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03-09-2012, 11:19 PM
LAUREL COUNTY, Ky. â The South Laurel Cardinals finished strong last season, winning seven of their last 11 games, including the 50th District title, before falling to eventual 13th Region champion Clay County in the region semifinals.
Coach Wynn Harris and his staff lost only two starters off that team, with seven starters back for this season, which could make the Cards one of the more experienced teams in the region.
âTo some extent I think we have some experience,â Harris said. âWe still overall will be a young team. But we do have seven starters back and several guys that got good innings for us coming back.â
Among those players are Charlie Davis, Chase McWhorter, Trent Abner, Alex Sears and Joe Gaines, to name just a few. With Davis, Sears, Gaines and Austin Moore back, the Cardinals infield should be solid. Harris said he has several players who can play multiple positions, which will be a strength for the Cardinals.
âOur versatility is one of our strengths,â Harris said. âWe have a number of guys that can play several positions. That enables us to adjust the lineup according to who is playing the best at the time. I think we will be very good defensively. Our guys take pride in that part of the game.â
Stephen Simpson returns to the lineup after missing the last portion of the season when he broke his arm playing in a pick-up basketball game. He will see action at both catcher and pitcher. When Simpson went down last year, Taylor Morris filled in nicely behind the plate.
âOur pitching is going to have to carry us,â Harris said. âIf our pitchers do a good job, we will have a good year. We have several good, live arms. If they can stay healthy and develop, it will be a good year.â Harris will look to Davis, Simpson, Drew Irvin, Sears, Matthew Slavey, Zach Allen, Daniel Neal and Trey Martin to get the bulk of the work.
One aspect of the game that Harris really likes about his team is their speed.
âThis might be one of the faster teams we have had here in a while,â Harris said. âWe will have to be smart and understand what we can and canât do. But it will be a weapon for us on both sides, offensively and defensively.â
The outfield also features several players who saw action last year, anchored by Trent Abner and Chase McWhorter. Other players who could see action in the outfield include Irvin, Daniel Skinner, Quinton Barnett and Austin Vigeant.
So the Cards have defense, pitching and team speed. That only leaves hitting.
âHitting, especially for power, is a question,â Harris said. âIâm not saying I donât think we can hit. We can more than likely hit with anybody, but with the new bat rule and new bats, I have reservations about saying anything about hitting.â Beginning this season, only two types of bats will be legal: Bats made of 100 percent wood that require no markings, and all other bats that are marked properly and are BBCOR certified.
Rod Sears returns again this season as an assistant coach, and he is joined by Kyle Mink, who took over for Whitney Weaver.
âBoth of these guys are tremendous and bring so much baseball knowledge to the team,â Harris said. âRod does a great job of handling our pitching staff.â
When asked which team he feels is the team to beat in the region, Harris had no problem coming up with his answer.
âNorth Laurel, no doubt,â Harris said. âThey have a Division I SEC signee (Zach Storm), a Division I SEC verbal commitment (Marcus Carson), plus a ton of experience. Thatâs a lot of talent on one team. They will be tough to beat. You have to throw Clay County back into the mix. I know they lost a lot but still have some key guys. I also think Harlan County an Corbin will be pretty good.â
One thing that Harris wants to see out of his team is improvement as the year goes on.
âI want just to continually get better throughout the year,â Harris said. âI want us to learn to be a team. We have so many good players, but we have to learn to play together and look at the big picture more. If we can mesh, and take pride in our play as a team, we have a chance to be good. I hope that we love playing the game this year and free ourselves up to be what we can be.â
The Cardinals open their season tonight by hosting Rockcastle County.
http://www.sentinel-echo.com/localsports...-strengths
Coach Wynn Harris and his staff lost only two starters off that team, with seven starters back for this season, which could make the Cards one of the more experienced teams in the region.
âTo some extent I think we have some experience,â Harris said. âWe still overall will be a young team. But we do have seven starters back and several guys that got good innings for us coming back.â
Among those players are Charlie Davis, Chase McWhorter, Trent Abner, Alex Sears and Joe Gaines, to name just a few. With Davis, Sears, Gaines and Austin Moore back, the Cardinals infield should be solid. Harris said he has several players who can play multiple positions, which will be a strength for the Cardinals.
âOur versatility is one of our strengths,â Harris said. âWe have a number of guys that can play several positions. That enables us to adjust the lineup according to who is playing the best at the time. I think we will be very good defensively. Our guys take pride in that part of the game.â
Stephen Simpson returns to the lineup after missing the last portion of the season when he broke his arm playing in a pick-up basketball game. He will see action at both catcher and pitcher. When Simpson went down last year, Taylor Morris filled in nicely behind the plate.
âOur pitching is going to have to carry us,â Harris said. âIf our pitchers do a good job, we will have a good year. We have several good, live arms. If they can stay healthy and develop, it will be a good year.â Harris will look to Davis, Simpson, Drew Irvin, Sears, Matthew Slavey, Zach Allen, Daniel Neal and Trey Martin to get the bulk of the work.
One aspect of the game that Harris really likes about his team is their speed.
âThis might be one of the faster teams we have had here in a while,â Harris said. âWe will have to be smart and understand what we can and canât do. But it will be a weapon for us on both sides, offensively and defensively.â
The outfield also features several players who saw action last year, anchored by Trent Abner and Chase McWhorter. Other players who could see action in the outfield include Irvin, Daniel Skinner, Quinton Barnett and Austin Vigeant.
So the Cards have defense, pitching and team speed. That only leaves hitting.
âHitting, especially for power, is a question,â Harris said. âIâm not saying I donât think we can hit. We can more than likely hit with anybody, but with the new bat rule and new bats, I have reservations about saying anything about hitting.â Beginning this season, only two types of bats will be legal: Bats made of 100 percent wood that require no markings, and all other bats that are marked properly and are BBCOR certified.
Rod Sears returns again this season as an assistant coach, and he is joined by Kyle Mink, who took over for Whitney Weaver.
âBoth of these guys are tremendous and bring so much baseball knowledge to the team,â Harris said. âRod does a great job of handling our pitching staff.â
When asked which team he feels is the team to beat in the region, Harris had no problem coming up with his answer.
âNorth Laurel, no doubt,â Harris said. âThey have a Division I SEC signee (Zach Storm), a Division I SEC verbal commitment (Marcus Carson), plus a ton of experience. Thatâs a lot of talent on one team. They will be tough to beat. You have to throw Clay County back into the mix. I know they lost a lot but still have some key guys. I also think Harlan County an Corbin will be pretty good.â
One thing that Harris wants to see out of his team is improvement as the year goes on.
âI want just to continually get better throughout the year,â Harris said. âI want us to learn to be a team. We have so many good players, but we have to learn to play together and look at the big picture more. If we can mesh, and take pride in our play as a team, we have a chance to be good. I hope that we love playing the game this year and free ourselves up to be what we can be.â
The Cardinals open their season tonight by hosting Rockcastle County.
http://www.sentinel-echo.com/localsports...-strengths
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03-09-2012, 11:19 PM
[Image: http://d6673sr63mbv7.cloudfront.net/arch...e3195a.jpg]
Chase McWhorter returns this season for the South Laurel Cardinals. McWhorter and the Cardinals are scheduled to open play tonight by hosting Rockcastle County.
Chase McWhorter returns this season for the South Laurel Cardinals. McWhorter and the Cardinals are scheduled to open play tonight by hosting Rockcastle County.
03-12-2012, 10:56 PM
The Rockcastle game was canceled due to weather. While South has some upperclassman, the most impactful players on the team will be freshmen and sophomores mixed with a couple juniors. Figured coach Harris may have mentioned how important the freshmen will be this year. His top 2 pitchers are freshmen and he has by far the best freshman in the state in Neal. Watch for them to really make some noise in the 13th.
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