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Preseason Countdown: No. 47 Mesa Ridge

January 15, 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:

Team: Mesa Ridge

Preseason Rank: 47
2014 Record: 14-6
Conference: Colorado Springs Metro
 CHSAA Class: 4A
 Head Coach: Cory Monroe
Playoff Run: Lost in First Round of Districts to Pueblo East
2014 Final Rank: 75th

Returning Starters: 3
Returning Pitchers: 2

TOP PLAYERS
Logan Beatty, IF/P, 2015
Cid Harrison, UTIL, 2015
Jarod Morris, RHP/INF, 2017
Dalton Bishop, INF/P, 2017

X-FACTOR:
Will the infusion of youth be able to step up? Mesa Ridge brings up a lot of new players who have had a lot of success winning at the lower levels, but lack varsity experience.

NEWCOMER TO WATCH:
Jarod Morris, RHP/MIF, 2017: Morris hit .391 in 23 AB's in 2014 with a 1.070 OPS

KEY PLAYER LOST:
Jake Grotelueschen (Graduated)

STAT RAT:
The Grizzlies lost 94 RBI's from graduated seniors in 2014.

BOTTOM LINE:
The Grizzlies return 4A First Team All-State Logan Beatty to the lineup and the mound in 2015. Beatty was a one man wrecking crew for the Grizzlies in 2014. As a junior, Beatty was one of the most dominant hitters in 4A. Beatty batted .588 with 8 doubles, 2 triples, 4 home runs, 35 RBI's, 22 stolen bases, and had an impressive 1.671 OPS. If Beatty can come close to duplicating those numbers and the youth movement can contribute to some already strong team chemistry the Grizzlies have a chance to defend their league title.

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