NW4A, Who Do Ya Like To Finish 1st

[playme]

A.C.Reynolds
Alexander Central
East Burke
Freedom Morganton
McDowell
South Caldwell
Watauga

All these teams have very good pitching staffs...who do ya like and why???

[NCBBallFan]

Earl Weaver once said.

"The key to winning baseball games is pitching, fundamentals, and three run homers."

I think AC has them in that order.

[playme]

A.C.Reynolds or Alexander Central?

[NCBBallFan]

Alexander Central

Quote from Whitey Herzog

"We need three kinds of pitching: left handed, right handed, and relief."

I think the same is true on a H.S. level. You can't compete if you are only 2 pitchers deep.

[Braves]

First welcome aboard playme:

:jump: :banana: :banana: :knuddel:


Alexander Central has two big studs pitching in Payne and Hollifield and quite a few standouts moving up from JV. I understand Teague is injured. What happened to him playme?

Also, with Payne and others playing basketball, how far will this put them behind? At least it won't interfere with conference play.

I checked with Dr. Methusda and this is what he predicts:

Alexander Central
East Burke
AC Reynolds
Wautaga
Freedom
McDowell
S. Caldwell

Just remember, these are not my picks, I just go with the flow :D

[playme]

thanks for the welcome Braves...

Teague tore an ACL in the last football game of the season and had surgery last month...he is out for the remainder of the baseball season...

E. Burke has three pitchers in Yoder, Stewart, and Kestner, who transfered from Freedom....they will be tough...

[ajax]

Braves, I must say that Dr. Methusda is wrong about South Caldwell being last in the NW4A this year in baseball..They easily along with ACHS, and East Burke can win the conference and advance deep in the playoffs..Oh, and dont overlook Watauga..

[Braves]

I'm sure you're right ajax, but just curious. This is an extremely competitive conference. Heck, didn't McDowell dominate last year?

Anyway, I don't like to make predictions....but how do you see the conference going. ..and who do you think will bring up the rear? Somebody has to and I wasn't as familiar with S. Caldwell as I was with the other teams.

[ajax]

McDowell did dominate last year until they ran into ACHS in the 2dn round o the conference tourney and lost 7-2 (score may not be exactly correct). ACHS then went on and won the tourney and made it to the States..I see AC Reynolds or Freedom finishing last in the conference..Freedom would be mediocre if they hadnt had there best pitcher tranfer to East Burke..Also, in case you didnt know South Caldwell will be good mainly because they recruited 2 good players from West Caldwell, and 1 from Hibriten..E.B. and South both recruited illegally although they will decline it..

[Braves]

Ajax, you seem to be very knowledgeable about the NW4A. Give us some info or beakdown of the teams in your conference and who are the players to watch.

[ajax]

East Burke is lead by 3 outstanding pitchers: Stewart and Yoder are tall (6'3- 6'4) lanky right-handers who throw in the mid 80's and will top out around 88mph, and feature some nice off speed pitches..The other one, Kestner I cant remember well other than he threw the ball pretty hard at Freedom..On the hitting end, East Burke doesnt hit the ball at all but they field the ball well..South Caldwell features 2 good but very different pitchers:Reid is mainly a curveball pitcher who will mix his fastball in..Guerra (transfer from Hibriten) is a hard thrower (86-88mph) but his fastball is flat and his curve is mediocre..South ,however, has some great hitters in Bentley,the 2 transfers from West Caldwell,and Reid, and play great defense..McDowell mainly will rely on the best left-hander in the league (Michael Taylor) and maybe 1 or 2 other returning starters..This team lost almost their entire starting 9..Taylor is the key because he keeps every hitter off balance, but he cant pitch every game..A.C. Reynolds may be down because they lost their best pitcher and hitters, but you cant overlook them..Freedom was down last year and I dont see them improving much..Watauga is an interesting team because of Coach Hardee..Every year they are getting closer to being back to when they dominated the league..They have a lefty who is pretty good (Nigro) and a righty (Leyshon) who will give them a solid 1-2 punch..Hitting will be a issue because I think they lost their best 2 hitters, but they will re-group and be tough..ACHS is an interesting team because they have alot of questions with an injury to their best up and coming JV pitcher, parents who cant keep their mouths off of the coaches, and jealousy between players..This team has as much if not more talent than any other team in the league but will have to come together and play as one, much like they did when they had too near the end last year..This team features 3 outstanding right handers who are very different..Payne throws in the mid 80's and will top out at 88mph, but will use his 12-6 curveball to record K's..Hollifield an unsigned senior is a finesse pitcher who can rare back and hit 87mph..He relys on a forkball to induce groundball outs..Hefner throws mainly in the 82-83mph range and will top out around 84mph..He throws a nice slider and a mediocre changeup..They have a 4th righty Kinniard who is comin goff of a thumb injury that may throw the ball the hardest of the 4 but you just don tknow about..He was the closer last year..Hall is a lefty who throws mainly around 80-82mph but is effective against lefties..ACHS problems however are hitting and defense..The infield was weak defensively last year, and need to improve..Hitting was aweful last year, and I am not sure that it will get much better..This conference will come down to the team that will unite as a team, play defense and hit the ball..

[baseballfan30]

South Caldwell will be a big threat this year. Ajax you said that South recruited two players illegally, how is this so? South Caldwell is over crowded and doesnt accept transfers, so the only way to get into the school is to move into the district where its not illegal. South will have a great team with good pitching, hitting, and defense, and a good group of unified boys. Have 4 or 5 quality pitchers with Reid returning, Guerra transfered from Hibriten a hard throwing righty, Harrison from West a good relief pitcher, Coffey a quality righty from the jv team and some others who will contribute to the team. Also have great hitting throughout the lineup. Bentey, Wilson, Guerra and Reid will all prove to be tought outs.

[ajax]

The hitting and pitching part you are correct in your thread..And the way that South got around the recruitng (transfer) part of it was to have these kids get a box number at the post office and act like they live in the South area..Or they moved into the area with a family member, no matter how you state it or South states it they are illegal in recruiting these 2 or 3 kids and if that is the way that they want to go to win then so be it..East Burke is the same way with Kestner, so I guess the other 5 teams in the league will just have to figure out a way to beat them..South already was a step ahead of the other teams in the conference, now they just have extended their lead..

[playme]

baseballfan30...just curious who coaches Caldwell's American Legion team?

isn't it ironic that since it is so hard to get into S. Caldwell that they have the top players off their legion team and a couple of those are new players who just moved into the district from Hibriten and West Caldwell...

if South Caldwell don't win State this season all the coaches should be fired..

[ajax]

Well said playme..It was ironic how those (transfer) players magically appeared at South after playing legion with the players from South Caldwell..

[baseballfan30]

Everyone at South Caldwell is perfectly legal there has been no type of illegal recruiting both players live in district. The coach had no hand in helping them get into district it was there own decision. Everyone seems to think that Alexander is just going to walk all over South but we will see on the field should be some good games I persoanlly predict a split. Would like to see a Payne Vs. Reid matchup on the hill.

[ajax]

Alexander to walk all over Caldwell??Hadn't heard that one..I have heard it the other way around..I agree that Caldwell's coaches should be fired if they dont win the state's this year..They have solid pitching, great hitters, and a solid defense...

[playme]

S.caldwell should win the NW4A conference and E. Burke should finish 2d...if ACHS goes to state they will have to will NW4A conference championship again this season...Watauga should finish 4th if not 3d...Reynolds, McDowell, and last but only because of the transfers to other schools Freedom...But Freedom kicks butt in football and basketball...

[cc12501]

How does Watauga look up there?

[playme]

i really haven't heard but i expect Coach Hardee will field a very good ball club...with their new indoor facilities i would think they will be very tough...tough pitching and hitting...this club could possibly run for the 1st place spot in the NW4A..

[ToughNW4A]

South Caldwell has 2 transfers into the baseball program this year. One of which has actually lived in the South Caldwell district for about 4 years and the other one moved this summer (along with his mother) into a house. Neither one live in a post office box. Quite frankly, if my child was in hopes of getting a scholarship for college in baseball, I would prefer him playing for Jeff Parham. I would legally move into the district to accomplish this. With one player having lived in South's district for 4 years, I hardly think this is the case. I have no idea who the third player that was mentioned in the previous post is, but if he has moved into South Caldwell district and can play baseball, I'm sure they will more than welcome him.

[The BEST]

1st of all, if you look at the facts the TWO players transferred legally. If people knew the reason's why they would should their damn mouths. 2nd of all, its gonna be a hard conferece to win but it all comes down to who wants it the most. The news in the grape vine is that SC is pumped and ready !

[ajax]

THE BEST, tell us the reason so we can shut our d**n mouhts! Because to the rest of us in the conference it has been told to be an recruit..But hey, we all may be wrong..And obviously we are, or atleast that is the way Caldwell fans are making it out to be..

[NCBBallFan]

It's nice to see that the NW4A is in mid-season form already.
:civilwar:
:stooges:

[The BEST]

the decision to transfer was for the best of intensions for their college career. If your so sure that u will beat SC then why are u so worried about the new guys that transferred anyways?

[ToughNW4A]

Mr. Ajax...Obviously you have been misinformed. Or you could be making excuses for the way your baseball season is going to turn out. Either way, Jeff Parham is a class act. He doesn't recruit. He will never recruit. He lives a good life and takes what gifts are given to him and makes the best of it. What he does do is instill pride in his players and the will to win. He played for a high school baseball team that was State Champions. He expects total commitment and doesn't accept excuses for a lack thereof.

Tell me. Did he try to recruit you or one of your friends? Wonder why? Please just try to get the facts straight before you resort to telling untruths. Personally, I will just continue to consider the source. You are quite humerous.

[ajax]

ToughNW4A, I guess we will just have to wait and see how well you Caldwell boys do against our boys..One thing is for sure, if this season is like last season then you guys will be looking up at Burke and ACHS..Recruits or no recruits!!

[The BEST]

when it comes time for the two teams to play I do believe that SC has the talent and the heart to win. They will get the job done and then we will see who is looking down on who.

"Those who laugh first seldom laugh last"

[playme]

i can not blame any player who tries to better themselves or better their chances for a college career....

before ACHS or S. Caldwell wins the NW4A title they must get past E. Burke and that team up on the mountain with the indoor batting cage and pitching facilities...Watauga will have a say so in this conference and who wins it....not much info has come out from Reynolds and McDowell may not be such a push over either...

anyway ACHS and S. Caldwell have until April 8 to prepare for each other...

good luck to all...

[RainbowDemon]

just came over from the old Charlotte board...happy to see an active prep baseball board...I'll try to get some inside info on the ACR baseball team...know we have a new coach this year so the verdict isn't in yet...ACR is obviously a football school and we are rightly proud of that... it sometimes seems as if baseball is an afterthought around here but it hasn't always been that way... I feel sure thats going to change soon...just maybe not this year..our middle school team hasn't lost in two years so there is some talent coming...thanks for all the info on conf. teams..here in Asheville we don't get much through regular media outlets on teams east of us...it's like you're in another world...as soon as I have something on us I'll post it...I'd like to congratulate our ACR wrestling conf. champions and wish them good luck in states..look forward to a great baseball season this year,..from some of the posts it sounds like the NW4A could produce a state champion.

[playme]

Welcome RainbowDemon....

as you can already see ..the NW4A is heating up...we welcome any input from you folks at Reynolds...i think you guys could be tough..

by the way, do you know where Lee went to college?

[RainbowDemon]

Thanks playme..I suppose you're talking about James Lee..he was accepted into the Naval Academy and spent last year at the Naval prep school...saw him at one of our early round football playoff games in December and he was decked out wearing his full Naval uniform, only to hear thru the grapevine a couple of weeks later that he had just dropped out...hope that isn't true but it is the latest I've heard...we were looking forward to seeing him on the field with the Midshipmen..he's a great athlete and will always be remembered at ACR for catching the winning touchdown against Byrd in the 99 state title game...I'm ready for some hardball.good luck to all the NW4A teams and players, except against the Rockets of course!!

[Braves]

WELCOME TO THE BOARDS Rainbowdemon.

Glad to have you here....:applause: :drums:

We are just heating up and it's great to hear from the NW.

[playme]

RainbowDemon...i agree with you about Lee...he was a very good athlete... i only got to talk to him a few minutes when ACHS played up there last spring...in addition to being a good athlete, he seemed like a well manored and likeable kid...hope he didn't drop out ...