By: DP Staff-May 11, 2008 In January, over 200 baseball teams began practice with high hopes of playing during the week of May 12-16. Hundreds of games were played, some were blowouts, some kept us on the edge of our seat. But after all of that, here we are with eight teams still alive and vying for a 2008 State Championship! Attendance at ballparks large and small have been at an all-time high…prep baseball in our state is alive and well! In 2008, Diamond Prospects was been privileged to have a front row seat to personal triumphs, big errors, raunchy calls by umpires, walk-off homers, Web Gems, injury, midnight games, double plays, mental mistakes, a left-handed shortstop, more bad calls, suicide squeezes, a deer running across the outfield, a dog running across the infield, sac bunts, more bad calls, collisions, thrown helmets, infield/outfield, hustle, laziness, comebacks, choke jobs, ball four, strike three (some were on bad calls) and a girl playing first base in a Varsity game! It has all led us to this point. By the end of the week, four towns will anoint their local heroes and four baseball programs will have to watch an opponent celebrate. Four teams will win, four won’t. What takes place in the next few days will provide these young men with memories of a lifetime. Years from now, local fans will reminisce about the big hit, big pitch, big play and ole "what’s his name" that did it all. With that said, if your team is finished and you love this game, find one of these contests and support the kids that have paid the price to play in South Carolina’s most meaningful games. The State Finals are upon us, let’s enjoy baseball in its purest form! —————————————————– Diamond Prospects covered over 250 games in 2008. We put our efforts together over the past three months to condense all of the information we have on the teams that will do battle this week. Today, we provide you a cheat sheet of names and info as well as some keys to success and things to look for throughout the series. Print it off and takes it to the games, see how things play out! —————————————————– 4A Capsule Upper State Winner: Boiling Springs Bulldogs Head Coach: Jeff Lipscomb Record: 22-6 Region: II Key Players: Jeffrey Campbell (.435, 6 2B, 9 HR, 26 RBI, 8 SB), Hunter Rice (.368, 8 HR, 30 RBI), Cameron Holmes (7 HR, 22 RBI), Jimmy Revan (.351, 9 2B, 3 HR, 30 RBI), Josh Pless (6 2B, 2 HR), Taylor Hollifield Key Pitchers: Jimmy Revan (11-0, 0.73 ERA, 65.2 IP, 107 K, 19 BB), Cameron Holmes (2-1, 1.60 ERA, 30 IP, 32 K, 9 BB), Hunter Rice (4-1, 3.84 ERA, 20.1 IP, 19 K, 14 BB) Keys to success: Keep riding that belief that they cannot lose! They have won games every way possible, several in late-night, thrilling fashion…Senior Jimmy Revan and Cameron Holmes, who appears healthy again, form a duo of southpaws that will have to throw well for the Bulldogs… Offense! 33 dingers on the season in a hitter’s park, this line-up has proven it can recover from any sort of deficit… No fear. They went to North Augusta and pulled off an improbable doubleheader win with their backs against the wall… Home field advantage. Bulldog fans have long since been known as a very rowdy bunch. Expect nothing different on Monday as the joint will be jammed and that could have an impact… . Lower State Winner: Conway Tigers Head Coach: Anthony Carroll Record: 28-2 Region: VI Key Players: Mac Doyle (.506, 9 2B, 11 HR, 31 RBI), Jeff Caskey, Sport Rabon, Ryne Hardwick, Bobby Watford Key Pitchers: Colby Holmes (9-1, 0.97 ERA, 65 IP, 110 K, 14 BB), Bobby Watford (8-0, 0.69 ERA, 61 IP, 73 K), James Floro, Haddon Childs Keys to success: Conway has ridden two legit arms in Colby Holmes (right) and Bobby Watford to this point but they do have depth on the mound too. Mac Doyle paces the offense but is nicely insulated with dangerous hitters. Conway gloves it well and has proven they can win close games. The Tigers also ride into this week on a long winning streak and have tons of confidence when they play, as evidenced by the way they beat Stratford on Friday to get to this point. Series Outlook: Game 1 is huge, period. The first one is always critical but if the Tigers return home with a series lead, it could spell trouble for the Bulldogs… Both clubs enter the series with their pitching staff’s in tact and on normal rest. Conway sends two hard-throwing right-handers with power breaking balls out for Games 1 and 2, Boiling Springs will counter with two mid-80’s southpaws with plus change-ups, all four have been dominant in 2008 but in different ways. The Tigers emerge from a very strong Region VI where they have seen quality pitching all season long, but they have not faced the likes of fastball/change-up lefties like Revan and Holmes… The catching in this series features South Carolina’s top two backstops Conway’s Mac Doyle (left) and Boiling Springs’ Jeffrey Campbell (right). Not only do they lead their teams in hitting, they are also the two best defenders in the senior class. Both can completely shut down the running game, therefore the long ball and sacrifice bunts will come into play. Which one has the better week could determine who our champion is… Travel will be a factor as well. Who can get off a four-hour bus ride and play? That remains to be seen… Two very accomplished clubs that play a different brand of baseball but are playing well at the right time, it should create plenty of excitement in a series that could come down to the final pitch! —————————————————– 3A Capsule Upper State Winner: AC Flora Falcons Head Coach: Andy Hallett Record: 22-9 Region: III Key Players: Jay Wilson, Robert Gibbes, Will …
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