Rowan's Steedley out for year

[travisunc]

Rowan County's Ross Steedley, the teams clean-up hitter, is done for the year after tearing his meniscus in a game a week ago against Lexington. Steedley was arguably the best high school catcher in the state this past season and is going to attend Charlotte on a baseball scholarship.

Rowan will miss his bat greatly (one of the few Rowan players who is a threat to go deep), but they will miss his leadership even more.

Things in the tough Southern Division of Area III just got a bit more interesting.

[tj21]

I think with their starting pitching, defense and coaching,,, Rowan still has plenty enough to get to the state tournament. HOWEVER, I agree losing Steedley will affect Rowan when they get to the state tournament and face the Caldwells, Churavills and Morehead City. Some may have Rowan as a state favorite, but this just moved em down a notch,,, and for those who have someone else a favorite (maybe Morehead to repeat), this just widened the gap in that regard too. Tough break losing a player of Steedley's caliber, but hopefully he'll be fully recovered for his collegiate career at UNC-Charlotte.

[legionfan]

Let's hope he recovers fully and quickly - he's a great player. Losing a catcher of his caliber at this point in the season really really really hurts. The Rowan pitchers are excellent and well coached, but it will be quite a challenge for them to quickly adjust during the heat of the playoffs, and as tj21 and travisunc stated Steedley's bat and leadership are big time losses.

[legionguy17]

Everyone has pointed out Steedleys bat, but i think rowan will miss his defense even more. Most teams wont even run on rowan because of his arm and he handles pitchers really well. Dobbins will fill in capably offensively but Rowan will miss Steedley behind the plate more than in the box.

[Village Idiot]

last i saw of him he was a freshman at ER and hit a bomb against us at their place a few years back. his big brother was/is a very good ball player too. hurry back Ross.

[UK7Dook3]

Ross is a leader too. He plays the game right...old school. He's the kind of kid who is an irreplacable anchor. Huge loss. Very sad for him & the team.

[travisunc]

Rowan's second round matchup, provided they take care of Moorsville, against Lexington or Stanly, will be monumental. I really think this will be their toughest test until the State Tourney. I think they have the psychological advantage over Mocksville and S. Rowan. I don't think anyone from the Northern Division of Area III can compete with the top 5 of the Southern Division except Randolph.

[travisunc]

Dobbins is Rowan's back-up catcher. It must be nice when your back-up catcher has signed to play in college as well. How many teams have two catchers, arguably the most important position on the field, who are going to play in college? By the way, Dobbins is third on the team in RBI's in limited action.

[tj21]

Travis,,,, I agree completely,,, we had 2 college catchers in Kannapolis last year (Query- Catawba and Faggart- App.St),,, and having that type of talent behind the plate every single night, even when one gets the night off, another college guys steps right in,,,, I'm sure that more to do than some realize with us having such a great year and finishing 3rd in the state.

[tj21]

Travis,,,, I agree completely,,, we had 2 college catchers in Kannapolis last year (Query- Catawba and Faggart- App.St),,, and having that type of talent behind the plate every single night, even when one gets the night off, another college guy steps right in,,,, I'm sure that more to do than some realize with us having such a great year and finishing 3rd in the state.