Baseball Preview

[UNCTarheels]

Hornell has high expectations on the diamond: Plethora of returning players gives Red Raiders optimistic outlook (http://www.eveningtribune.com/articles/2007/03/20/sports/sports01.txt)-Hornell Evening Tribune

Avoca

Return several key players from the Class D State Championship team

Joe Wallace Jr. Pitcher, SS
Tony Galvan Sr. Pitcher, Catcher, Outfield
Adam Crooks Sr. Pitcher, Infield
Brian Kidder Jr. Pitcher, 3rd base
Matt Rodbourn Sr. 1st Base
David Hogan Jr Center Field
Fred Klock Jr. Catcher, Pitcher

some young talent arriving should mean the Tigers will once again be Section V Class DD Title contenders. A tough schedule will see them play Class B Hornell, & Dansville and also a tough Home & Home with Bolivar-Richburg

Campbell-Savona

Key Returnees

Sam Wood Sr. (Lefty) Pitcher
Zach Simpson Sr. 6'7" Pitcher
Mike Larabee Sr
Will Cornett Sr. 3rd Basement

A solid one/two punch in the pitching rotation and some solid hitting should make C-S a top contender in Steuben county.

[Rams15]

The Rams return 6 starters from their 2006 Sectional Class BB Championship Team. They lose their ace of the pitching staff ( from last year ) Dan Tunison, who is now throwing for leMoyne this spring. Bath will field a very young team, but should not be underestimated !

Seniors:
* Andy Ratchford, pitcher, and will probably inherit the " ace " designation to start the year. He was Bath's Number 2 pitcher in the rotation last season and won 3 games.
* Eric Howell made some remarkable catches in centerfield down the stretch last season and hit .278. He may bat in the lead off poisition to utilize his great speed.
* Irven Pragle will vie for the SS spot or could play in the outfield. Irven hit over .300 last season in limited AB's for the Rams.

Juniors:
* Brett Havens: OF Brett has tremendous power at the plate and great foot speed. He hit .302 last season in the LCAA and also led the team in HR's. (3)
* Brad York P/IF Brad won 4 games last season on the mound and won the semi-final sectional game with a game wining RBI. Brad is a lefty who hit for a .317 avg. last season
* Eric Argenteri P/DH Eric is up from last season's 19-2 JV team. Eric
pitched for the junior Rams and hit well over .300 last year. He should be expected to give the varsity some innings pitched this year.
* Bryce Cody OF Bryce also played JV baseball last season hitting around
.300.
* Justin Brown SS/OF Justin handled the short stop duties last season for Bath. He hit .388 and has tremendous quickness and agility.

Sophomores:
* Mike Rossi P/IB Mike won 3 games for Bath last season as a freshman competing on the varsity team. He hit .327 for the season and batted 8-13
( .667 ) in sectional competition in the championship run last season.
* Billy Crowe C Billy will have to be a bull dog this season behind the dish ! He handled almost all of the catching duties last season for the JV's and hit .367.
* Montana Yastremski P/3B Now there is a baseball name if you have ever heard one !! Montana won all of the BIG games last season against quality competition for the JV's last year. He beat HFL twice and Hornell once. Montana hit well over .300 on JV's last season also.
* Matt Whedbee IF Matt has a smooth glove and is growing stronger and stronger with his arm ! Matt attacks the baseball and hit close to .400 last season for the JV team.

Hornell will be very tough, but Bath does have three pitchers ( Ratchford, York, & Rossi ) who won a total of 10 games ( out of 15 ) returning to the line up. Havens, York, & Rossi had three of the top four batting averages from last year's varsity team. ( Kyle Lisefski @ CCC this year ) hit .340 to lead the team. Most people look for Bath to only rebuild this season, but they have enough talent to, again, compete for the BB crown again in 2007.

[UNCTarheels]

Good preview, I look forward to following the Rams this season, I wish they still played Avoca once a year at the Bath V.A field like the old days, none the less I'll follow them closely and look forward to reading your insight on the team from here.

thanks again

[CSbball11]

Sam Wood is not a left handed pitcher, he is a righty.
Will Cornett plays short stop, not 3rd base.
Other key returnees Inlcude : Jeff Lyons CF Neil Pruden 2nd Andy Knowles C JR York utility.

[cbellfan15]

C-S returns a Senior loaded line-up who shoudl contend for the county title as Avoca has moved down this year to Division II but still has Addison and C-G to contend with

C-S returns:
Sam Wood-P/1b who will return as the Ace of the staff, consistantly throws 83-84 with some good "junk"
Zach Simpson-P/1b will take over Wilsons spot at the #2 and will see alot of innings this year, consistantly throws strikes, just needs to utilize his height and become a "randy johnson" pitcher! At a solid 6'7" he should be about 10ft from the plate when he releases
Andy Knowles-C solid hitter with a nice arm, should catch a few guys stealing this year. Solid hitter as well, contact hitter
Will Cornett- SS/P will roam the middle for the Panthers and most likely will be there lead off or #2 hitter with him leading the team in BA last season
Mike Larrabee- 1b/Rf Will play mostly 1st base this year as Wood and Simpson will be pitching quite often, decent hitter, mostly a role player
Jeff Lyons-CF amazing speed in the out field not much gets by this kid, should hit in the #9 spot as the other lead off hitter
JR York-3b/LF will likely be at the top of the line up with Cornett due to his quickness, also might fill in at SS for Cornett if he is put on the mound to throw some innings
Mike Stone-OF has a cannon and amazing speed, fastest kid on the team in time trials last season.
Austin Kopercazk-Utility player that sees innings and will be a relief pitcher for the Panthers this season
Neil Pruden- 2b good hands and has the smarts to play up the middle, might see some action on the mound come May when C-S plays 8 games in 10 days

Key New Guys:
Matt Blencowe-P/1b Bubba Jenks esk with his throwing, shoudl come in for the 6-7 inning and throw smoke, also should fill in as a DH in most games with his power
Anthony Desalvo-C future for C-S behind the plate, should see some action here and there as Knowles will need a rest
Jacob Luta-Utility Future of C-S baseball might see osme action at 2b
Alex Caward-P/OF Unknown if he will be with the team but will be the #3 pitcher in the rotation
David Smith-2b/OF quick, would be at the top of the lineup if the team wasn't loaded iwth returnees and veteran players

C-S plays a tough schedule this year with Corning West(2), Wellsville, Bath(2) along with perennial power house Avoca returning a strong State Championship line-up....GO PANTHERS!