By Chris Webb

Salt and pepper, thunder and lightning, fire and ice. Whenever a dynamic duo in sports steps into the spotlight, all too often the public and media are quick to provide a catchy nickname, one that highlights the contrasting styles of the individuals.

While on the surface Vandalia Butler junior right-handed pitcher Taylore Cherry and Solon junior lefty Matt Smoral have contrasting styles beyond their respective release points, the two highly touted Class of 2012 prospects have much more in common than meets the eye. 

In fact, Smoral and Cherry have formed a close friendship, cultivated through competition, mutual respect and, ultimately, their aligned futures: Both juniors are verbally committed to national power University of North Carolina.

Cherry, who stands at an intimidating 6-foot-10, 260 pounds, is consistently clocked in the low 90s with his heavy fastball. Cherry complements his fastball with a straight change and tight 10/4 curveball. His size and arm strength makes him the No. 1 junior prospect in the state.

Smoral, the No. 2-ranked junior prospect, checks in at 6-foot-8, 225 pounds and is consistently clocked in the low 90s from the left side. Unlike Cherry, he throws from a lower arm slot. Consequently, his go-to offspeed pitch is a slider that typically sits in the high 70s to low 80s.

The two high-level prospects forged their friendship when they were roommates in Fort Myers, Florida playing in a fall tournament for the Midland Redskins.

?Matt and I are great friends,? said Cherry, as the two recently took a visit together to North Carolina the last weekend of April when the Tar Heels hosted Miami.  ?The first time we met we both were on a visit at Virginia and we just bumped into each other. We recognized each other from seeing the other?s picture on websites, and I thought, ?Hey, that Smoral kid is one of the best kids in Ohio.? We recognized each other and started talking there.?

The chance encounter was, perhaps, kismet. Whatever it was, neither could?ve foreseen their futures intertwining the way it would over the next few months.

 ?I was talking to the Midland Redskins about playing this upcoming summer for them,? said Smoral. ?I ended up only going to Fort Myers and playing with the team and with Taylore being on it. I roomed with him, our friendship developed and we?ve been in touch ever since. We talk all the time and we?re pretty good friends.?

This summer, too, they will teammates for the Redskins, then again in Chapel Hill if a professional team does not lure them away. But for what the two have been through this spring, perhaps no one else can relate to the times both current and past.

As both allude to speaking to the other regularly, one can imagine the stories they have shared, specifically the recruiting process. They both admit the early commitment has relieved stress and pressure this season.

?It?s a huge pressure relief,? said Cherry of getting his commitment out of the way early. ?You?re not going out there and seeing 20 radar guns behind the stands, you?re just out there to get the win, which you should always do, but just having it off your chest, it?s pretty stressful the whole recruiting process. Keeping track of when you make phone calls, all of the emails you get, and the letters with the responding, definitely relieved of the stress.?

Smoral agrees.

?It is a huge relief,? said the southpaw. ?It can get pretty hectic having to consistently call coaches. During the recruiting process they want you to call them once every week or once every two weeks and some of those conversations can be 30, 40 minutes. It is a big relief where you can just focus on school, or the upcoming season.?

Before the recruiting process ended, the similarities continued.

?The coaches at North Carolina, I just really loved them and I felt really comfortable being around,? said Smoral as UNC edged out Texas, Virginia, and Louisville. ?After the East Coast Pro in August, I went up to visit North Carolina, it was the first school I ever visited. Right when I got there I fell in love with it.?

Whereas Cherry had Kentucky, Georgia Tech, and Virginia among his final schools alongside UNC, after his visit to Chapel Hill, he too knew that is where he wanted to be.

?I had more visits lined up,? said Cherry, who wanted to play in the ACC or SEC. ?But after I visited North Carolina I decided I really loved the place, the atmosphere there was amazing. The coaches were friendly; they were great guys and made me feel like family, felt like the whole team was a family. Just fell in love with the campus, the atmosphere there.?

Though the stress of the recruiting process may be over for the two, a different kind of burden has been thrown upon the hurlers as now both wear a target as everyone, including the opposition every game, knows of their lofty stature and commitment to one of the nation?s top programs.

?Any team we face we expect them to throw everything they have at us, you just have to be prepared for it day in and day out,? said Cherry. ?[The commitment] means nothing to the other team. It doesn?t help you go in and win games, you have to go out there and perform and show them why you?re there. ?

As Cherry may push aside the commitment, the lofty state and national rankings, Smoral relishes the times when the opponents heckle him.

?I love it,? Smoral said. ?It gives you a bit of adrenaline. ?A lot of people on the other team have been heckling, but I fuel off that stuff and it has been fun this year so far.?

From their recruitments, to teaming together on the Redskins in the fall, to taking the best shot Ohio high schools can give them this spring, Smoral and Cherry form a tandem that is more similar than polar. Together they anchor Ohio?s stellar Class of 2012.