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29ers prepped for new season
Adam Zuerndorfer, Sports Writer The way Caldwell 29er coach Gary Hamby sees things, the American Legion baseball playoffs are the start of a brand new season. Caldwell's 13-game June winning streak, he says, is a thing of the past. Same goes for the three-game losing streak that the 29ers carry into postseason play. All that resumé-building the 29ers did to secure a No. 2 seed in the Western Division is now out the window. "My belief is that you don't carry any momentum in from the regular season to the playoffs," he says. "You build it solely within the playoffs. If we can come out, hit the baseball and put some runs on the board, it's not going to matter what happened up to that point. Our total success is going to be dependent on how well we can hit the baseball right now." The 29ers (20-7) host Huntersville (7-9) tonight in the opener of the best-of-five first round matchup at M.S. Deal Stadium. Game time is set for 7 p.m. "We just need to come out focused," catcher Trent Reynolds says. "I think these last three losses have been a wake-up call for us. We're going to be ready to play." Road to recovery Caldwell showed signs of fatigue down the stretch run of the regular season. After returning from a trip to Omaha, Neb., the 29ers played 13 games in 14 days. After winning the first 10, they limped home to close out the year with consecutive losses to Cherryville (twice) and Burke County. "I could start to see it in the guys' eyes as we entered the last week," Hamby says. "We were just worn out from playing so much." The 29ers have had a four-day respite from play, a stretch just long enough to provide a much-needed mental break. Perhaps more importantly, though, the team is also starting to heal up physically. Second baseman Lucas Jackson, out since late June with a fractured hand, could get his cast off as soon as today (next week at the latest). Josh Severt, the 29ers' leading hitter (with a .418 batting average), has recovered from flu-like symptoms he experienced last week. Shane Clawson, who missed a pair of games on a vacation, is back with the team (and getting over a cold himself). And Zach Merriken, despite being limited to a designated hitter role, is healthy enough to play through shoulder pain. "Everybody seems to be on the mend," Hamby says. "We should be as close to 100 percent healthy as we have been in a good while." Confident on the mound Bryan Tuttle (5-1) will start Game 1 for the 29ers, fresh off a regular season where he allowed only three earned runs in 49 innings of work. "I feel pretty good," Tuttle said Monday. "I'm ready to go." The team has expressed a high level of confidence in the consistent right-hander. "We have an unbelievable belief in Bryan," Clawson said. "For me, it's the same as when Madison (Bumgarner) was out on the mound, or Jimmy (Messer). You just know those guys are going to give you a good game." Tuttle won his first five starts of the season before falling to Cherryville last Thursday. Even then, Tuttle allowed only two earned runs and struck out seven against a potent Post 100 offense. "Whenever he's on the mound, I feel like we've got our best chance to win," Merriken says. "He shuts people down and gets into their heads." Cody Poarch is expected to take the mound for Post 29 in Game 2, with either Aaron Bentley or Severt pitching Game 3. Clawson should contribute in relief. Key to the series The difference between a successful Caldwell team that translates talent and potential into wins and a disappointing one that doesn't, Hamby says, lies in how his team swings the bats. The 29ers put up 11.45 runs per game in their wins and only 3.71 runs per game in their losses. "When we don't hit the ball like we're capable of doing, that's when we get into trouble," Hamby says. "We've got to score runs. That takes a lot of pressure off the defense and the pitching. And that's when we do well." That means Caldwell will have to get production from power sources and contact men alike. "We can't just have a few guys hit it," Clawson says. "It's got to be everybody, one through nine. We can't just try to hit the long ball; we need consistent base hits." Schedule of events Caldwell will host Game 1, Game 3 and Game 5 of the series against Huntersville (if necessary). The 29ers would have home-field advantage in a series against any team except for Cherryville or Pineville. In other Area IV action, No. 1 seed Cherryville takes on Denver, Union County takes on Asheville, Charlotte takes on Rutherford County, Gastonia takes on Shelby, Pineville takes on the winner of the Hickory-Taylorsville play-in game, the Gaston Braves take on Burke County and Newell takes on Henderson County. Were the 29ers to advance, they would host the winner of the Newell-Henderson County series.
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