By Brandon Hall
Director of Scouting, PBR NC

Follow us on Twitter & Instagram: @PrepBaseballNC

 

Over the weekend, PBR was out in full force seeing as many games as possible, taking notes for our NC HS Scout Blog, and building profiles on players and teams for updated rankings.  We will profile three of the games from the weekend, pitting teams from several different regions against each other.

Friday March 10^th

Cherryville at Pine Lake Prep

Two of the top 1A teams in the state battled at Pine Lake Prep’s athletic campus to grasp control of the Southern Piedmont Conference.  The matchup pitted two of the top arms in North Carolina’s 2017 class.  At the time they began to warm-up, temperatures were sitting at a comfortable 63 degrees.  By first pitch, temperatures were plummeting with a cold wind blowing from left field to right field. 

For Pine Lake Prep, 2017 LHP Shane Connolly got the ball.  The 6-foot-2, 175 pound lefty, committed to The Citadel, showed impressive arm strength in the early going.  Connolly worked into the fourth inning, striking out 3, walking 3, and giving up 6 hits.  Defensively, Pine Lake struggled to close innings behind Connolly, being charged with two errors, but allowing several other balls to become hits.  The miscues setup the Ironmen’s offense. 

Tied at two in the fourth, Cherryville plated 5 runs to blow the game open.  With one out, Levi Kiser and Dayne Homesley singled.  Leadoff hitter Austin Treadway had his fly ball to left misplayed, with the wind, into a single.  The big blow came off of starting pitcher Noah Eaker’s bat as he sent a shot to right field.  The double scored the fifth run of the inning, giving Cherryville the lead for good.

On the bump, Eaker an uncommitted right-hander attacked the zone, throwing 59% strikes over his 4 innings.  Eaker worked around 4 Cherryville errors, striking out 4, walking 3 and giving up 3 hits.

Full Scouting Reports on Eaker and Connolly can be seen on the NC HS Scout Blog.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	R	H	E
Cherryville	0	2	0	5	0	1	2	10	11	4
Pine Lake Prep	0	1	1	1	0	1	0	4	3	2

Win – Noah Eaker
Loss – Shane Connolly
Save – Will Walker

 

Saturday March 11^th

Erwin vs. Northwest Cabarrus at CMS Stadium

CMS Stadium is the summer home of the Kannapolis Intimidators, the A affiliate of the Chicago White Sox.  The Intimidators do a great job of working with the local baseball community, hosting a variety of games throughout the spring.  On this Saturday, CMS Stadium was the home of two different Kannapolis area teams in Northwest Cabarrus and AL Brown.

Northwest Cabarrus opened the day, welcoming Erwin from the western part of the state.  A game that seemed to have two separate story lines.  Northwest controlled the early part of the game, working clean on defense and pressuring Sr RHP Cameron Howell of Erwin.  A four spot in the third gave Northwest a commanding lead.  Offensively, Northwest wrapped out 6 hits, with 2 coming from Andrew Raffaldt.  Raffaldt tripled and singled down the left field line, accounting for 2 of the four RBI’s. 

In the sixth, Erwin came alive, capitalizing on a double from Derrick Sage.  Erwin pushed across three runs and cutting the score to 4-3.  As the 7thh inning began, Erwin was poised for one more shot.  Sage, again, would have the big knock, as he singled in the winning run.   Sage ended the day 2 for 3 with 2 RBI’s.

On the bump, Howell from Erwin showed spurts, looking strong and in command.  A full scouting report on his outing can be seen in the NC HS Scout Blog.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	R	H	E
Erwin	0	0	0	0	0	3	2	5	7	1
NW Cabarrus	0	0	4	0	0	0	0	4	6	2

Win – Sawyer Ratcliff
Loss – Dennis Donath

 

A.L. Brown vs. Pisgah

The nightcap of the double-header at CMS Stadium saw a clean, fast paced game, dominated on the mound by A.L Brown right-hander Matt Baucom.  A.L. Brown won 4-1 in the fast paced, 1 hour and 15 minute game. 

Baucom, a Sr RHP, pounded the zone, using 87 pitches to complete the seven innings.  He punched 9 and walked two.  The only run he gave up came in the 7^th, beginning with a walk.  The baserunner would steal second, advancing to third on an overthrow of second, and advancing home, after an over throw of third.  Beyond that one play, Baucom was the man of the hour.   A full break down on his appearance can be seen on the NC HS Scout Blog.

Offensively, A.L. Brown scrapped out 6 hits, scoring in the third, fifth, and sixth.  Justin Rodgers, working out of the eight-hole, registered two hits, an RBI, and scored two runs. 

Both teams made 2 errors in the game, but the game was very well played and executed on both sides of the field.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	R	H	E
A.L. Brown	0	0	1	0	1	2	0	4	6	2
Pisgah	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	2	2

 
Win – Matt Baucom
Loss – Eli Medford