Credit: Todd Holcomb
Credit: Todd Holcomb
Allatoona’s baseball team is 14-2, its only losses to Blessed Trinity (No. 1 in Class AAA and nationally ranked) in extra innings and Huntington Beach, the California team that just won the National High School Invitational in Cary, N.C. Allatoona was 3-1 in that event last week.
Allatoona made the semifinals in 2015 and won region titles the past two seasons.
‘’We’re solid, solid high school players with some D-I mixed in there,’’ said Allatoona coach Keith Hansen. ‘’Compared to other teams we’ve had? Each year is different, but I would probably say they’re my deepest team. I’ve got 10 guys we can go to on the mound [12 have pitched at least three innings this season] and three or four off the bench who can legitimately swing a bad and good pitching. Our depth makes us a little stronger than we’ve been in the past.’’
One of those Division I players is center fielder Kyle Jacobson, who is hitting .400. He’s allowed no earned runs in 11 innings and will take a more prominent role pitching as the season progresses, Hansen said. Jacobson has committed to South Carolina.
The three primary pitchers have been Brian DeCarlo (4-0, 1.77, 18 SO in 23.2 IP), Grayson Harbin (3-0, 1.50, 28 SO in 18.2 IP) and Jacob Davenport (2-2, 2.94). Harbin is a former Auburn commitment who has re-opened his recruitment.
Some prominent position players are catcher Pete Derkey (signed with Tennessee), shortstop Brady Eales (hitting .413) and third baseman Skylar McPhee (.392) on a team that is batting .354 overall.
Eales and outfielders Brandon Rainey (.577 with 15 hits in 26 at-bats) and Juanyea Tarver (.500, 15-for-30) were starters on Allatoona’s football team that won the Class AAAAA championship. Rainey was the quarterback and is a three-year starter in baseball. He’ll play football at Citadel.
‘’In this day and age, a lot of people like to do singular sports,’’ Hansen said. “We talk to our kids about being multiple-sport athletes. We think it makes them better all-around athletes. It’s helped our program tremendously.’’
Allatoona (14-2, 8-0) resumes its season Tuesday against Chapel Hill (6-9, 4-5) and plays second-place East Paulding (10-4, 9-1) in a Region 5-AAAAA games on Wednesday and Friday.
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