2013 Preview: Lynchburg-Clay Mustangs Baseball
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
The Lynchburg-Clay Mustangs begin this season with a lofty goal in mind … winning their fourth consecutive conference championship, as they return six players from last season while welcoming in a youth movement which could produce the results to achieve their goal.
In the past three seasons, the Mustangs have gone 35-3 in the Southern Hills Athletic Conference, winning the Division I titles during those seasons, as last year they were district runners-up, losing to eventual state champion Wheelersburg.
Coming off that district final run, the Mustangs have just as high aspirations, even though they've lost important parts of the team from last season, especially on the mound.
"We fully expect to compete for our fourth straight league title," third-year head coach Garyn Waits said. "That's my expectation, and that's what the team expects.
"It all depends how well we develop with the freshmen. We sat down day one and agreed we're going to have to be a small ball style of team. We'll have to sacrifice and use our quickness to our advantage."
LC, who went 16-12 overall last season, returns players from the conference championship team from one year ago, including seniors Scott Cawood (pitcher/third base) and Zach Smith (utility) and juniors Ryan Inman (center fielder/pitcher), Gage Waits (catcher/pitcher), Chaz Lanier (shortstop/third base) and Josh Bauer (right field/second base). Also back on the roster is sophomore Alex Pinkerton (infielder).
"We have a good core group returning, which is solid," Waits said. "I'm confident in Ryan's ability in the outfield, and Gage holds his own behind the plate. Scotty has to be an arm for us. We know we have to put the ball in play, and the guys behind him will have to make plays, too.
"A lot of the guys played during the summer, and that helped them tremendously. Chaz is the cornerstone of the offense. He bats third, and he's consistent at the plate."
As a team last season, the Mustangs batted .291 with an on-base percentage of .396 and a .393 slugging percentage, as LC scored 211 runs.
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Waits led the Mustangs with a .393 batting average with 33 hits, 24 runs and 12 RBIs. Waits stole 15 bases on 16 attempts.
Lanier batted .321 one year ago with an on-base percentage of .423. He has 26 hits with 23 RBIs and scored 26 runs. Lanier also had six triples and two doubles, while also tallying 13 steals (15 attempts).
Also batting over .300 last season (who are returning) was Cawood at .308 with 23 runs, 24 hits and 16 RBIs.
The Mustangs lost four starters from last season in Tyler Davidson, Terry Campbell, Joey Butler and Wes Pierson.
"Losing our number-one pitcher and four total starters is tough," Waits said. "We have a lot of spots to fill. We're going to have to come out of the gate ready."
This season, also on the Mustangs team are seniors Alec Smith (outfielder) and Jacob Skaggs (outfielder/catcher); and freshmen Christian Inman (outfielder/pitcher), Cory Snider (infielder/pitcher), Morgan Ryan (first base) and Wesley Smith (outfielder/pitcher).
As for the LC pitching (the Mustangs have a team ERA of 4.80 last season), Cawood returns with the most innings pitched as he went 41 innings on the hill. He won four games with 39 strikeouts.
In losing Campbell to graduation, LC must replace a 2.29 ERA with six wins and a team-high 52 innings pitched last season. He struck out 60 batters.
Waits won two games last season in 29 innings pitched. He struck out 15 batters.
Inman struck out 16 batters in 19 innings last season.
"We just need to see what we have around the middle (of the lineup), but with all the weather we've had, it's been hard to get outside as much as we would have liked," Waits said.
To win that fourth consecutive SHAC title, LC will face some strong competition.
"Eastern has a solid foundation, and Peebles has a good class of seniors," Waits said. "In (Division II) Fayetteville and Whiteoak will be tough battles as well."
In the past three seasons, the Mustangs have gone 35-3 in the Southern Hills Athletic Conference, winning the Division I titles during those seasons, as last year they were district runners-up, losing to eventual state champion Wheelersburg.
Coming off that district final run, the Mustangs have just as high aspirations, even though they've lost important parts of the team from last season, especially on the mound.
"We fully expect to compete for our fourth straight league title," third-year head coach Garyn Waits said. "That's my expectation, and that's what the team expects.
"It all depends how well we develop with the freshmen. We sat down day one and agreed we're going to have to be a small ball style of team. We'll have to sacrifice and use our quickness to our advantage."
LC, who went 16-12 overall last season, returns players from the conference championship team from one year ago, including seniors Scott Cawood (pitcher/third base) and Zach Smith (utility) and juniors Ryan Inman (center fielder/pitcher), Gage Waits (catcher/pitcher), Chaz Lanier (shortstop/third base) and Josh Bauer (right field/second base). Also back on the roster is sophomore Alex Pinkerton (infielder).
"We have a good core group returning, which is solid," Waits said. "I'm confident in Ryan's ability in the outfield, and Gage holds his own behind the plate. Scotty has to be an arm for us. We know we have to put the ball in play, and the guys behind him will have to make plays, too.
"A lot of the guys played during the summer, and that helped them tremendously. Chaz is the cornerstone of the offense. He bats third, and he's consistent at the plate."
As a team last season, the Mustangs batted .291 with an on-base percentage of .396 and a .393 slugging percentage, as LC scored 211 runs.
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Waits led the Mustangs with a .393 batting average with 33 hits, 24 runs and 12 RBIs. Waits stole 15 bases on 16 attempts.
Lanier batted .321 one year ago with an on-base percentage of .423. He has 26 hits with 23 RBIs and scored 26 runs. Lanier also had six triples and two doubles, while also tallying 13 steals (15 attempts).
Also batting over .300 last season (who are returning) was Cawood at .308 with 23 runs, 24 hits and 16 RBIs.
The Mustangs lost four starters from last season in Tyler Davidson, Terry Campbell, Joey Butler and Wes Pierson.
"Losing our number-one pitcher and four total starters is tough," Waits said. "We have a lot of spots to fill. We're going to have to come out of the gate ready."
This season, also on the Mustangs team are seniors Alec Smith (outfielder) and Jacob Skaggs (outfielder/catcher); and freshmen Christian Inman (outfielder/pitcher), Cory Snider (infielder/pitcher), Morgan Ryan (first base) and Wesley Smith (outfielder/pitcher).
As for the LC pitching (the Mustangs have a team ERA of 4.80 last season), Cawood returns with the most innings pitched as he went 41 innings on the hill. He won four games with 39 strikeouts.
In losing Campbell to graduation, LC must replace a 2.29 ERA with six wins and a team-high 52 innings pitched last season. He struck out 60 batters.
Waits won two games last season in 29 innings pitched. He struck out 15 batters.
Inman struck out 16 batters in 19 innings last season.
"We just need to see what we have around the middle (of the lineup), but with all the weather we've had, it's been hard to get outside as much as we would have liked," Waits said.
To win that fourth consecutive SHAC title, LC will face some strong competition.
"Eastern has a solid foundation, and Peebles has a good class of seniors," Waits said. "In (Division II) Fayetteville and Whiteoak will be tough battles as well."