2 weeks Ago
Pinewood Prep is working to fill some holes this baseball season, but it is playing sound defense and has some pop in its bats. “I think we are going to be scrappy,” said Pinewood coach Jay Buddin. “We had to overcome some significant injuries early this season but we are starting to get healthy.
We are finding our identity. We have some really good arms and guys are starting to find their spot.” The Panthers went 3-0 in the Woodland preseason tournament, scoring 36 runs while not surrendering any.
Pinewood defeated Bluffton, Branchville and Woodland. Last week the team opened region play with two straight wins over Northwood Academy to improve to 7-2 on the season. The Panthers lost to Hammond School and Lawrence Manning Academy, but have already avenged the loss to Lawrence Manning.
Senior Drew Hartig and sophomore Sam Chisolm are doing most of the catching. However, junior AJ Marte’ is a transfer from the Dominican Republic who will also likely see time behind the plate. Senior Finley Taylor makes a play at first base during the Panthers’ home win over Northwood Academy.
Senior Finley Taylor played shortstop last season but is recovering from a pre-season arm injury so he is at first base this season. Junior Carson Good is holding down the hot corner. Juniors Max Poulakis and Grady Fuller are the starting middle infielders.
Seniors Asa Windham and Christopher Kabine are playing a lot of left field. Junior Wofford College commit Will Watson and sophomore Camden Abernathy are the other starters in the grass. The Panthers have 12 pitchers on their roster, but they are replacing their top three in the rotation from last season.
“Junior Max Poulakis and sophomore Cam Abernathy throw really well and are stepping into those starting roles,” Buddin said. “Drew Hartig and lefty Chris Kabine are seeing a lot of time on the hill. We have two freshmen pitchers who are developing that may be really good down the road.
” Sophomore Brian Shelton is a promising closer. Southpaw Sam Spickard and Andrew Leister are the two freshmen. Eighth-grader Nathan Good, juniors Grady Fuller and Carson Good and seniors Finley Taylor and Watson also have pitching experience.
“We are strong defensively, but need to figure out our offensive identity,” Buddin said. “We have three guys in the outfield who can cover a ton of ground and a great infield. If we do what we did at Woodland with the wood bats we will be fine.
” He added that while he only has four seniors, the team doesn’t lack experience. “This is a gritty group that understands the game,” Buddin said. “They are like sponges.
We should be a really good base running team because of our baseball IQ. This group of juniors all started as freshmen. This team has a lot of varsity innings under its belt so it’s a matter of finding the right slots in the order for everybody.
” He also had praise for his coaching staff. “Mickey Dugan, Jimmy Harrell and Sammy Casey know a lot about baseball,” he said. “Sammy played for me; Jimmy played at Georgia; and Mickey played at Garner Webb.
We have built this program to about 60 kids. Our B-Team and JV coaches do a good job getting guys ready for us. I hope we can make a deep run in the playoffs.
That’s our goal.” By next Spring Pinewood should have a new baseball field. Once construction of the new field is complete, the old field will be renovated and become a softball field.
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