LANDIS — There’s not a lot of power, but the pitching staff could really flower.
Depending on whom you ask, baseball is somewhere between 60 percent and 90 percent pitching. South Rowan Legion coach Allen Wilson hopes that latter figure is closer to the truth.
For a change — maybe for the first time in its six-year history — South has arms in both quantity and quality. It might finally have enough appendages to tackle one of those brutal American Legion schedules that keeps a team hopping five and six days a week.
But while South’s pitching could be spiffy, the hitting looks iffy.
The South Legion team hit only nine homers last summer, five of them by departed Daniel Pinyan and Drew Callicutt. That trend of low-wattage walloping continued this spring. The South Rowan High team didn’t knock a single homer.
Of the players on South’s Legion roster, only West Rowan’s Jared Barnette (four) and Corey Rolla (one), and East Rowan’s Adam Cornelius (one) and Aaron Safrit (one) hit balls out of the park in high school.
“Fortunately, we’ve got pretty good speed,” said Wilson. “We’ll bunt people around, run the bases aggressively and manufacture some runs.”
Wilson, entering his second year, does have some guys who should hit for average.
Speedy West left fielder Matt Morgan, the probable leadoff man, gets down the line quickly and can beat out the basic two-hopper to short. The lefty swinger hit .310 in Legion ball last season and flirted with .400 a good chunk of the high school season.
Cornelius (.276 at East), an excellent center fielder tailor-made for the South field’s wide open spaces, runs well and has occasional pop. No one’s forgotten Cornelius’ grand slam off Rowan’s Daniel Moore, which provided the most exciting moment of South’s 7-18 2000 season — and maybe its entire history.
Right field is up for grabs, with candidates including West’s Brandon Hiatt, South’s Chase Goodale, Tim Cook, Keith Clark and Patrick Atwell, and East’s Raymondo Brady, who homered at Mooresville in South’s non-league opener.
South High shortstop Ronnie Shore, who was slowed by a shoulder problem last summer, is healthy now. He’ll hit tons of singles and doubles and can motor on the bases. Shore had 16 steals in the high school season, second in the county.
Barnette’s power potential should keep him in the lineup even when he’s not pitching. He hit three Legion homers last summer and is good in the clutch. He can play short or third or might serve as the designated hitter when he’s resting his right arm.
South second baseman Greg Deal gives Wilson another proven infielder. Deal hit only .203 last Legion season, but had a solid high school year with the bat and produced a Gold Glove season in the field. East’s Justin Miller can turn the double play and will compete with Deal for playing time.
Rolla and Safrit figure to fight for first base. South’s Craig Haas, good defensively, will battle East’s Jeremy Teague, primarily a pitcher for East, at third. Wilson may also try to find space in the lineup for South’s Derrick Morrison, who hit .400 in high school in limited at-bats.
The catching may be a strength. South’s Justin Pinyan is a competent receiver and started to swing the bat late in the high school season. Jeremy Alderman, a 2000 East graduate whose birthday makes him eligible for another Legion campaign, could make a difference. So could Ryan Wilson, a lefty-hitting youngster off West’s unbeaten jayvee team.
Coach Wilson has confidence in his mound corps, even though as of Monday night it looks like West’s John Brooks, who won four games for the Falcons, won’t play this summer.
Barnette, Teague and South’s Mike Davis give Wilson three proven right-handed starters, who combined for 17 wins during the high school season. Barnette led the county in strikeouts, innings and wins, while Teague had five wins and more than 50 Ks. Davis added four wins. South’s Tim Cook and Andrew Morgan give Wilson two more hurlers who posted solid high school seasons. Cook saved two games, while Morgan won two.
The defense should be a real plus. Any combination of Shore, Barnette, Deal and Miller up the middle helps a pitcher. Cornelius is flawless in center and Morgan’s speed lends itself to spectacular plays.
Still, the uncertainty of the offense has Wilson scratching his head. With his pitching, he’s got a chance to increase last season’s win total, but some kids who have not hit much in high school are going to have to prove they can produce at the Legion level. Safrit and Brady did just that in the opener. If they can keep it up, this can be a pretty good team.
New assistant coach David Caldwell should aid the hitters. Caldwell starred at Northwest Cabarrus High and at Clemson University in the 1970s and played in the Baltimore Orioles farm system.
Wilson also will get coaching assistance from Chas Welch, Alan Ritchie and Ernie Faw.
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Contact Mike London at 704-797-4259 or mlondon@salisburypost.com
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