Mountaineer 2014 Spring Sports Preview Editorial by: Gary Stewart Photos by: Gary Stewart & Gary Smart
Baseball Softball Track & Field Ladies’ Soccer Men’s Tennis Men’s Golf
Baseball team hopes to make Lady kickers looking a run for the championship to start strong in SMAC With a talented roster which includes eight returning starters, Kings Mountain High’s baseball team hopes to make a run for the SMAC 2A/3A championship this spring. Second-year coach Matt Bridges saw his team make the state 3A playoffs last year. The Mountaineers hadn’t competed in the state since 2008, when they won the Southwestern Conference. Despite missing four days of spring practice because of snow, Coach Bridges says the team is looking good. “We’ve got a lot of excited kids,” he says. The Mountaineers had a very good Hickory team on the ropes in the opening round of last year’s playoffs, leading by two runs before Hickory came back to win in extra innings. The Red Tornadoes then went all the way to the Western finals. The Mountaineers have been working hard to improve in every phase of the game. “Last year we were not a big hitting team,” Coach Bridges noted, “but this year we should produce some runs.” Returning players that started most of the time last year include catcher Colby Crisp, infielders Alex Reynolds, Logan Stevens, Cameron Bullock, Daniel Barrett and Will Wilson, outfielder Zachary Hegler and pitcher Alex Grooms. Bullock, along with Shawn Adams, got a late start due to playing on the Mountaineer basketball team in the state 3A playoffs. Other players include Cameron Ramsey, Landon Bolin, Shad Johnson, Robbie Lysek, Brandon Bell, Tristen Davis and Jacob Lainhart. At present, Coach Bridges plans to go with a two-man pitching rotation of Bolin and Grooms. Reynolds will be the relief pitcher. Bridges feels the key to the Mountaineers’ success this year will be run produc-
Daniel Barrett - Sr.
Cameron Bullock - Sr.
Landon Bolin - Sr.
Alex Grooms - Sr.
Zach Hegler - Sr.
Alex Reynolds - Sr.
tion. “Situational hitting, clutch hits with runners in scoring position,” he said. “And the starting pitchers have to go deep into the game.” He feels defense will be the team’s strong point. The Mountaineers should be strong at every position. “The lineup could change depending on who’s pitching,” he said. “We have a lot of options. We have a solid infield.” The younger players up from last year’s JV team are also a talented group, Bridges said. “We have a lot more
depth than we did last year,” Bridges says. “And we’ll have a lot of guys in the dugout that can run. Hegler, Adams and Lysek all have good speed along with Bell, Reynolds and Wilson.” While the Big South was always a challenge with teams like South Point, Forestview and North Gaston putting good teams on the field, the new SMAC 2A/3A will be too. “This year will be just as tough,” Bridges said. “There are a lot of good teams in the SMAC. Shelby has one of the best teams they’ve had See BASEBALL, 4C
Kings Mountain High’s women’s soccer team officially opened its season at home against East Rutherford. The Lady Mountaineers have played well in two scrimmages and hope to get off to a good start in the new SMAC 2A/3A. Kings Mountain and Crest join county rival Burns as the 3A members of the league and Shelby, Chase, East Rutherford, RS Central, East Burke and Draughn are the 2A members. Mountaineer coach Erik Price has several starters returning from last year’s team which posted a 10-12-1 overall record. Returning seniors are Mikayla Price, Maddie Skeith and Katy Robinson and returning juniors are Sara Smart, Courtney Johnson, Lauren Gould, MC Dellinger, Lyndsey Barnes, Jamie Slater and Johnna Scism. Freshmen Sara Paysour, Virginia Dellinger and Ashley Rhom hope to make a big impact on the program, along with junior Kimberlee Farris and senior Mary Asgari. Freshman Ashley Rhom posted a shutout in goal in her very first high school game. “We have looked good in practice and in our first scrimmage with East Gaston,” noted Coach Price. “The girls are doing the things we’ve been working on and that’s always nice to
Mary Asgari - Sr.
Mikayla Price - Sr.
Katy Robinson - Sr.
Madeline Skeith - Sr.
see.” Price admits he’s a little nervous about going into the new conference but hopes to see his girls build on last year’s record and make a second straight trip to the state 3A playoffs. “We feel like we’re pretty strong on defense and we’re spending a lot of time trying to work on attacking and getting into the offensive zone and score more goals this year,” he said. “We feel like we should be stronger and a little more competitive this season,” he
added. “We only lost one player and over the last couple of years we’ve gotten better. We’ve got the makeup if we can get on the same page. A lot of these girls have been playing soccer for a long time. He looks for a very competitive season. “Definitely, Shelby’s always good,” he added, “All of the other Cleveland County teams are good. That’s the crew that always have a bunch of girls out See SOCCER, 7C
2014 Women’s Soccer Roster # 1 2 4 6 7 8 12 13 15 16 17 18
Name Sara Smart MC Dellinger Jamie Slater Virginia Dellinger Kimberlee Farris Lyndsey Barnes Courtney Johnson Johnna Scism Lauren Gould Sara Pasour Mary Asgari Katy Robinson
Grade 11 11 11 9 11 11 11 11 11 9 12 12
19/G Ashley Rhom 20 Mikayla Price 22 Madeline Skeith
9 12 12
Lady Mountaineer Johnna Scism takes off with the ball during a recent pre-season match-up against Forestview.