Expectations heading into the 2018 season were unusually high for a group of northwest Georgia high school baseball teams, and while the recently completed nonregion portion of the season didn’t dampen the enthusiasm, it did reveal some areas of need.
One year after three area teams, Heritage in Class AAAA and Calhoun and Coahulla Creek in Class AAA, reached the semifinal round of the state playoffs and Gordon Lee was the Class A public runner-up, there are lofty goals everywhere.
“We want a state championship,” said Ringgold senior pitcher and shortstop Nathan Camp. “We know we have the team to do it, but we’ve got some work to do.”
Camp’s statement fits several other teams. For his Tigers (10-4, 2-0 in 6-AAA), who were upset in last season’s quarterfinal round after earning a No. 1 ranking, the work involves shoring up the defense and getting more production out of the bottom of the batting order.
Ringgold entered the week ranked second by Georgia Dugout Preview and solidified that with a league-opening 6-2 win over Calhoun. The Tigers, who played their usual tough nonregion slate, have solid pitching with Camp and Holden Tucker and a potent top of the lineup that includes junior slugger Andre Tarver.