The Boys of Spring - HSSTM Baseball Preview

It doesn't take a genius to figure out which team enters this season as the favorite in District 7-4A, but it might take a genius to get the Yellowjackets where they want to go in the postseason. To say that No. 2 pitcher Chris Vaughan is a smart player would be an understatement. Vaughan, a senior, is ranked second in his class and has been accepted to MIT. "He brings a lot to the table other than just athleticism," Arlington Heights coach Tommy Elliott said. Vaughan, an all-district selection last season, is one of the players being counted on to pick up the slack when Walker Kelly is not on the mound. Last year, Kelly, the team's top pitcher, went a perfect 9-0 as a starter. However, the team lost in the area round of the playoffs to Birdville in a best-of-three series in which Kelly won his start and the other two pitchers lost. Vaughan, left-hander Robby Fraley and the rest of his pitching staff have had another year to mature physically, and that gives Elliott confidence that Heights can make a deep run in 2008. "We like where we are because of the way the rest of the team is made up," Elliott said. "We feel like we can trot out some good pitchers." The Hawks' 2008 season could be the subject of a reality show. Call it "Extreme Team Makeover: Baseball Edition." Last season, Birdville thrived on extra-base hits. As a team, the Hawks belted 34 home runs. The power surge propelled the senior-laden team all the way to the regional semifinals. This year, the Hawks, a relatively young team led by junior pitcher/catcher Duncan McAlpine, will have to rely on their speed on the base paths. "I'm going from blasting it over your head to hit and run, bunt and run - anything I can think of," coach David Hatcher said. Hatcher said his team is different from any he has coached in 25 years in the profession. But, different can be better as long as his inexperienced sophomores don't make the kind of mistakes that cause teams to lose. "It's a total different coaching philosophy," Hatcher said. "It's the fastest team I've ever coached. Speed is going to be one of our assets. If the ball bounces twice to third base, we're safe at first." Hit-and-run tactics might actually be a perfect fit at Birdville's cavernous home field, where it's 400 feet to straight-away center field. "You hit it into the gap and I'm telling you it's going to be a track meet," Hatcher said. After losing a pitcher the caliber of Chase Reid to graduation, there's only one thing for a coach to do: Wish for a new ace. "I wish I had somebody to replace Chase Reid," coach Larry Hughes said. "And hopefully somebody like that will arise." Lucky for Hughes, the cupboard isn't bare. The Dragons lost 17 seniors from the 2007 team that won the District 5-5A championship, but Hughes said there are at least 10 quality pitchers to compete for the top two spots in the rotation. The top returning hurler, senior Ethan Cunningham, has fully recovered from a football injury that sidelined him until the playoffs. The Dragons also return all-district closer/third baseman Tanner Toal, who hit .306 with 32 RBIs last season. For the team to repeat as district champions, however, Hughes will need for several first-year players to step into prominent roles. "You just don't know what they're going to do until you put them in there and they play," Hughes said. Coming into the 2008 season, Paschal coach Stephen Smith said he feels a bit like the New York Yankees, and that's just fine with him. When you go 13-1 in district, you expect the other teams to have you in their crosshairs. "I really feel like with the group we have we'll probably be a top 20 team in the state," Smith said. "Instead of us going after anybody, they will be coming after us." To repeat as champions of District 4-5A against the likes of Granbury, Weatherford, Burleson and Mansfield, the Panthers will need their duo of hard-throwing lefties to be on top of their game. Junior Hoby Milner was the district's sophomore of the year in 2007, going 9-2 with a 1.7 ERA and 82 strikeouts. Senior Geoffrey Davenport, the district most valuable player was even more untouchable, notching an 8-1 record and a 0.79 ERA. "I'd put our top guys up against anybody's staff," Smith said. "You don't often get two left-handers who can throw 85 to 90 mph on one team." At one point in 2007, the Pirates had lost three consecutive games in district play, but Granbury found a way to regroup and finish with the second playoff seed in District 4-5A. "We kept our heads up," coach Pat Watson said. It will be tough to win a district that was dominated last season by Fort Worth Paschal, but Watson has at least three reasons to be optimistic: Bryan Hadaway, Jonathan Morris and Matt Hannagan. Hadaway, a senior second baseman, hit .427 with 29 RBIs and six doubles in 2007, while Hannagan, a junior center fielder, batted .394 with one home run, 17 RBIs and a team-high 22 walks. Morris, a senior, was the team's top reliever a year ago and is being counted on in 2008 to be a front-of-the-rotation pitcher. All three were all-district last season. If the Owls had finished one place higher in District 8-4A last season, coach Jason Bourgeois would be talking right now about a playoff team looking to make a repeat run at the postseason. Instead, the fourth-place Owls just have to settle for having their top players back. This time, Joshua has no reason to fall short of the team's own expectations, Bourgeois said. "Hopefully, this season we'll have as good a team as we project to have," he said. Having a big bat in the lineup the caliber of Reed Watson would make any coach confident of his team's chances. Watson, a senior shortstop, was the district's offensive player of the year in 2007, when he hit .427 with 14 extra-base hits. "Good leader. Great work ethic," Bourgeois said of Watson, who the coach also considers his most sure-handed fielder. Complementing Watson's bat is a deep pitching staff led by the staff ace Austin Neal, an all-district selection a year ago. The senior hurler also plays third base when he isn't starting on the mound. "He has the same kind of attributes as Watson," Bourgeois said of Neal. "I don't think he missed one practice last year. I don't expect him to miss any this year. That's just the kind of player he is." No. 2 pitcher Colton Turner is a gritty left-hander who was named the district's sophomore of the year in 2007. "They give everything they have. They want to win," Bourgeois said. "If we go on a losing streak, it makes them madder than it makes me. That's a good thing." Sixteen seniors are gone from a Pioneers squad that claimed the District 6-4A title in 2007. But first-year coach Jim Mavroulis, an assistant on last year's team, is confident that the handful of returning starters can help accomplish Boswell's mission of repeating as district champions. "Our goal is to repeat," Mavroulis said. "That's what we always start with." He's counting on senior pitcher Jorge Gallardo, an all-district selection in 2007, to be an ace-caliber hurler once he recovers fully from off-season elbow surgery. Rodge Macy, a senior pitcher who attended Boswell as a freshman but played for Keller Central as a sophomore and junior, should more than pick up the slack until Gallardo is back in tip-top shape, Mavroulis said. Junior infielders Cameron Mavroulis and Josh Stone, starters and key contributors as sophomores, will have to play even bigger roles in 2008. And outfielder Paul Jacobs will be asked to provide a big bat in the middle of the lineup as well as senior leadership, the coach said. Going four rounds deep in the playoffs in 2007 means the returning players know what it takes to win, Mavroulis said. He hopes it also means they want to accomplish even more. "I think it makes them better. I think it makes them hungrier," he said. "Heck, we want to play as long as we can and go as far as we can." Outfielder/pitcher Jordan Imhoff returns to lead a Warriors squad that came within one round of playing in the Class 5A State Tournament last season. The competition is usually tough in District 8-5A, but Martin is a clear favorite. The Colts should make another playoff push in 2008. David Nix's squad made it to the area round of the Class 5A playoffs in 2007 before falling to a heavily favored Flower Mound team. The Vikings have the talent to make it to the playoffs after missing out of the postseason in 2007. Lamar has a talented pitching staff led by Kyle Arnsberg and Drew Johnson and a solid infield led by shortstop Chris Arocha and second baseman Nick Lee. "I do feel like we have a lot of talent, but we're going to have to jell," coach Paul Kino said Last season started with tragedy but ended on an upswing. In Februrary, junior pitcher Chris Gavora died after being struck in the head by a line drive. The Mustangs regrouped to finish third in District 5-5A. They beat Keller Central in a play-in game, but lost to Flower Mound in bi-district. The pitching staff looks solid in 2008 behind senior right-hander Ethan Davis and junior right-hander Cameron White. The Panthers finished in second place in District 5-5A in 2007 and won 23 games in the process, but count Southlake Carroll coach Larry Hughes among those who think Colleyville Heritage could be even better in 2008. "They're the favorite," Hughes said. "A lot of other teams lost a lot." Left-handed pitcher Aaron Gilbreath and right-hander Steven Hill, both juniors, give the Panthers a solid rotation, while Tim Maitland, who hit almost .500 in 2007, is the catalyst on offense. -