Southern Sports & Travel, By Darron Thomas
There are a handful of teams that stand a legitimate chance of winning a State AA Baseball Championship this season. The upcoming playoffs should produce some great series as both the north and south regions battle it out for the right to face each other during the week of May 10th. Which teams have the best pitching rotations and players that can produce clutch hitting will unfold in the upcoming weeks.
During the upcoming stretch run several of those teams that may have all the pieces in place to make that championship run will be highlighted here on Southern Sports & Travel.
One of those teams that should be in the thick of things are the Brookhaven Cougars who currently occupy the #3 ranking in the latest Southern Sports & Travel Top Ten. Brookhaven head coach Casey Edwards is at the helm of one the hottest teams in AA baseball and could very well have all the needed pieces to challenge for a state championship. The Cougars are 13-5 overall and 4-0 in District 4AA play.
There are a handful of teams that stand a legitimate chance of winning a State AA Baseball Championship this season. The upcoming playoffs should produce some great series as both the north and south regions battle it out for the right to face each other during the week of May 10th. Which teams have the best pitching rotations and players that can produce clutch hitting will unfold in the upcoming weeks.
During the upcoming stretch run several of those teams that may have all the pieces in place to make that championship run will be highlighted here on Southern Sports & Travel.
One of those teams that should be in the thick of things are the Brookhaven Cougars who currently occupy the #3 ranking in the latest Southern Sports & Travel Top Ten. Brookhaven head coach Casey Edwards is at the helm of one the hottest teams in AA baseball and could very well have all the needed pieces to challenge for a state championship. The Cougars are 13-5 overall and 4-0 in District 4AA play.
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From the dugout with coach Casey Edwards:
*Back on March 11th Brookhaven was 2-4 after a 10-0 loss to Parklane. Since then Brookhaven has been one of the hottest teams in AA. What can you attribute the turnaround to?
"The Parklane loss was definitely an eye opener. That night, we realized a lot of things that we had been taking for granted and a lot of things we needed to improve on. We knew we had the potential to be pretty good, but at that point in our season, we all agreed that we were not that good of a team. We had a game the following day at 4, so we showed up that day at 11 and practiced. Things just seemed to start falling into place for us after that. No doubt, offensively we've improved tremendously, and it's not just 1-4 or 5. Everyone in the line-up has stepped up and started to produce when we need them to. We've also played much better defensively and our pitchers have been giving us a chance to win. Getting some of our starters back 100% from injuries has also helped us as a team."
*What do you feel your guys need to do a better job at?
"I still feel like our pitching staff can make improvements. Sometimes, we tend to give away too many free bases. This is something we are definitely trying to improve on before the playoffs. With that being said, I'm still very proud of the performances our pitchers have been giving us."
*What will it take to make a run at a state title?
"For us to make a run at state this year, several things are going to have to happen. We are going to have to continue to improve offensively, especially as we face tougher and tougher pitchers. We are also going to have to continue to improve defensively and obviously, stay healthy."
*Who do your guys look to for leadership on the team?
"We stress leadership to our guys on a daily basis, especially to the seniors. This seems to have created several leaders amongst the team, instead of just one clear leader. The majority of leadership has definitely come from our seniors this season."
*With Brookhaven having captured state titles in football and basketball this season is there any added pressure on you and your guys?
"We actually began talking about winning a state championship in baseball as soon as school started. Winning the championships in football and basketball this season has actually been a good thing for me and our baseball program. Obviously, our team consists of several of those guys who already have a championship this year. When those guys got to baseball, they were anything but satisfied. They have experienced what it takes to win and what it takes to win big games, and they're hungry for that in baseball as well. We really don't look at it as pressure, but as an opportunity to do something really special for our program and our school."
From the dugout with coach Casey Edwards:
*Back on March 11th Brookhaven was 2-4 after a 10-0 loss to Parklane. Since then Brookhaven has been one of the hottest teams in AA. What can you attribute the turnaround to?
"The Parklane loss was definitely an eye opener. That night, we realized a lot of things that we had been taking for granted and a lot of things we needed to improve on. We knew we had the potential to be pretty good, but at that point in our season, we all agreed that we were not that good of a team. We had a game the following day at 4, so we showed up that day at 11 and practiced. Things just seemed to start falling into place for us after that. No doubt, offensively we've improved tremendously, and it's not just 1-4 or 5. Everyone in the line-up has stepped up and started to produce when we need them to. We've also played much better defensively and our pitchers have been giving us a chance to win. Getting some of our starters back 100% from injuries has also helped us as a team."
*What do you feel your guys need to do a better job at?
"I still feel like our pitching staff can make improvements. Sometimes, we tend to give away too many free bases. This is something we are definitely trying to improve on before the playoffs. With that being said, I'm still very proud of the performances our pitchers have been giving us."
*What will it take to make a run at a state title?
"For us to make a run at state this year, several things are going to have to happen. We are going to have to continue to improve offensively, especially as we face tougher and tougher pitchers. We are also going to have to continue to improve defensively and obviously, stay healthy."
*Who do your guys look to for leadership on the team?
"We stress leadership to our guys on a daily basis, especially to the seniors. This seems to have created several leaders amongst the team, instead of just one clear leader. The majority of leadership has definitely come from our seniors this season."
*With Brookhaven having captured state titles in football and basketball this season is there any added pressure on you and your guys?
"We actually began talking about winning a state championship in baseball as soon as school started. Winning the championships in football and basketball this season has actually been a good thing for me and our baseball program. Obviously, our team consists of several of those guys who already have a championship this year. When those guys got to baseball, they were anything but satisfied. They have experienced what it takes to win and what it takes to win big games, and they're hungry for that in baseball as well. We really don't look at it as pressure, but as an opportunity to do something really special for our program and our school."
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Inside the numbers……
Hitting
Bubba Keene - .514, 7 2B, 2 3B, 8 HR
Will Gatlin - .483, 6 2B, 1 3B, 3 HR
Tripp Jolly - .431, 8 2B, 3 HR
Hunter Franklin - .382, 3 2B, 1 HR
Tyler Parvin - .341, 5 2B, 1 HR
Brent Henderson - .333, 7 2B, 3 3B, 3 HR
Hunter McCullough - .333, 2 2B, 4 HR
Donovan Lorraine - .320, 2 2B
Dan Coleman - .318, 3 2B
Team - .387, 43 2B, 6 3B, 23 HR
Pitching
Tyler Parvin - 5-3, 2.67 ERA, 39.33 IP, 52 K's, 18 BB's
Tripp Jolly - 2-1, 2.68 ERA, 31.33 IP, 48 K's, 20 BB's
Bubba Keene - 3-0, 3.55 ERA, 21.67 IP, 21 K's, 15 BB's
Hunter McCullough - 3-1, 4.63 ERA, 19.67 IP, 28 K's, 8 BB's
Team - 13-5, 3.26 ERA, 113.67 IP, 153 K's, 63 BB's
The week ahead:
Tuesday at Columbia
Thursday host Columbia
Friday host UCS
Saturday at UCS
Inside the numbers……
Hitting
Bubba Keene - .514, 7 2B, 2 3B, 8 HR
Will Gatlin - .483, 6 2B, 1 3B, 3 HR
Tripp Jolly - .431, 8 2B, 3 HR
Hunter Franklin - .382, 3 2B, 1 HR
Tyler Parvin - .341, 5 2B, 1 HR
Brent Henderson - .333, 7 2B, 3 3B, 3 HR
Hunter McCullough - .333, 2 2B, 4 HR
Donovan Lorraine - .320, 2 2B
Dan Coleman - .318, 3 2B
Team - .387, 43 2B, 6 3B, 23 HR
Pitching
Tyler Parvin - 5-3, 2.67 ERA, 39.33 IP, 52 K's, 18 BB's
Tripp Jolly - 2-1, 2.68 ERA, 31.33 IP, 48 K's, 20 BB's
Bubba Keene - 3-0, 3.55 ERA, 21.67 IP, 21 K's, 15 BB's
Hunter McCullough - 3-1, 4.63 ERA, 19.67 IP, 28 K's, 8 BB's
Team - 13-5, 3.26 ERA, 113.67 IP, 153 K's, 63 BB's
The week ahead:
Tuesday at Columbia
Thursday host Columbia
Friday host UCS
Saturday at UCS
