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Photo/David McGregor
Senior Aaron McKevitt could see time at either third
base or as a pitcher this season.
NORTH from IB
that we can [manage]," said
Cahill.
Among those players are
Buddy Deßoche. Scott Patter
son. Payton Light, junior Troy
Hudson, senior Mitchell
Meadows, southpaws Justin
Hamilton. Seth Kirkland and
Dexter Bobo, as well as
Dustin Martin, who played JV
last year and came up late in
the season.
"I think all those guys
together will help fill that hole
that Max left." Cahill said.
Sophomore Preston Low
ther has had some nagging
arm problems, but could yet
be a factor as the year pro
gresses.
At first base, 6-foot-4 sen
ior Deßoche, who missed half
of last season with a broken
leg. will play first base when
he's not pitching.
“Having him is a big help,"
Cahill said.
Second base is still unso-
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lidified. though sophomore
Justin Smith looks to have the
advantage, w ith a year of jun
ior varsity experience under
his belt.
Smith played ball during
the summer and has grown
since last season. His knowl
edge of the game and ability
to play virtually any infield
position give the Raider
coaches confidence in the
first-year varsity starter.
Payton Light and Hudson
could also see some playing
time at this position.
Four-year starter Matt
Helland controls the infield at
shortstop. With the senior
already signed to attend
Jacksonville State in the fall, a
successful 2004 in Coal
Mountain would be the perfect
springboard into his collegiate
career.
At the hot corner, junior
Tim Reeves will fill the vacan
cy left bv Castleberry at third
ADJUST from IB
last year losing a pitcher
and a pitcher/first baseman
Heusing knows this year’s
team will have its strong
points.
“I feel we are real strong
up the middle," Heusing said,
pointing to catcher Ryan
Steide, shortstop Brent
Majors (who will also pitch),
switch-hitting second base
man Pat Belt and center
fielder Tyler Marzofka
“At the high school level,
if you can be pretty strong up
the middle, you've got a
chance to win a few ball
games,” the coach said.
Helping fill the void left
by 2003 graduate Jeramy
Compton at first base, is sen
ior Kyle Kinsey, with junior
left-hander Chip Waites see
ing some time as backup.
Sophomore Brandon
Zimmerman, who played
third and short last season
w ill do the same this year.
Joining Marzofka in the
outfield is senior Chris
Dorsey, slated to start in
base. At 6-foot-3. Reeves has
good size and strong defensive
skills, while providing North
with another left-handed bat.
There were a
lot of expecta
tions last year
and we didn't
fulfill them.
Behind the plate. Christ
opher Light returns for his
senior campaign, and Cahill
is looking for big things
from the FCN All-County
catcher.
"He's probably the top
catcher in the region." the
Raider coach said.
"Defensively he is real
strong. Offensively, he was
one of our leading hitters last
year and we look for him to
do the same thing this year."
right field. Junior lefty Caleb
Swann may be called upon to
play any of the three outfield
spots and Sterling Clegg
could play in left if he has
adequately recovered from
an injury.
On the mound, look for
Central to start Majors and
Chris Dorsey, with just about
any other Bulldog with an
arm being tapped for a few
innings on the mound.
Senior Aaron McKevitt,
who played third base last
season, will pitch and could
also see some time at the hot
corner, while Heusing said
that he has considered pitch
ing Belt when he’s not play
ing second or even having
Marzofka experiment with an
occasional transition from
center field.
Central opened the season
Monday afternoon at home
against Dawson County
(results unavailable at dead
line) and is scheduled to face
defending Class AAA cham
pion Cartersville on Friday
A pleasant surprise for the
Raiders during preseason
drills has been the emergence
of backup catcher Casey
Young. The junior played JV
last season and has impressed
coaches with his bat.
“If he keeps swinging a hot
bat. we’ve got to find a place
for him to play somewhere.”
Cahill said.
Young could step in as des
ignated hitter or play first
when Deßoche is on the
mound.
"It's a good problem to
have," the Raider coach added.
"We’ve got a lot of guys who
are swinging the bat pretty
well right now."
Junior Dusty Martin will
patrol center field while bat
ting leadoff. Justin Hamilton
moves from right to left field,
while also spending time at
first and on the pitcher's
mound. Meadows and Doll
may also play left field when
FORSYTH COUNTY NEWS Wednesday, March 3,2004 - I
as part of the Ivey-Watson
Tournament in Gainesville.
“We’ve got a tough road
ahead of us,” Heusing
laughed, referring to the
impending season, “but we’ll
see what happens
Everybody has been hitting
pretty solid in [batting prac
tice], but when you walk
between the lines, sometimes
it’s a different situation.”
Tough road or not,
Heusing couldn’t be happier
with the upbeat attitude of
his players, and if they can
keep that up, the Bulldog
coach is confident only good
things can happen.
“We’re not banking on
that, but I feel that a lot of
things can be attained off of
that positive attitude,”
Heusing said.
“Because if the kids don’t
want to be here and they
don’t want to play ... Then
you might as well just write
everything else off.”
First pitch Friday is at
5:55 p.m.
not pitching. Right field will
likely feature a platoon of
younger players such as soph
omores Dexter Bobo and
Payton Light and junior Troy
Hudson.
“Whoever is swinging the
bat is going to get in the line
up.” Cahill explained.
Castleberry was faster, but
Martin’s instincts on the base
paths will be a plus.
“It's almost like he can see
a play ahead of time when the
ball is hit." he added.
With a year as head coach
under his belt, Cahill feels
confident in his team, now a
year older and wiser to the
system he installed.
“Just because you get a
year older, that doesn’t make
you a year better," he said,
"but 1 think these guys have
worked hard to understand
the game more ... They are
kind of starting to figure it
out."
Stewart
readies for
desert duel
By Gerald Hodges
For the Forsyth County News
Tony Stewart is looking
for a good showing Sunday
at Las Vegas, despite all the
new rules changes.
NASCAR Nextel Cup
series teams entered 2004
facing many changes from
2003: A new title sponsor in
Nextel, a new fuel supplier in
Sunoco, a softer tire com
pound developed by Good
year and even a reduction in
rear spoiler height.
To help adjust to the new
changes, Stewart and his No.
20 Home Depot team tested
at the Las Vegas track in
hopes of getting a jump on
some of the other teams.
But after two races, it's
difficult to see just how the
reduced rear spoiler height
coincides with the softer tire.
And that’s because the first
two races on the schedule
were at different venues.
The season-opening Day
tona 500 was a restrictor
plate race, where the rear
spoiler height was actually
increased a half-inch from
last year in an effort to curb
speeds at one of the series’
fastest races. And at Rock
ingham. the most recent race,
the tire used was of the same
compound used during last
year’s race in November.
So it is this weekend’s
UAW-DaimlerChrysler 400.
at Las Vegas, where the softer
tire and the new rear spoiler
finally meet.
“I think that suits this
Home Depot team well,” said
Stewart. "We have a team
that’s capable of winning
this year because we don’t
have to rely on what made us
successful last year.
"Our testing helped us.
and I think we've found a
good combination. We are
going to be a force to be
reckoned with this year."
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