BASEBALL TAB -- Wayne Christian preview

By Andrew Stevens
Published in Sports on March 15, 2014 11:12 PM

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astevens@newsargus.com

In its final game of the 2013 season, Wayne Christian stayed within a single run of eventual N.C. Independent Athletic Association 1-A state champion Lawrence Academy for the better part of four or five innings.

That second-round playoff loss fueled the Eagles during the offseason.

And Wayne Christian head coach Curt Hinton is confident his team, which returns its entire roster intact, can hold its own against anyone this spring.

"They feel confident and that game last year helped boost their confidence," Hinton said. "Just going through that whole process and playing against a lot of teams that are always in it gave us confidence. We competed with everybody and never got beat badly.

"I feel like we can compete with pretty much every 1-A team in the state. This team is hungry and our goal is to compete for a state championship in the next two years."

Hinton has five quality arms in the bullpen. Each is capable of pounding the strike zone with a variety of pitches.

Returning starters Austin Howell, Holden Foster, Tanner Rose and closer Brandon Price each bring experience to the pitching staff. Rose possesses a knuckle ball which is a rarity at the high school level.

Freshman Ted Suggs adds depth on the mound and can also play any position on the field.

"We're in a good situation with five guys that can throw strikes and that have a variety of pitches," Hinton said. "We have guys with experience who can get hitters out. We also have Brandon Price as our closer who can really throw some heat."

Hunter Burt returns behind the plate for the Eagles. Burt demonstrated the ability to hit for average last season and he can play anywhere on the field.

Rose should be penciled in at first base when he's not on the mound and is expected to hit in the middle of the order. Trey Hinton won the starting job at second base and can also play the outfield.

"Our lineup is solid from top to bottom" Hinton said. "We have power in the middle and guys who can put it in play. I think we may be more of a singles hitting team. We do have two guys with consistent power and we're going to have to manufacture runs. I think we'll have to win a lot of games 5-4."

Suggs and Foster have each shown solid range defensively and will share playing time at shortstop. Howell typically mans third base, while Price is the starting center fielder.

Tyler Mozingo and Ryan Kennedy should start in left and right field, respectively. Reserves Nick Easom and Austin Sutton supply depth off the bench.

"This is one of the best defensive teams that I've hand and they are interchangeable, which gives me a lot of flexibility," Hinton said. "Our outfield can track down balls and I expect our infield to make all the straightforward plays. I expect them to also make some fantastic plays."

A lack of depth is Hinton's biggest concern.

Mason White, a transfer from Georgia, has already been sidelined with an ankle injury. That leaves Wayne Christian with just 11 healthy players. Another injury could prove to be damaging to the Eagles' lofty expectations.

"With just 11 healthy players, depth is obviously an issue," Hinton said. "If anything happens, we're going to have a hard time putting together a consistent team. Any injuries to our pitchers would also be a concern."