Summer Showcase

Diamond Prospects’ Summer Showcase   June 11-12, 2007   Plenty of talent, plenty of evaluators and plenty of rain on Monday kicked-off a productive opening day at Ben Lippen High School, despite the weather!   Many of the players that DP had previously identified made their way to Columbia for the two-day event, but as with any event of this magnitude, plenty of new names emerged too. By in large, it was not the fastest group of young men ever assembled, as only four guys broke the 7.0 barrier in the 60-yard dash. What we lacked in speed, we made up for in power, arm strength, young talent and those who could flash the leather.   Over the coming days, we will break down the players who excelled in various categories ranging from the best arms and bats to a ranking by class. Stay tuned to DP as we crunch the numbers and survey some of the coaches in attendance to provide you an in-depth breakdown of our second annual event.   Note: DP would like to send a long distance high-five out to Brent Walsh, Travis Catchings and the entire Ben Lippen support staff for allowing us to make their place our home for two days. They opened their doors to us, kept the field in great shape and spun one quality tune after another to break up the monotony! Job well-done, thank you for having us!   NEW! Top prospect rankings from the 2008, 2009 and 2010 classes, to go with overall rankings and the DP awards, are now posted. To view, click here. More to come! .

DP Showcase Schedule

-Schedule for Monday and Tuesday, June 11-12, 2007- Monday 9:00 AM           Session 1: Check-in at Ben Lippen HS (Pick-up jersey) 9:45                Session 1 players report to the football field for a meeting and stretching 10:00-12:00     60’s, Defensive Workout, Batting Practice, Bullpens-Royal, Green, Purple 11:45               Session 2: Check-in at Ben Lippen HS (Pick-up jersey) 12:00               Lunch (will be provided for players on Day 1) 12:05               Recruiting Seminar in football bleachers 12:45              Session 2 players report to the football field for a meeting and stretching 1:00-3:00         60’s, Defensive Workout, Batting Practice, Bullpens-Black, Red, Grey 3:00                 Royal vs Green 5:00                 Purple vs Black 7:00                 Red vs Grey Tuesday 9:00                 Royal vs Green 11:00               Purple vs Black 1:00                 Red vs Grey . Session 1 Teams: Royal, Green, Purple Session 2 Teams: Black, Red, Grey . Notes Pitchers will throw no more than 2 innings and a 10-pitch bullpen. Four hitters will constitute one inning. Know in advance which team you are on and which session you are in. When your team is not participating, you do not have to be at the field. Once we get started each day, all times are approximate. Be sure to arrive at the field no later than 45 minutes before your scheduled game time. Due to limited seating at the ballpark, we encourage players and parents to bring chairs. There is also little shade, tents are permissible at the field. A concession stand will be available throughout each day. DP apparel and baseball jewelry will be available for sale. For directions to Ben Lippen High School, click here. .

May Round-Up

Around the Horn: A May Round-Up By: Austin Alexander-June 1, 2007 Four state champions were crowned as sweeps took place in all four Championship Series’. One in-state club advanced to the Junior College World Series, four Division I programs played into the NCAA Tournament and DP announced its year-end Diamond Kings. Summer baseball also got cranked up in May as much of South Carolina’s top talent switched uniforms for the upcoming months. Today we take a look back at the past 31 days… ——————————————————————————- Diamond Prospects Statistics: Teams covered-32 Games seen-28 Fields-14 College games seen-11 Pro games seen-2 Rainouts-0 Miles traveled-1,881 DP.com Hits-783,516 ——————————————————————————- DP Accolades: Best game: Riverside at AC Flora, pick one of the three Best comeback: Trailing 5-2 in the bottom of the eighth in Round 2 of the Southern Conference Tournament, Citadel second baseman Bryan Altman hit a high arcing ball down the leftfield line. It hit a brick column right beside the foul pole, bouncing up and inside the foul pole and rested on the wall with green paint on the baseball. It was ruled a homerun, which was a grand slam, Citadel won 6-5…Honorable Mention is in order for the Wofford Terriers for their turnaround season and 5-0 run through the SoCon Tournament as the #9 seed. Wildest play: Trailing 5-2 in the bottom of the eighth in Round 2 of the Southern Conference Tournament, Citadel second baseman Bryan Altman hit a high arcing ball down the leftfield line. It hit a brick column right beside the foul pole, bouncing up and inside the foul pole and rested on the wall with green paint on the baseball. It was ruled a homerun, which was a grand slam, Citadel won 6-5. A pretty good argument ensued. Best home to first time: Chris Dove (Elon), 3.99 from the right-side on a swing Best home to first time (turn): Alex Dozier (Dorman) 4.20 Best pop time: John Nester (Riverside) 1.95 Longest homerun: Brandon Waring (Wofford) Best defensive play: GOLD Medal–Western Carolina first baseman John Ingram tracked a foul pop all the way to the dugout and was completely upended and did a helicopter flop over the rail falling about five feet onto his back…and caught the ball for the third out. SILVER Medal-Earlier in that same inning, Western rightfielder Steven Strausbaugh dove fully-outstretched into the bullpen mound and crashed up against the wall, holding onto the ball for the first out of the inning. Best pitcher’s duel: Marty Gantt (North Augusta) versus Patrick Mincey (Hartsville); Greg Harrison (Hilton Head) versus Adam Westmoreland (Brookland-Cayce) Most dominant pitching performance: Patrick Mincey (Hartsville) versus North Augusta Hardest fastball: Austin Stuart (North Augusta), 91 MPH Best baseball name: Drew Saberhagen (Western Carolina), the son of former big-leaguer Bret Saberhagen Cleanest round of pre-game: White Knoll, Elon Top Fungo Guy: Bradley LeCroy (Western Carolina) Best Catcher’s Pop-up: Bradley LeCroy (Western Carolina) Best Argument with an Umpire: Mike Kennedy (Elon) Best line from a parent in the bleachers: “Hey ump, you need a pair of glasses?”…always a very safe line to use! Best Playing Surface: Riley Park Best pre-game tunes: Hartsville Best in-game tunes: AC Flora Best ballpark atmosphere: Hartsville Best burger: AC Flora Best Dressed Evaluator: Pat Portugal (San Francisco Giants) The Gary Randall Attendance Award: Greg Schilz (Pittsburgh Pirates), soon to force us to re-name this the Greg Schilz award; the award could be issued to Gary Randall (MLB Bureau) each month so we’ve decided, instead, just to name the award after him! Hospitality Award: Johnsonville .

Around the Horn: April 2007

Around the Horn-April Round-Up By: Austin Alexander-May 1, 2007   What a baseball month April turned out to be! We had playoff berths come down the wire, spring break tournaments galore and a post-season unlike any other in recent memory. Scoreboards around South Carolina have seen pitcher’s duel after pitcher’s duel give way to double-digit extra inning games and fantastic finishes. We’ve had great catches and heroic performances this month, one of the most exciting stretches of baseball in our state’s playoff history. Diamond Prospects had a front row seat at many of these events as we covered 95 different teams and took in 57 games during April. We’ll break down the past 30 days for our readers and pass out our monthly awards… ——————————————————————————- Diamond Prospects Statistics Teams covered-95 High School games seen-57 Fields-33 College games seen-3 Pro games seen-4 Rainouts-0 Miles traveled-4,209 DP.com Hits-1,020,934; A new record ——————————————————————————- DP Accolades Quickest game: Silver Bluff-Aynor, 1:22 Longest game: Lexington-Byrnes, 4:12 Best game: Lexington at Byrnes…twice Best comeback: Trailing 4-2 with one out in the seventh inning versus Pickens’ Matt Ramey, AC Flora rallied to tie the game and won it in eight innings, 7-4. Wildest play: Trailing 5-4 in the sixth inning at AC Flora in the first round of the 3A district playoffs, JL Mann freshman David Donald hit a three-run homer, his second of the game, to put his team on top by two. He rounded third base, threw his helmet and celebrated at home plate with his teammates. One problem, Flora catcher and the umpire determined that Donald missed the plate and he was ruled out, making the score 6-5 instead of 7-5. Flora scored a run in the bottom of the sixth and the rains came, leading to the suspension of the game. JL Mann had to return the next day, they were retired in the seventh, Flora scored, game over. Flora 7 Mann 6. Best home to first time: Jarred Phillips (Pickens) 3.67 on a drag bunt Best home to first time (turn): Jake Williams (Riverside) 4.28 Best pop time: John Nester (Riverside) and Jeffrey Campbell (Boiling Springs) 1.92 Longest homerun: Sean Sullivan (AC Flora) Best defensive play: GOLD Medal–In the bottom of the eighth inning, Lexington’s Brandon Sills came to the plate with two outs, count two and two. The next pitch was smoked to centerfield on a line and everyone new it had the distance. White Knoll centerfielder Adam Matthews, found the fence, jumped up with great athleticism, reached over the fence up and out and snagged the ball for the third out. SILVER Medal– Playing second base, Conway second baseman Bobby Watford dove deep behind the bag, snagged a hard groundball and flipped to the shortstop to end the game and Summerville’s season. Best pitcher’s duel: Marty Gantt (North Augusta) versus Hamilton Bennett (Fort Mill); Al Hentz (Lexington) versus Atlee Pearson (Byrnes); Justin Hopper (Lexington) versus Joseph Moorefield (Byrnes); Adam Westmorland (Brookland-Cayce) versus Greg Harrison (Hilton Head) Most dominant pitching performance: Steven Neff (Lancaster) versus St. Ignatius (OH) in the Southeastern Classic Hardest fastball: Logan Munson (AC Flora) and Ben Henry (Loris) 91 MPH Best baseball name: Boomer Buff (Chapman) Cleanest round of pre-game: Wando, Riverside Top Fungo Guy: Chris Bates (Riverside) Best Catcher’s Pop-up: Brian Hucks (Brookland-Cayce) Best Argument with an Umpire: Brooks Shumake (Sumter) Best line from a parent in the bleachers: “I can’t believe you called that, he couldn’t hit that ball with a golf club. That call was bull-hockey!” Best Playing Surface: Myrtle Beach Best pre-game tunes: Hartsville Best in-game tunes: Wando Best ballpark atmosphere: Hartsville Best burger: AC Flora, Hilton Head and Hartsville Best Dressed Evaluator: Lon Joyce (Los Angeles Dodgers) The Gary Randall Attendance Award: Greg Schilz (Pittsburgh Pirates); the award could be issued to Gary Randall (MLB Bureau) each month so we’ve decided, instead, just to name the award after him! Hospitality Award: Hilton Head at the Seahawk Invitational .

Finals/Pitching Probables: Spring of 2007

Final Scores: State Championship Series-Game 2, Thursday AC Flora 17 Hilton Head 4 (5 innings); WP: Logan Munson, LP: Greg Harrison, HR: Greg Harrison (HH), Jay Wilson (ACF); AC Flora wins state championship Mid-Carolina 0 Bishop England 7; WP: Bobby Streisel (BE); Bishop England wins 2A state championship ————————————————————————————- Final Scores: State Championship Series-Game 2, Wednesday Hartsville 6 North Augusta 0, WP: Jordan Lyles, LP: Evan Darr; Hartsville wins 4A state championship Bamberg-Ehrhardt 2 Landrum 12 (5innings); WP: Mark Cann, LP: Matt Chassereau, HR: Bubba Owens (L), Cory Brooks (BE), Don Sandifer (BE); Landrum wins 1A state championship Ben Lippen 10 Wilson Hall 4; WP: Colby Edwards, LP: Matt Talley; Ben Lippen advances to State Championship ————————————————————————————- Final Scores: State Championship Series-Game 1 , Monday North Augusta 1 Hartsville 3; WP: Patrick Mincey, LP: Marty Gantt, SV: Andrew Turner Hilton Head 3 AC Flora 11; WP: Will Freeman, LP: Jason Goode, HR: Brett Thomas (ACF) Bishop England 5 Mid-Carolina 2 (9 innings); WP: John Cornely, LP: Robert Lake, HR: Cornelius Wadsworth (MC) Landrum 13 Bamberg-Ehrhardt 3 (5 innings); ————————————————————————– .

Player Profile: Greg Pearson

Name: Greg Pearson             High School (coach): Socastee High School-John Daurity Graduation year: 2008 Position(s): 2nd base, pitcher, all other infield positions Other sport(s) played in high school: None Height: 5’ 10” Weight: 160 Bats: Right Throws: Right GPA: Weighted–4.1 SAT: N/A PSAT: 1250 ACT: N/A Class rank: N/A Academic awards: Student of the Month-DEC., Honor Student, History Club Intended major: Sports Management, Business Administration Parent’s names (college attended, if any): Gary Pearson-Staten Island College, Karen Pearson Summer team (coach): JR American Legion Post 178- John Daurity Fall team (coach): Coastal Hurricanes-Wayne Knab High School statistics: See Coach Daurity for stats or click here P’s-Top MPH: 77 Fastball, 73 Slider, 69 Curve, 64 Change-up Hobbies: Running, Basketball, Football, Movies List any community service or charity work you have done: Various fund raisers at school, such as Red Cross Drive, Athletic Dept fundraiser, Fundraiser for seriously ill student Would you consider a junior college? Yes What do you want a college coach who is reading this to know about you? I am a team player and would sacrifice anything for the team. I work as hard during the off-season as in-season. I am a student of the game and I know there is still so much to learn. I’ve been told by my coaches I am very coachable. I enjoy the strategic side almost as much as the physical side of the game. List your top five college choices: 1. Winthrop, 2. Coastal Carolina, 3. Lander University, 4. College of Charleston .

Round-up: March 2007

March Round-Up By: Austin Alexander-April 1, 2007   March began with a major storm system that wiped out baseball everywhere but Georgetown. Eventually the weather gave way to sunny skies and warm temps as the prep season kicked it into high gear. We take a look at the past month and some things that stood out for DP. ——————————————————————————- Diamond Prospects Statistics Teams covered-45 Games seen-24 Fields-21 College games seen-5 Rainouts-2 Miles traveled-2,619 ——————————————————————————- DP Accolades Quickest game: Wando-James Island, 1:35 Longest game: Lake City-South Florence, 3:19 Best game: Conway 1 Sumter 0, 10 innings Best comeback: GOLD Medal-Trailing Dillon 9-1 in the fourth inning, Aynor went on to score nine unanswered runs to win 10-9 on a walk-off single by Keaton Capps. SILVER Medal-Down 11-1 at Lake City, South Florence came back to tie the game at eleven in the seventh only to lose 12-11 in ten innings. Wildest play: Tied 0-0 in the bottom of the tenth, Conway’s Ryne Hardwick led-off with a walk and was bunted to second. With one out, Jonathan Sharpe fouled off pitch after pitch to extend the at-bat. Finally he got a pitch out over the plate and smoked it into right-center…game over, right? Well, Hardwick got a late jump from second as Sumter rightfielder Tyler Smith quickly retrieved the ball and unloaded a strike to the plate. As the ball and runner each moved closer to the plate, it was clearly going to be a bang-bang play. The throw became a perfect one-hopper to catcher Tony Micklon who applied the tag just after Hardwick slid into the dish…game over, right? The umpire wound up and banged Hardwick for the second out! Sharpe, who rounded first, certain that he’d delivered the game-winner now found himself halfway between first and second walking into the infield grass. Out of the baseline and inning over, right? He was ruled safe! Sharpe later stole third and scored the winning run on Bobby Watford’s single. Best home to first time: Alex Dozier (Dorman) 3.73 on a drag bunt Best home to first time (turn): Alex Dozier (Dorman) 4.25 Best pop time: Drew Wingo (Mauldin) 1.81 Longest homerun: Brett Thomas (AC Flora) Best defensive play: Playing second base, Conway’s Michael Fink ranged far to his right to snag a bad hop groundball, set his feet and made a strong throw to nail the runner. The play was the 21st out of a perfect game. Best pitcher’s duel: Colby Holmes (Conway) versus Matt Price (Sumter), Conway won 1-0 in ten innings. Most dominant pitching performance: Colby Holmes (Conway) versus Sumter-Perfect game through seven, ended up allowing two hits in nine innings, 13 K’s, no walks. Hardest fastball: Logan Munson (AC Flora) Best baseball name: Mo Holler (AC Flora) Cleanest round of pre-game: Wando HS, Conway HS Top Fungo Guy: John Daurity (Socastee) Best Catcher’s Pop-up: Ritchie Causey (Conway) Worst Call: Plenty of nominees this month…Sumter’s Tyler Christman had two strikes on him with the winning run at third base, was hit on the hand getting out of the way of the pitch and it was ruled he was out for attempting to bunt the ball, strike three. Best Argument with an Umpire: Greg Dozier (Dillon) Best line from a parent in the bleachers: “Open ‘dem eyes blue!” Best Playing Surface: Aynor HS Best pre-game tunes: Wando HS Best in-game tunes: Wando HS Best Dressed Evaluator: Scott Brickman (Wofford) The Gary Randall Attendance Award: Tom Fleenor (USC Sumter); the award could be issued to Gary Randall (MLB Bureau) each month so we’ve decided, instead, just to name the award after him! Hospitality Award: Georgetown at the IP Classic February’s Round-Up .

Newsreel: Wando at Stratford

Stratford knocks off Wando March 14, 2007   Stratford scored three runs in the bottom of the sixth inning and thwarted Wando’s two-out rally in the top of the seventh Wednesday in Goose Creek to hand the Warriors their first loss of the season and first region loss since 2005. Wando (10-1, 1-1 Region VII-4A) scored four runs in the top of the sixth inning to take a 7-6 lead on Grayson King’s two-run single to left and King’s subsequent run on a wild pitch, but Stratford (6-4, 2-0) came back with some clutch two-strike hitting that was amplified by two Wando errors. Aaron Preston scored on Mecho Bohren’s infield single and a Wando throwing error, followed by Josh Crout’s RBI-single to rightfield for an 8-7 lead. Cory Greer added an RBI-single to rightfield to make it 9-7 and later scored when Wando botched a double-play ball. Wando didn’t go quietly in the top of the seventh. Just when it looked like they might, the Warriors rallying for a pair of runs with two outs. Danny Lynch had a two-out single to left to score a run and College of Charleston signee Cole Rakar tripled into the rightfield corner to make it 10-9 before Stratford’s Tyler Hill coaxed a ground-ball out to second to end the game. Preston, Bohren, Crout and Greer all had two hits for the Knights, while Rakar and Drew Cisco had three hits to lead Wando. Stratford used ace Nick Osterman, a College of Charleston commitment, and he threw 5.1 innings before being lifted for Hill, who got the win in relief. The Knights used a three-run second to take a 4-3 lead and got an RBI-single from Greer in the bottom of the third and an RBI-double by Damon Ardis in the bottom of the fourth to take a 6-3 advantage. Lynch scored Rakar with a sacrifice fly to make it 6-4 and King evened the scored with a two-run single to leftfield in the sixth. He later moved to third and scored the go-ahead run on wild pitches. Final score: Stratford 10, Wando 9 Stratford meets James Island on Friday, while Wando takes on Orangeburg-Wilkinson. .

Newsreel: South Aiken at North Augusta

North Augusta nips T-Breds for region victory March 13, 2007   North Augusta – North Augusta junior southpaw Marty Gantt tossed his third complete game of the season in as many starts and Trey Parker drove home Josh Troutman with the winning run in the bottom of the seventh inning to lift the Yellow Jackets to a 2-1 victory over South Aiken Tuesday night in a Region IV-4A game at Riverview Park. Gantt fanned thirteen batters and allowed just two hits in running his record to 3-0. He’s struck out 41 batters in 22 innings this spring and will likely attend South Carolina on an unofficial visit this weekend for the Gamecocks’ three-game Southeastern Conference series with Louisiana State. Gantt was working on a shutout before South Aiken’s Jowan Gray led-off the top of the seventh with a solo home run to tie the score 1-1. Troutman led-off the bottom of the inning for North Augusta with a single and moved to second on a sac-bunt before Parker singled to right, pushing him across the plate with the game-winner. North Augusta (6-2, 2-1 region) finished with eight hits. The Yellow Jackets take on Cross Creek (Ga.) Wednesday before getting back into region play against Aiken on Friday. All three of North Augusta’s region games have been decided by one run this spring. They edged Lexington 3-2 in eight innings on March 6 before losing 4-3 in the bottom of the seventh to White Knoll on March 9. .

Summer Showcase-Application

Tentative Schedule for Monday and Tuesday, June 11-12, 2007 9:00 AM           Session 1 Check-in at Ben Lippen HS (Pick-up jersey) 9:45                 Session 1 players report to the field for a meeting and stretching 10:00-12:00     60’s, Defensive Workout, Batting Practice 11:45               Session 2 Check-in at Ben Lippen HS (Pick-up jersey) 12:00               Lunch (will be provided for players on Day 1) 12:05               Recruiting Seminar 12:45               Session 2 players report to the field for a meeting and stretching 1:00-3:00         60’s, Defensive Workout, Batting Practice 4:00-10:00       Games at Ben Lippen 9:00-4:00         Tuesday: Games at Ben Lippen Rosters will be set and exact times will be posted on June 7. Stay tuned to the website in the preceding days for updated information, DP will be our way of communicating with you. *Note-Concession stand will be available each day. ———————————————————————————————————————————– Diamond Prospects Showcase Application Please PRINT the following form neatly, the information you provide us will be listed in the Scout Book for coaches and scouts. Detach this section and mail back with payment to: Diamond Prospects : PO Box 1262 : Conway, SC 29528 Stay tuned to TheDiamondProspects.com leading up to the event for hotel information, directions, rosters, last second announcements, etc. Name _____________________________ High School ____________________ Grad Year ___________ Address _______________________________ City ____________________ State ______ Zip ________ Home # _____________________ Cell # __________________ Email ___________________________ DOB _________________ Fall/Summer team ________________________________________________ 1st position ________ 2nd position _________ HT __________ WT _________ Bats _____ Throws_____ GPA ___________ SAT (total, math, verbal) __________/__________/__________ ACT _________ Medical Waiver: I waive and release Diamond Prospects, its staff and the Ben Lippen HS from any injury that may occur during the camp to the above-mentioned camper, on site or involving travel to and from the event. I also take responsibility for any expenses that incur during the camp due to necessary treatment of injury. I also give permission for emergency treatment if needed. I understand by signing this waiver, I give consent to participation in the event and assume all risk arising from it. Parent/Guardian Signature: _________________________________ Date ______________ Recruiting 101: If you wish to attend the Recruiting Seminar, please check the corresponding box below. _____ Yes, I would like to attend the Recruiting Seminar. In my family, _____ person(s) will attend. Please include an additional $25 to your showcase tuition. Be sure to pick up a seminar ticket at the check-in table. Early Registration Fee:    $145-Please make checks payable to Diamond Prospects, Deadline April 15 Late Registration Fee:     $195-Please make checks payable to Diamond Prospects, Deadline June 6 Due to insurance, facility fees and other expenses involved that are paid-in-full prior to the showcase, this event is NON-refundable. In the event of inclement weather, every effort will be made to move the showcase indoors. Note: Showcase application and tuition must be received, not post-marked, by the posted deadline. Total amount enclosed: $_______________ www.TheDiamondProspects.com Diamond Prospects                        PO Box 1262                        Conway, SC 29528 .