Three Teams to Watch
1. Gordon Lee. The Trojans lost longtime ace Conard Broom, but the pitching staff will be just fine with future Georgia Bulldog Chaney Rogers, while the offense will be led by Auburn signee Tucker Bradley.2. Heritage. The Generals are poised for a breakout season behind a trio of excellent pitchers: Dylan Bice, Cole Wilcox and Alex Barbee. How well the team hits will determine how far it goes.3. Dalton. The Catamounts have a new coach — former Northwest Whitfield star Rhett Parrott — and return a strong young nucleus, including pitchers Cole Shelton, Sam Stepp and Brock Nelson, who each had an ERAs under 3.00 last year.
Three Players to Watch
1. Gabe Howell, Trion. The two-sport star has signed with national junior college power Chipola and is looking to improve his .531 average from last season. 2. Chaney Rogers, Gordon Lee. The junior, who has already committed to Georgia, is expected to be the Trojans’ ace while also batting in the middle of the order after hitting .371 last year.3. Devin Lancaster, Ringgold. The senior pitcher, who has committed to Tennessee Tech University, has added to his upper-80s fastball of last year, when he helped lead the Tigers to the Region 6-AAA title with a 1.89 ERA.
RINGGOLD, Ga. – Brent Tucker is never shy about testing his Ringgold High School baseball team.
Some years that has meant front-loading the schedule with top-tier competition. The Tigers again will go through an early gauntlet – including a trip to Savannah and games against state powers from New York and Alabama – but there won’t be much of a letdown once region play begins.
Region 6-AAA enters the season with three teams ranked in the Class AAA top 12 by Georgia Dugout Preview Magazine, led by Ringgold at No. 4. The relative strength of the region, Tucker said, makes the early schedule even more crucial.
“It’s so important to play the tougher competition,” the veteran coach said. “It’s going to reveal all your weaknesses before the region (schedule). Every nonregion game is either a 4A, 5A or 6A school.
“We’ll need it, because region teams this year are going to be very competitive. It’s going to come down to the last few games. To me, the teams that can use these first 10 games to find that team chemistry and to find that team identity will be best suited to come out on top.”
Ringgold’s chemistry was disrupted before the Tigers could begin finding it when slugging first baseman Jacob Justice injured his knee in offseason workouts. He will miss his senior season, an extra challenge for a team already replacing its top hitter from last year, Zach Morris.
“JJ was a big part of our offense last year, so it’s a big loss,” Tucker said. “We’ve had several guys looking good at first base, though. Offensively, everybody will have to pick it up a bit.”
Tucker believes his team has improved the most on the mound, where senior Devin Lancaster gives the Tigers a clear ace. The Tennessee Tech University University recruit had a 1.89 earned run average a year ago and has been clocked at over 90 mph. Garrett Wilbanks, Peyton Tennant, Chase Shelby, Rhett Baldwin and Ty Jones are among a deep group of pitchers.
The Tigers will need that depth to repeat as region champions. Up-and-coming Adairsville is ranked ninth and Calhoun, coming off a 21-win season, is 12th.
Longtime Calhoun coach Chip Henderson’s team has perhaps the top hitting lineup in the region, led by slugger Matthew Mullinax and speedster Jarrett Carden. The most improved team figures to be North Murray, which has the majority of its lineup back after a 12-win season in 2015.
The Mountaineers boast a pair of Division 1 recruits – catcher Blake Davis, who hit .446 a year ago and has committed to UT-Martin, and infielder/pitcher Brody Frazier, a .395 hitter who is committed to Mercer.
Last year’s surprise team, Sonoraville, was hit big by graduation and has a new coach, Bret Greene. Coahulla Creek returns eight starters, and both Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe and Murray County bring back several young starters.
“All the way up and down, this region is tough,” Tucker said. “And once you get in this thing with three games a week (during region play), you’ve got to have pitching depth.
“Again, I think that’s where we’re going to be good, but it’s high school baseball you never know.”
Contact Lindsey Young at lyoung@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6296. Follow him on Twitter @youngsports22.