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Preseason Countdown: No 18 Douglas County

March 13, 2015

By John Cackowski
State Director

Leading up to the start of the high school season, we will count down the top 50 preseason teams every day as part of our comprehensive season coverage. The top 50 teams are picked from all classifications, and are not divided up by class level. To see the entire list click here

Team: Douglas County
Preseason Rank: 19
2014 Record: 11-8
Conference: Continental
CHSAA Class: 5A
Head Coach: Mark Roberts
Playoff Run: NA
2014 Final Rank: 37
Returning Starters: 5
Returning Pitchers: 3


TOP PLAYERS:
No. 10 2015 and No. 175 Overall Ryan Connolly, LHP (Nebraska Commit)
No. 14 2015 Taylor Williams, RHP (Xavier Commit)
No 48 2015 Jeffrey Rubino, 3B/OF
No 68 2015 Jared Montoya, SS/RHP, 2015 (Central Arizona Commit)
Anthony Warnake, 2B, 2015


X-FACTOR:
Offensive Production: With the type of pitching the Huskies have, they need to find some solid run production behind JP Rubino. If so they will compete for 5A Final 8 spot. Finding a No. 3 pitcher will also be crucial.

NEW PLAYER TO WATCH:
No. 39 2016 Sean Kelsen: 6-foot-0, 175-pound, right-handed hitting outfielder/LHP, shows a strong arm from the outfield and also some speed. At Preseason All-State he ran a 4.37 home to first.  At the plate he  registered an exit velocity of 91 MPH, top 3 for the event.  On the mound the LHP was consistent 77-79 FB and maxed out at 81 MPH. Kelsen could be called upon to be that No. 3 pitcher the Huskies need.

KEY PLAYERS LOST:
Brett Minnick: University of Northern Colorado

STAT RAT
The Huskers were 10-4 when Connolly and Williams pitched. The Huskies only got 1 win from another pitcher in 2014.

BOTTOM LINE: 
The Huskies have had some talented teams over the last few years, and have gotten the short end of the stick with tie breakers in the tough 5A Continental League, but his year the PBR staff feels it could be time for the Huskies to make that elusive 5A Final 8 for the first time since the format changed in 2002. You could argue that the Huskies have the best 1-2 punch of a pitching rotation in the state of Colorado. With two D-1 commits, No 10 2015 Ryan Connolly, LHP, Nebraska, and No. 14 2015 Taylor Williams, RHP, Xavier, will be counted heavily upon in 2015. in 2014 Connolly was an impressive 6-2 with a 1.99 ERA in 49 IP with 69 k's. Williams was 4-2 in 28 innings striking out 38. 2015 3B/OF Jeffrey Rubino was an offensive force for the Huskies hitting .490 in 2014 leading the team in RBI's and doubles. 2015 2B Andrew Warnake returns a .362 BA and 16 RBI's, and SS No. 68 2015 and Central Arizona Commit Jared Montoya hit .311 in 2014 and was second on the team with 20 runs scored. The Huskies won their first 4 games of the year, then won their last 5 games of the year in 2014. The 2 and 8 stretch in the middle of the season was their downfall. If the Huskies would have won one more game they would have been in the 2014 playoffs. With the pitching they had they would have been a scary team to face. That pitching returns and if they gain experience from what they learned in 2014 expect them to be a team to be reckoned with in 2015.


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