by Zachary Harmuth
HIGH SCHOOL BASEBALL PREVIEW 2014
The high school baseball season starts on Monday, March 10. Here is a look back at how local teams did last year, and a few predictions or things to look out for this upcoming season. And, of course, each team’s opening day opponent along with (where possible) a link to the team’s page.
D-II, AAA- District 11
Centennial went 32-10 last year, winning the district, but losing in the first round of the D-I Class AAA playoffs against Farragut, 6-3.
The Cougars lost a few seniors, especially pitchers, but have more juniors ready to move up & step up than players lost. They are ranked by coacht.com as the 10th best team in their class this season. They open on the 10th at Indy at 4 p.m.
Brentwood finished second in D-11 last year, going 31-17, winning 6-1 vs Dobyns Bennett in the AAA playoffs round one, but then losing in the second round to Riverdale, 8-4.
The Bruins have three seniors on the team this season who have signed to play for a college next season. They should be hard to beat. They open March, 10 at home vs Dickson Co. at 4:15 p.m.
Ravenwood finished third at 21-11 in the district last year, and did not make the playoffs. The Ratpors lost 8 seniors from last season, including short stop Ryan Sabo, who must be replaced, and 5 pitchers.
The Raptors open the season against Ezell-Harding Chrisian at home at 6:30 p.m. on the 10th.
Franklin went 17-16-1 last season, and 9-9 in D-11 to be the last team left last year without a losing record in District 11.
The Rebels should have a stronger season this year than last; Nick Hutchins, senior catcher, signed to play at S. Illinois University next year. Last year, he led FHS in batting average, slugging and on base percentage. The Rebels open the season at Summit on the 10th, at 4 p.m.
Independence finished 11-15 last year, going 6-10 in the district. The Eagles are in a tough district, and host Centennial on the 10th. This first game will be a test, and how the Eagles do should tell a lot about how their season will go.
Summit finished third in D-12 last year at 15-10, missing the playoffs; this year should be different. The young school has Dale Burdick, star shortstop who will be playing for Mississppi State next year. Burdick made the TSBCA all-state team last year and the Spartans with a .433 BA and .616 on base percentage.
The Spartans play at home vs Franklin on the 10th (at 4 p.m.).
D-I, AA- District 12
Spring Hill went 28-10-1 last year, for first place in AA District 12, and winning 10-0 in the first round of the playoffs (Class AA), but then losing 10-1 in the second to Goodpasture, then winning 9-0 vs Upperman to win a re-match against Goodpasture to get to the finals. But they lost 8-1.
The Raiders are ranked fourth by coacht.com in the AA Class this year. Expect good things from them, starting last night when they were to play at Mt. Pleasant. Their next game is home vs Lewis Co. on the 10th at 6:30 p.m.
Page finished 22-14 last year, and arguably was better than Summit despite finishing fourth in D-12. However, they have a lot of holes to patch up- they lost nine seniors from last years team.
The Patriots start the season with a home-and-away on the 10th and 11th against Moore Co. (both at 6:30 p.m.). It should be clear pretty quickly if Page has improved or not from last season.
Fairview skidded to second place in D-12 last year, going 7-15 (and 3-14 in district play). However, the team lost five seniors, and had little depth- this year it will have only three seniors on the roster. With a lot of freshman now sophomores, the Yellowjackets might be better this year, but still a year away from competing on a higher level.
They visit Waverly Central at 5 p.m. on the 13th.
D-II, AA District 10
CPA finished first in its district last year, going 26-12 but lost to Spring Hill 8-0 and did not advance to the state playoffs.
The Lions start this season with three straight days of games, the first against Harpeth on the 10th at 4 p.m. It could be the year for CPA, if Larry Nesbitt can get his team over the hump
D-II, AA
BA won D-II AA last year, going 20-18 overall but 16-4 in its district. It lost to MBA and got knocked out of the state playoffs, 6-2. But this year it is ranked 4th in its class by coacht.com, and should be right on top again.
They opens their season with an away-and-home vs Father Ryan, on the 10th at 4:15 p.m. and the 11th at 4:15 p.m.
Father Ryan finished last in D-I AA last year, going 13-18 overall, and just 4-16 in district play. It opens its season by hosting BA, home-and-away. Things could go bad very quickly for the Fightin’ Irish’s 2014 season if it does not at least compete, being tested by very good BA right out of the box.
D-II, A
FRA went 29-5 overall and 11-1 in D-II A last year- winning its district and advancing deep into the playoffs. FRA eventually lost to ECS in the semifinals elimination game, 13-7. It would be surprising if the Panthers do not repeat some of their success from last year. Coach George Weicker knows how to get the most out of his roster.
FRA starts its season on the 11th at home vs Ezell-Harding Christian.
BGA finished right in the middle- 18-17 overall, 8-8 in D-I AA. And lost 2 of 3 to Christian Brothers and did not advance last year. This year BGA plays an easier schedule, starting at Goodpasture Christian on the 10th at 4:30 p.m. Look for the Wildcats to have a break out season.
Correction: An earlier version of this story had Summit listed as belonging to AA District 12, when in fact Summit will be playing in AAA District 11 this year. Also, in a previous version BGA was listed under D-II AA, but BGA moved down to D-II A this year.
Summit finished third in D-12 last year at 15-10, missing the playoffs; this year should be different. The young school has Dale Burdick, star shortstop who will be playing for Mississppi State next year. Burdick made the TSBCA all-state team last year and the Spartans with a .433 BA and .616 on base percentage.
The Spartans play at home vs Franklin on the 10th (at 4 p.m.).
