The weather may still be chilly, but spring sports regular seasons are just around the corner! Avery girls soccer takes to the pitch for the first time this week, and another sport, Avery baseball, took to the diamond for the first taste of live competition in 2008.
Coming off a state quarterfinal finish a season ago in varsity play, the Avery varsity and junior varsity baseball teams began the 2008 campaign on a clear, breezy day last Saturday with a trip to Wilkes Central High School for five-inning scrimmages against host Wilkes Central as well as Hibriten.
The scrimmages were structured to give a wide array of players the opportunity to both get at-bats as well as play defense in the field. Avery manager Benny Wellborn used the scrimmages to give several pitchers work on the mound and see an array of players at various positions in the field.
The Vikings struggled to score against Wilkes Central, a perennially strong 2A school who used one of its ace pitchers on the mound during the contest. Avery countered by starting right hander Brooks Oakley, a tall athlete with a strong arm and solid control.
“Brooks threw well for us. Wilkes threw their ace their first three innings and the score was only 3-0. Their ace has been shutting teams down for a long time, and we were able to get a few runners on,” Coach Wellborn remarked after the scrimmage.
Avery bounced back to score multiple runs in the second of the scrimmages against Hibriten. Vikings senior right hander Seth Phillips took the ball for Avery in the back half of the doubleheader, showing the velocity and tenacity that made one of the region’s notable prospects and one of the most respected hurlers in Western North Carolina.
“In the second game we were hurt by a lot of passed balls which cost us some runs, and we had some missed signs as well. We didn’t put the ball in play as much and we just didn’t have the mindset to swing the bats as much as I would have liked to see,” the coach added.
Progress at such an early time of the season is not measured so much by wins and losses or even by runs on the scoreboard. Rather, the early timing of last weekend’s contests simply gave seasoned players the chance to see live pitching and go through the paces of actual game pace and new players the opportunity to get some experience under their belts.
“This year we have some kids who haven’t played who I felt should have been playing for four years. We’re coming out and moving kids around. We have several returning kids who know the game, but it’s really a work in progress right now,” the coach explained. “The good thing is since I’ve been at Avery we have never played this early, and we’ve never seen a live arm until the time of our first ballgame. That was what my main goal to accomplish was today.”
Avery opens its season on Tuesday, March 4th with a non-conference contest at Wilkes Central. First pitch is scheduled at 6:30 p.m.
The scrimmages were structured to give a wide array of players the opportunity to both get at-bats as well as play defense in the field. Avery manager Benny Wellborn used the scrimmages to give several pitchers work on the mound and see an array of players at various positions in the field.
The Vikings struggled to score against Wilkes Central, a perennially strong 2A school who used one of its ace pitchers on the mound during the contest. Avery countered by starting right hander Brooks Oakley, a tall athlete with a strong arm and solid control.
“Brooks threw well for us. Wilkes threw their ace their first three innings and the score was only 3-0. Their ace has been shutting teams down for a long time, and we were able to get a few runners on,” Coach Wellborn remarked after the scrimmage.
Avery bounced back to score multiple runs in the second of the scrimmages against Hibriten. Vikings senior right hander Seth Phillips took the ball for Avery in the back half of the doubleheader, showing the velocity and tenacity that made one of the region’s notable prospects and one of the most respected hurlers in Western North Carolina.
“In the second game we were hurt by a lot of passed balls which cost us some runs, and we had some missed signs as well. We didn’t put the ball in play as much and we just didn’t have the mindset to swing the bats as much as I would have liked to see,” the coach added.
Progress at such an early time of the season is not measured so much by wins and losses or even by runs on the scoreboard. Rather, the early timing of last weekend’s contests simply gave seasoned players the chance to see live pitching and go through the paces of actual game pace and new players the opportunity to get some experience under their belts.
“This year we have some kids who haven’t played who I felt should have been playing for four years. We’re coming out and moving kids around. We have several returning kids who know the game, but it’s really a work in progress right now,” the coach explained. “The good thing is since I’ve been at Avery we have never played this early, and we’ve never seen a live arm until the time of our first ballgame. That was what my main goal to accomplish was today.”
Avery opens its season on Tuesday, March 4th with a non-conference contest at Wilkes Central. First pitch is scheduled at 6:30 p.m.
