Baseball playoff preview
The advantages of playing at home in the playoffs are arguably greater in baseball than any other sport.
Outfielders have judged fly balls in those same lights all year, infielders have a greater knowledge of how a ground ball might bounce and pitchers are more comfortable on a familiar mound.
Not to mention, having the last at bat isn’t so bad either.
Tonight, three baseball teams in Cleveland County — Crest, Shelby and Burns — will either continue their seasons, or see them come to an end, as the first round of the N.C. High School Athletic Association playoffs begin at their respective home fields.
The Chargers (15-7) host South Mecklenburg (10-15), a wild-card team from the Southwestern 4A. Crest coach Steven Hodge believes South’s sub-.500 record is misleading.
“I feel like they play in one of the toughest conferences in the state. They were 20-7 last year, and they have 11 seniors back. We discussed with our team the fact that they’ve got a good program.
“If you lose, you’re done. That’s the mentality we take. If you don’t show up, you get sent home.”
Shelby’s opponent, West Caldwell (10-13), also doesn’t possess a strong record. West finished 6-10 in the Catawba Valley 2A/3A, but landed a spot in the playoffs due to the expanded, 64-team field.
Golden Lions’ coach Tommy Wease believes his team is focused, regardless of their opponent.
“We don’t know a lot about West Caldwell, but everyone goes into the playoffs 0-0,” said Wease, whose team finished 13-10 overall. “We’ve had a great week of practice ... I think the loss to East on Monday did more for us than anything has all year. We’re excited about playing at home.”
Burns (11-12) has the toughest draw of the three as Chris Emery’s Bulldogs host Fred T. Foard (17-5). Foard has a pair of highly touted pitchers — lefty Aaron King and righty Trent Rothlin. Rothlin is committed to Clemson, while King is headed to Surry Community College and possibly could be drafted.
“We know they are a good team, but we’re happy to have a home game. We hope our fans will come out and get behind the team,” Emery said. “We feel like we’ve seen pretty good pitching all year. Our kids feel like they’ve been challenged.”
All three games start at 7 p.m.
Note: Fans attending the game at Shelby should enter the baseball parking area via the front of the school and go by the north end of the football stadium. The road past the fieldhouse (south end of stadium) will be closed to traffic.
Outfielders have judged fly balls in those same lights all year, infielders have a greater knowledge of how a ground ball might bounce and pitchers are more comfortable on a familiar mound.
Not to mention, having the last at bat isn’t so bad either.
Tonight, three baseball teams in Cleveland County — Crest, Shelby and Burns — will either continue their seasons, or see them come to an end, as the first round of the N.C. High School Athletic Association playoffs begin at their respective home fields.
The Chargers (15-7) host South Mecklenburg (10-15), a wild-card team from the Southwestern 4A. Crest coach Steven Hodge believes South’s sub-.500 record is misleading.
“I feel like they play in one of the toughest conferences in the state. They were 20-7 last year, and they have 11 seniors back. We discussed with our team the fact that they’ve got a good program.
“If you lose, you’re done. That’s the mentality we take. If you don’t show up, you get sent home.”
Shelby’s opponent, West Caldwell (10-13), also doesn’t possess a strong record. West finished 6-10 in the Catawba Valley 2A/3A, but landed a spot in the playoffs due to the expanded, 64-team field.
Golden Lions’ coach Tommy Wease believes his team is focused, regardless of their opponent.
“We don’t know a lot about West Caldwell, but everyone goes into the playoffs 0-0,” said Wease, whose team finished 13-10 overall. “We’ve had a great week of practice ... I think the loss to East on Monday did more for us than anything has all year. We’re excited about playing at home.”
Burns (11-12) has the toughest draw of the three as Chris Emery’s Bulldogs host Fred T. Foard (17-5). Foard has a pair of highly touted pitchers — lefty Aaron King and righty Trent Rothlin. Rothlin is committed to Clemson, while King is headed to Surry Community College and possibly could be drafted.
“We know they are a good team, but we’re happy to have a home game. We hope our fans will come out and get behind the team,” Emery said. “We feel like we’ve seen pretty good pitching all year. Our kids feel like they’ve been challenged.”
All three games start at 7 p.m.
Note: Fans attending the game at Shelby should enter the baseball parking area via the front of the school and go by the north end of the football stadium. The road past the fieldhouse (south end of stadium) will be closed to traffic.
posted by Gabe Whisnant at
11:59 AM
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