In the Three Rivers Whiteville and West Columbus will be strong again. Whiteville graduated several key offensive performers, Connor Grainger, Hunter Cartrette, Hunter Harwood, Grayson Ward, Taylor Smith and Nick Hood. The key for the Wolfpack is the entire pitching staff returns. Senior Mackenzie Gore, junior Brooks Baldwin, sophomore Dylan Lawson and newcomer Jake Harwood should keep runs to a minimum if the defense is solid. Cameron Cartrette, Dylan Hamilton, Will Hinson, and Lincoln Ransom are some of the players expected to fill the graduated seniors shoes.
West Columbus did graduate their top hurler, Trey Benton (who is rumored to have earned a weekend starter spot at ECU), but they return his twin brothers, sophomore lefty Cole Benton and right-hander Cody Benton. Both already have D1 offers. Senior right-hander CJ Coleman returns after a very good junior season. Dawson Elliott and Gage Hammonds will head up the offense. Hunter Norris returns behind the plate to handle the staff.
South Columbus may have been hit the hardest by graduation after reaching the fourth round last year. Pitchers Evan Pickell and Garrett Wilson carried most of the Stallion pitching load. Senior southpaw Devan Penny will be counted on heavily. Hunter Shelley, Mike Byars and Noah Ward are no longer there to lead the offense. Landon Stocks will be counted on to solidify the infield at shortstop along with second baseman Jay Wright.
East Columbus will continue to show improvement on the field, but may not in their record due to the rugged conference schedule. The Gators have a number of arms. Righty Travin Squires should lead the staff, but Coach Brad Smith also has lefties Bradley Olsen and Alex Moore. Cyrus Jacobs, a transfer from Whiteville will add to the pitching depth. Chase Lewis, Cade Andrews and Hunter Reeves are the big losses both offensively and defensively. Bray McKeithan returns behind the plate.
With open enrollment in Robeson County, predicting who will be where from one season to the next can be tricky.
Fairmont will be hard-pressed to replace pitchers Cole Lovin and Tyler Musselwhite, but Coach Thorndyke always seems to find a way to be in the championship mix every year. Junior, Seth Thorndyke, will be a key cog in Fairmont's continued success.
Expect Coach Kelly Chavis' St. Pauls team to contend. In what had to be the state's biggest turn around the Bulldogs improved by 15 games in the win column last season. Almost everyone returns from that squad.
Red Springs lost 4 of their top five offensive producers and their top four pitchers in innings pitched. However, the Red Devils always seem to be filled with athletes and Coach Chris Howell's teams can beat any team on any given night.
South Robeson will rely heavily on sophomore Zack Carter both at the plate and on the mound. The Mustangs struggled offensively last season. No matter what year, Rowland always has proven to be a tough place for visiting teams to win.
The new pitch count rules may benefit both Whiteville and West Columbus. Solid defense and reasonable, not great, offensive production should get both teams deep into the 1A playoffs. St. Pauls, IMO, is the best candidate to contend in 2A. As previously stated, you never can count Fairmont out.
Playoffs are always tricky, especially the early rounds. One hot pitcher, one bad bounce can put a "better' team out. Witness 2013 when a 10-loss Clinton team knocked Whiteville out 4-1 in round one. Should be another great season!
