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DEL.ICIO.USMixing the young and the old
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Georgia high school baseball isn’t just about upperclassmen sharpening their skills for a leap to Division 1 or, possibly the pros. Freshmen and sophomores play a vital role and several teams have been able to win with a mixture of both young and old.
The senior class has carried East Coweta (11-4 and 3-0 in Region 4-AAAAA). Starter Rico Reid, fresh off a complete game, two-hitter against Mundy’s Mill, is 4-2 with a 1.70 ERA and both of his losses were of the one-run variety. Reid’s nine strikeouts against the Tigers gave him 43 whiffs in just 37 innings pitched.
At the plate, infielder Ben Inman and catcher Chris Ramos lead the team with 15 RBI each; outfielder Jeremy Capshaw is hitting .400. But it’s freshman hurler Cam Bedrosian (son of former big leaguer and current East Coweta pitching coach Steve Bedrosian) who’s raising eyebrows on the mound.
Bedrosian followed Reid’s gem with a one-hit shutout of Tri-Cities and is 2-0 in his varsity season.
“He’s a freshman pitching on a Class AAAAA varsity team,” said East Coweta coach Franklin DeLoach. “We’re very pleased with how he’s done.”
Northview (11-3, 3-1 Region 6-AAAAA) has a nice mix as well, incorporating senior ace Ryan Roberts (two of three region wins) and senior second baseman Brian Hacker (team-leading .450 average) with sophomore catcher Drew McWhorter (4 HR). The four seniors (David Nakano and Ryan Holland are the others) went through difficult times in the Titans’ first two varsity seasons, including last year’s 9-15 team that won only one game in league play.
Meanwhile, McWhorter leads a sophomore class that’s played together for two years.
“All those guys suffered through the last couple seasons,” coach Chan English said of his seniors. “[But] they put in a lot of effort in the offseason; got bigger, stronger, and they helped motivate a lot of the younger guys. And last year we let our sophomores stay together; they played on the junior varsity [as freshman] and they learned how to win.”
Riverwood is 10-4 and riding seniors Tyler Thornburg (.564 with 23 RBI; 3-0, 2.05 ERA) and Jonathan Arogeti (18 RBI). On the mound, sophomore Ian Shaw is 3-1 after a complete game shutout of Forsyth Central. Raiders’ coach Mike Santuro loves the senior-sophomore combo.
“[Thornburg’s] probably the best athlete in our school,” said Santuro. “And [Shaw’s] giving us some real big innings.”
If Santuro’s bunch is to make a deep run in the Class AAA playoffs, other pitchers will have to step up. Thornburg and Shaw are a combined 6-1 with a 2.15 ERA; the rest of the staff if 4-3 with a 10.69 ERA.
News and Notes • Say one thing for the Cedar Grove Saints: they can run. The Saints have had trouble winning games and getting outs (team ERA of 7.10), but four players are in the top 10 on DeKalb County’s stolen base leader board. Junior Xavier Avery, who leads the county in hitting at .677, has stolen 31 bases; senior Armani Grant has 26; junior Trence Harvey and senior Robert Milton have 14 each.
• In Camden County’s last four Region 3-AAAAA games, all shutout wins, the pitching staff has thrown three no-hitters and a one-hitter.
Pitcher of the week: Cam Bedrosian, East Coweta. Bedrosian threw a complete game, one-hitter (an infield hit), beating Tri-Cities, 7-0 and kept the Indians unbeaten in Region 4-AAAAA.
Permalink | Comments (4) | Post your comment | Categories: Metro
Comments
By 3-AAAAA fhan
April 6, 2007 2:34 AM | Link to this
Those Camden County boys, you better watch out!
By Real Deal
April 6, 2007 8:41 AM | Link to this
Congratulations to Cameron Bedrosian. He is an amazing kid. He already throws in the mid 80’s, and he is just a freshman. It is scary to think how good he will be in two years. To top it iff, he is a good person as well.
By The Truth
April 9, 2007 11:59 AM | Link to this
All I have to say is The Raiders from Redan is on their way to the playoffs. They have 9 straight region games in a row and their last is a regular season game against Jenkins. The seniors are looking to make their move right here at the end of the season to close out a great senior year. The powerhouse Redan Raiders of 2AAAAA is about to get started where they left off last season. Coach Pruitt and his team will step-up to any challenge!!! When the playoffs start get your seats ready and the popcorn ready because its gonna be a showdown.
By Olisyh
April 10, 2007 1:40 AM | Link to this
Old Roswell, got to be the 5A pick, baby! elca looks tough in 1A and those Calhoun boys, whoooo!!!