By: Nick Nickles – February 21, 2009
DP was in Easley on Saturday to host a 9-inning scrimmage and a three-way scrimmage. Blue Ridge took on Chesnee in the morning 9 inning exhibition and Spartanburg, BHP and Easley would battle it out in the afternoon. Cooler temperatures did slow velocities, but talent would show itself even through the conditions.
We had a great day of baseball and we will bring you all the action of how the day unfolded.
-Game Summary-
Game 1: Blue Ridge 4 Chesnee 1, 9 innings
A close game that was dominated by pitching on both sides early finally gave way late to big hits by Blue Ridge’s Chase Corn and Mac Bragg. Cole Robison (right) started for Blue Ridge and was dominating striking out six in three innings. Chesnee’s Brandon Henderson would allow no earned runs in 4 innings of work, but the Eagles could never get the offense in the right gear.
Game 2: BHP 9 Spartanburg 2, 5 innings
Brody Greer would lead the offensive charge with a double and a homer in the rout of Spartanburg. Bear’s senior Matthew Moore contributed two RBI on two hits and freshman Andrew Cox chipped in two RBI on two hits in the win. Spartanburg got a great starting effort out of Ryan Traylor before the Bears would snack on the bullpen. Nicholas Myers had the lone offensive highlight for Spartanburg with a 2-rbi single.
Game 3: Easley 7 Spartanburg 0, 5 innings
Stuart King drove in two runs from the bottom of the order to propel Easley to an easy win over Spartanburg. Brandon Smith and Kilby Lesley combined for the shutout win on the mound for the Greenwave.
Game 4: Easley 0 BHP 0, 5 innings
Easley’s Sammy Nix was crafty through 4-innings and BHP used a committee of pitchers while each team’s staff blanked the offenses through 5 innings. Each team had chances to score but the pitchers proved to escape each time runners moved into scoring position. This was a well played baseball game by both teams.
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-Chesnee Eagles-
This is a young team that is looking to contend in the 2A upper-state title hunt. The Eagles have only one senior on the ballclub. They will be led by junior LHP Brandon Henderson (left) who will be an extremely tough draw for opponents. Henderson will be complimented with a solid number two arm in junior RHP Dustin Sherbert. Offensively, the Eagles will be young but they have a couple of hitters in Colby Painter, Jordan Garrett, and Steven Cantrell that could provide enough offense at the front of the order to have Chesnee competing deep in the postseason. The Eagles have a head coach with a little bit of experience in Dean Jones. Coach Jones, age 70, is approaching 700 wins threw BP to every hitter on his club before their game with Blue Ridge!!!
60 Times
Name | Class | 60 Time |
Darnell Spurry | Sr | 7.53 |
Cody Turner | So | 7.23 |
Brandon Henderson | Jr | 8.12 |
Steven Cantrell | Jr | 7.22 |
Ryan Mitchell | Jr | 7.41 |
Clint Cooper | So | 8.15 |
Dustin Sherbert | Jr | 7.85 |
Jordan Garrett | So | 7.68 |
Taylor Waldrop | Jr | 7.47 |
Walt Miller | So | 7.28 |
David Jones | Jr | 7.75 |
Colby Painter | So | 7.47 |
Charlie Towery | So | 7.67 |
Kyle Wilkinson | So | 8.01 |
Chandler Freeman | So | 7.97 |
Pitchers
Name | YR | R/L | FB | BB | CH |
Brandon Henderson | Jr | LHP | 80-83 | 68-73 mixed in a few plus CB’s | 71-74 |
Jordan Garrett | So | RHP | 76-78 | 67 | 71 |
Steven Cantrell | Jr | RHP | 73-74 |
Top Prospects
Rank | Name | Class | Scout Notes |
1 | Brandon Henderson | Jr | LHP with some upside. Flashes 3 pitches for strikes. Gives hints of pitchability. Investment could pay off nicely for this pitcher’s suitors |
T-2 | Colby Painter | So | Swings it from the left side. Showed pop with decent backspin in BP. A hitter to watch |
T-2 | Steven Cantrell | JR | Displayed smoothness in actions and made several nice plays at SS though 2B may be his future position. He added a solid single as well. |
4 | Jordan Garrett | So | Led off the game with a hit and spanked the ball around a little during BP. |
5 | Dustin Sherbert | Jr | He didnt pitch today, but has flashed low to mid 80’s stuff with a decent spinner. |
-Blue Ridge Tigers-
The Tiger’s are a typical Steve Goodwin disciplined type of club. They make the routine plays, they know where they are supposed to be, and they always give themselves a chance to win the ballgame. Junior LHP Cole Robison can pitch and will lead the staff. He adds and subtracts very efficiently, and collects a surprising number of strikeouts. He’s going to win some games. Chase Corn and Brandon Wooten will have plenty of opportunities to contribute innings as well. Blue Ridge plays in a very tough conference in Region 3-3A where nothing will come easy, but this team will play a factor in how things will shape up in that conference.
60 Times
Name | Class | 60 Time |
Cody Vaughn | Jr | 7.50 |
Chas Goodwin | Jr | 7.63 |
Chas Williams | So | 7.75 |
Dillion Epps | Sr | 7.31 |
Luke Black | Jr | 7.69 |
Mac Bragg | Jr | 7.62 |
Brandon Wooten | So | 7.97 |
Ryan Reeves | Sr | 8.31 |
Chase Corn | Jr | 7.47 |
Rusty Rainey | So | 8.16 |
Tripp Owenby | So | 7.63 |
Dustin Snow | Jr | – |
Cole Robinson | Jr | 8.00 |
Pitchers
Name | Yr | R/L | FB | BB | CH |
Cole Robison | Jr | LHP | 75-78 | 58-60 | 63-68 |
Brandon Wooten | Jr | RHP | 82-81 | 67-68 | 73 |
Chase Corn | Jr | LHP | 77-80 | 68-70 | 68-69 |
Top Prospects
Rank | Name | Class | Scout Notes |
1 | Cole Robison | Jr | Adds and subtracts with the best of them. Pitched in, pitched out, elevated, flipped changes, and punched out 6 in three innings. He can pitch!!! |
2 | Chase Corn | Jr | LHP with a good delivery and smooth arm action. |
3 | Brandon Wooten | So | 81-82 from a solid frame with some depth on the breaking ball |
4 | Luke Black | Jr | Solid HS infield surprising pop from small frame. Should hit for a decent average. |
5 | Chas Goodwin | Jr | Swing has improved. Puts dent in opposition’s run game from catching position. 1200 SAT score. |
-BHP Bears-
This team has a chance to win every time they take the field. The Bears are athletic, they play defense, they have great team speed, and they have some guys that can hit. BHP does lack an upper-80’s power arm. The question is when they face a top tier arm, how much pressure will it put on the offense? This question will be put to the test at the IP Classic, less than two weeks away. Matthew Moore (right), Brody Greer (left) and Austin Gambrell act as the top pitchers on the club, but all three project best as position players. Gambrell is a sophomore. He flashes the best velo, but he is a year away from overpowering hitters with the fastball. BHP is very talented and quite possibly the best compilation of players in 3A, but high school baseball is usually dominated by pitching. Nonetheless, the Bears are fun to watch and I want to label them as a premium contender, but those 3A teams with one stout arm make me cautious to slap the label… but don’t big arms scare everybody?
60 Times
Name | Class | 60 Time |
Jarad Jennings | So | 7.40 |
Parker Frost | Jr | 7.39 |
Jacob Chapman | Jr | 7.63 |
Lance Moore | Jr | 7.20 |
Tyler Lollis | Sr | 7.15 |
Matt Williams | 8th | 7.56 |
Jacob Tavernier | Jr | 6.97 |
Matthew Moore | Sr | 6.98 |
Jon Terbeek | Sr | 7.43 |
Cody Spence | So | 7.73 |
Austin Gambrell | So | 7.63 |
Dylan Ashley | Jr | 7.15 |
Brody Greer | Sr | 7.19 |
Luke Jackson | Jr | 7.26 |
Mark Hill | So | 8.33 |
Jeremy Powell | Jr | 8.34 |
Andrew Cox | Fr | 7.06 |
Pitchers
Name | YR | R/L | FB | BB | CH |
Matthew Moore | Sr | RHP | 79-81 | 67-68 | – |
Austin Gambrell | So | RHP | 82-84 | 67-68 | – |
Brody Greer | Sr | RHP | 80-82 | 70-71 | – |
Parker Frost | Sr | RHP | 77 | 64-66 | – |
Andrew Cox | Fr | LHP | 75-77 | 64-65 | 60 |
Luke Jackson | JR | RHP | 79-80 | – | – |
Top Prospects
Rank | Name | Class | Scout Notes |
T1 | Matthew Moore | Sr | Quick set of feet and hands allows him to be a solid defender at short. Has improved hitting. Solid in all phases of the game |
T1 | Brody Greer | Sr | One of the most improved players in the state. Great approach with pop, plus defender at multiple positions. |
T1 | Andrew Cox | Fr | Ran 7.0 on a terrible track, 5-11/178 lb freshman. Very athletic. Bats/Throws L/L Big ceiling! |
T4 | Jacob Tavernier | Jr | A top OF in the 2010 class. Runs well and tracks balls in CF. |
T4 | Austin Gambrell | So | Has a great INF arm and it translates to mid-80’s on the bump. Hasn’t shown the thunder early that he displayed last year as a freshman at the plate |
-Spartanburg Vikings-
The Vikings are a competitive group when Ryan Traylor and Brandon Landrie are on the mound. When those two guys are not pitching, they are very vulnerable. Traylor and Landrie allowed no earned runs today and the rest of the staff accounted for 10+ runs. They swing it okay. Spartanburg will have some games where they score a few runs with Luke Weber, Justin Gullickson (right), Brian Poteat and Landrie providing some RBI potential in the lineup. Nicholas Myers (left) will give them a solid lead-off hitter. Spartanburg and Byrnes will battle it out to stay in the hunt for the last playoff spot, but it will be a stiff challenge to push out a presumable Mauldin or Hillcrest at the end of the day for the final playoff spot. It’s going to be another war in Region 2-4A.
60 Times
Name | Class | 60 Time |
Dee Curry | Jr | 7.29 |
Justin Gullickson | Sr | 7.03 |
Caleb Jennings | Sr | – |
Jordan Kollock | Sr | 7.12 |
Ben Kyle | So | 7.24 |
Brandon Landrie | So | 7.75 |
Andrew Memmott | Jr | 7.96 |
Nicholas Myers | Jr | 7.52 |
Brian Poteat | Sr | 7.31 |
John Mark Renfrow | Jr | – |
Ryan Traylor | Sr | – |
Luke Weber | Jr | 7.93 |
Clark Wise | Sr | – |
Grayson Austin | So | 8.60 |
Heatly Hamilton | Fr | 8.37 |
Pitchers
Name | YR | R/L | FB | BB | CH |
Ryan Traylor | Sr | RHP | 76-77 "subby" | – | 67-72 |
Jordan Kollock | Sr | RHP | 71-74 | 64 | – |
Hamilton Heatly | Fr | LHP | 76-78 | 69 | 68 |
Brandon Landrie | So | RHP | 85-88 | 69-71 | – |
Ben Kyle | So | RHP | 80-81 | 68 | – |
Andrew Memmott | Jr | LHP | 70-73 | 63 | – |
Top Prospects
Rank | Name | Class | Scout Notes |
1 | Brandon Landrie | So | Strong bodied kid with an upper 80’s FB. Legit D-1 caliber arm if he was a senior now! Punched out 5 in two innings |
2 | Luke Weber | Jr | 6-2/190 catcher with some skills. He has some pop in the bat, and is a definite sleeper/follow for colleges at this point |
3 | Justin Gullickson | Sr | Improved in every facet of the game since he was a sophomore. Now runs a sub 7.00 60-time. |
4 | Ryan Traylor | Sr | He throws submarine! He throws strikes… He gets outs |
5 | Nicholas Myers | Jr | Myers made some plays today and posted solid AB’s. He’s not too bad out there in the INF! |
-Easley Greenwave-
The Greenwave will run two crafty lefties to the hill in Sammy Nix and Brandon Smith. They handled the bulk of the work and posted 10 scoreless frames on Saturday. Easley is solid on defense and will not rate above average in any category offensively, but they do a great job at limiting weaknesses. Roger Finley’s Greenwave made one of the best runs in recent memory last year playing for the upper-state championship, and this group of kids does know how to win. They don’t project to be at the top of the conference, but they should provide headaches on their way to making the playoffs. Sophomore Joey Pankake (right) will be expected to step up this season as he was very average this weekend.
60 Times-Coming Soon!
Pitchers
Name | YR | R/L | FB | BB | CH |
Brandon Smith | Jr | LHP | 73-74 | 67-68 | 63 |
Sammy Nix | Jr | LHP | 74-75 | 62 | 66-71 |
Kilby Lesley | Sr | RHP | 81 | 67-68 |
Top Prospects
Rank | Name | Class | Scout Notes |
1 | Joey Pankake | So | He has the most talent but it has to translate to being the best ballplayer day in and day out. If he figures this out, he could be great. |
2 | Sammy Nix | Jr | This kid competes and he wins. Eliminated Boiling Springs as a freshman and Dorman last year. Shutout B-HP for 4 on Saturday. Kenny Rogers of high school baseball |
3 | Harrison Wilkins | Jr | Plays 100% all the time. The kind of kid that you find yourself pulling for to succeed and beat the odds. Helps ballclubs win games. |
4 | Brandon Smith | Jr | Typical baseball rat. He’s always trying to get better and he’s always clawing to get on base. Also, the teams best OF and will be the #2 pitcher on the staff |
5 | Kilby Lesley | Sr | He will pitch some important innings this year and has the stuff to get hitters out. He was effective tonight in relief in both games. |
DP Note: All MPH’s were recorded with a Stalker radar gun.