hickory has an excellent opportunity to move ahead of WB and GB. WB lost some offensive powers last year and yes they still have some left, but I look at the new head coach (2nd year?) and returning most of Hickory’s starting talent – they should be right in the thick of things. Ryan Blake was great last year and the back end of that line up had some power. As far as GB, they will still have the pieces in place (tough on a team losing the middle infield), but I think there will be some slippage with the lost of not only lee, but also Grissom and (rivera?) the pitching coach.

The bats are going to make a difference in the games this year. Balls do not seem to be jumping over the outfielders heads with the same regularity this fall. This is going to be an advantage for aggressive coaches and players. WB and OS look very aggressive in the fall.

True, WB does have a lot of speed. Hickory's coach showed last year, the ability to move runners. I have heard that IR has a pretty good squad this year too.

There were high expectations for OS last year. I believe that injuries put a stall on that. Hopefully they'll exceed expectations next spring.

has somebody gone to see indian river play this fall?
oscar smith had 2 injuries 1 was a 2nd team second baseman that is coming back the other was a senior pitcher!

For Hickory to move up big in the standings there are players there that will have do things this year that haven't shown previously while established players at other schools need to stay the same or not perform as well as in the past.

I know that All-District team selections are flawed but Hickory returns no players that have made the team and IMO Campbell is a sure thing this year. After Campbell there are players with potential but there aren't any other no brainers. Other teams mentioned as favorites have as many as 4 players that have made the team as underclassmen and others that should be no brainers this year. For example Conner Jones at GB. Hickory may be on the way up but I don't think they will make up that much ground that fast.

Yup, we shall see. no brainer or not, that's why the play the game. As far as "all-district" being flawed? I guess that's putting it mildly.

quote:

Originally posted by GF:
Yup, we shall see. no brainer or not, that's why the play the game. As far as "all-district" being flawed? I guess that's putting it mildly.

GF, You took the words right out of my mouth.

1 nansemond river
2 great bridge
3 western branch
4 hickory
5 grassfield
6 indian river
7 oscar smith
8 kings fork
9 lakeland
10 deep creek

1 nansemond river
2 great bridge
3 western branch
4 hickory
5 grassfield
6 indian river
7 oscar smith
8 lakeland
9 kings fork
10 deep creek

I think OS will surprise some teams this year, they have more experience and Bowles has had the necessary time needed to get those boys on the right track. They certainly did not play up to their potential last year but are coming off a spectacular Fall season in the Beach District where they learned how to win games.

is j.t. wilson back for king's fork?

If OS is to make a move I think the big thing will be for them to improve defensively. Inconsistent fielding has made the pitching there work harder and finer adding to walks and cost them significant numbers of runs over the last couple of sesons.

When they turn the 8-5 loss with 4-5 errors and 6 walks into a 5-3 win with 1 error and two walks then they will be really turning the corner.

luv baseball, I couldn't agree more and that is a spot on assesment of OS from last year.
I think they will be much stronger defensively than last year if the Fall season is an indication of them heading in the right direction.
Their 3rd baseman (Conner Smith) is a 6'-5" or 6" beast as a junior and is doing nothing but getting bigger and stronger, he was very impressive defensively at the Nick Boothe showcase. Their projected SS (Caleb Ferrel) is a pure athlete,has a rocket arm and misses nothing at that position, problem is he is also their best C. They have a sophmore (I think) SS (Thomas Packert) who also has great defensive potential but is young. Their 2B is also a solid defensive player, all in all their problems defensively may be their OF positions lacking solid, consistent play and depth of pitching. I do think Larry will have them winning more games this year though.

wbreporter,will u be able to get all the scores this year!

quote:

Originally posted by ofs10:
wbreporter,will u be able to get all the scores this year!

A number of my sources have moved on but I have contacts with at least five SED teams and others will fill the void. I plan to post each week's schedule as I have done the past couple of years, as well as update the standings.

wb reporter,do u need my contact?do u still have contact for western branch?

wbreporter,we may have game changer to update games this year!

quote:

Originally posted by ofs10:
great bridge has cooper and conner jones comeing back
western branch has johnsonbaugh and a sophomore
nansemond river has zach rice
hickory has ryan blake

but wasnt hickory jv like 11-7 last year!

quote:

Originally posted by CARDS FAN:

quote:

Originally posted by ofs10:
great bridge has cooper and conner jones comeing back
western branch has johnsonbaugh and a sophomore
nansemond river has zach rice
hickory has ryan blake

but wasnt hickory jv like 11-7 last year!

Maybe I am missing something here.... But what does Hickory's 2011 JV record have to do with who ofs10 believes this season's number one (?)/ top (?) pitcher will be?

Can't answer for OFS but last year Conner Jones, Austin Owens and Charlie Cody came up fromt the GB JV that went something like 16-2 the year before.

So stud players on the JV moving up implies a winning team rather than a slightly above 500 squad. In the Jones case it was an upper level D1 pitcher.

Did the Hickory JV have that kind of prospect? If not then the Hickory pitching will be better by how much players like Ryan Blake improve this year over last.

i thought somebody said something about the future!

that was to mathews question?

Curious about Greenbrier Christian and Norfolk Christian...we are playing both in our/their non-conf schedule in March. I know Greenbrier traditionally is strong...don't really know much about Norfolk.

grennbrier is good! norfolk christian isnt very good!

Any specifics ofs10? Strenghths/Weaknesses? Thanks!

quote:

Originally posted by GWTW62:
Any specifics ofs10? Strenghths/Weaknesses? Thanks!

Pitching for GBC is of course solid, as it always is. They have some offensive power but not as strong as their improved defensive play, especially in the OF. NC is weak in every area of the game, maybe one mediocre pitcher (and downhill from there) and very weak defensively, seem to have alot of small, weaker kids offensively as well, overall a very weak team if you expecting a challenge.

Thanks SED, we are playing some different teams than in the past for non-conf schedule, I knew GCA is generally strong, hadn't really heard about NC, besides sometimes there's a lull/uptick in a program over previous seasons....

quote:

Originally posted by ofs10:
great bridge has cooper and conner jones comeing back
western branch has johnsonbaugh and a sophomore
nansemond river has zach rice
hickory has ryan blake

but wasnt hickory jv like 11-7 last year!

Great bridge added to their staff troy jones who transfered from kellam

who is troy jones?

quote:

Originally posted by ofs10:
who is troy jones?

He played for Lake Taylor in 2010. Was not satisfied, per his father, with the experience, so switched to Kellam for 2011. (Of course, Kellam does not recruit.) Appears he is now at Great Bridge. Who knows? Maybe he will end up with a Peninsula district team in 2013 and can be the only baseball player to have played in every district in the Eastern Region.

Don't know how much he pitched for Kellam. Perhaps Redbird or Driller can expand upon that.

I believe he might have pitched in the Regional semi-final for Kellam against Great Bridge.

quote:

Originally posted by Go Dawgs:
I believe he might have pitched in the Regional semi-final for Kellam against Great Bridge.

Gives meaning to the saying "if you can't beat 'em, join 'em."

So the top four teams pitching may look something like this:

Great Bridge will have Jones, Jones and uh....Jones getting the bulk of their innings.
Western Branch - Johnsonbaugh, Bennett, Rutherford?
Nansemond River - Brown, Rice, Riggs and O'Brien (transfer from GCA)
Hickory - Blake, Best?....and help me with the others.

quote:

Originally posted by Go Dawgs:
So the top four teams pitching may look something like this:

Great Bridge will have Jones, Jones and uh....Jones getting the bulk of their innings..

Sounds like a law firm!

hickory probably be blake,herbst and chandler

quote:

Originally posted by WB Reporter:

quote:

Originally posted by Go Dawgs:
So the top four teams pitching may look something like this:

Great Bridge will have Jones, Jones and uh....Jones getting the bulk of their innings..

Sounds like a law firm!

Reminds me of the old Bangel, Bangel and Bangel commercials on TV

Blake, York, Chandler, Herbst & Best for Hickory.

i bet best and campbell will be in the bullpen and tandy pitched against us last yr!

I ditto that , I got great laughs out of him doing that. He did it at one American Legion game and I fell out laughing so hard. As a parent I understood his rational, some didn't understand it and never will.

quote:

Originally posted by luv baseball:
The other big change for 2012 is that ole Wiley won't be prowling the 3rd base coaching line. I am sure thier games will have a totally different feel.

It was always amusing to watch him call time, stomp 75' down the line, snatch a bat out a kids hands and show him how to bunt after they fouled one off. Good times!