As we prepare for our 2014 high school preseason coverage, we are going to take a quick glance at teams from across the state.

Team: Crestwood High School
Class: DII
League: Portage Trail Conference
Head Coach: John Bakalar
2013 Overall Record: 6-20
2013 Conference Record: 3-11
Returning Starters: 7
Returning Pitchers: 5

TOP PLAYERS

Joshua Hampton, 2B/OF, 2014 ... Hit .366 with a couple of homers and 17 RBI in 2013. Was 2nd team all-conference.
Gabe Surgeon, LHP/OF, 2015 ... .311 hitter with 3 triples a season ago. As a pitcher posted a 4.49 ERA with 46 strikeouts in 38.2 innings. Honorable mention all-conference. Also two-time all-conference in football.
Matthew Lyons, 1B/P, 2014 ... Batting average of .333 with 11 RBI last year. Had 18 strikeouts in 22.1 innings.
Jared Bailey, C/P, 2015 ... Threw out 48% of runners from behind the plate. 1-0 with one save and 14 strikeouts in 11.2 innings.
Ross Nielsen, 1B, 2015 ... Hit .255 last year. 
Michael Leeper, OF/P, 2015 ... Had a 1.24 ERA with 8 strikeouts. Fastball clocked in the low 80s.

YOUNG UP AND COMERS

AJ Foulkes, 3B, 2016
Jeffrey Lorence, 2016
Danny Jones, 2016


OUTLOOK:

2013 was unkind to Crestwood. As bad as 2013 was, there were some bright spots and guys who put up solid numbers. Many of those guys return as Crestwood returns most of their starters from a year ago. Crestwood may not make the jump from a stuggle in 2013 to champs in 2014, but this team should compete with the returning, experienced players.

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COACHES PRE-SEASON QUESTIONNAIRE

We appreciate the strong response so far from high school coaches across the state assisting with our pre-season coverage.  If you have not already done so you can fill out our coaches pre-season questionnaire online by clicking here.