As baseball season gets deeper into region play this spring, several DeKalb County contenders are looking to make noise. Redan, the traditional power, is again near the top of the Class AAA rankings and is already in the thick of a tough league schedule. Other strong programs such as Tucker, Decatur, Arabia Mountain and Chamblee are adding to win streaks and positioning themselves for the playoffs. Here’s a look around the diamond in DeKalb as the teams enter another big weekend.
REDAN RAIDERS
Redan began the year at No. 1 in the Class AAA rankings — not unexpected for the longtime power and most talented team in the county with nine college signees, seven of those Division I. The Raiders only recently slipped from the top spot, falling to No. 2 in the latest Top 10. Head coach Alexander Wyche says his squad is in good position for a big April and May after starting 11-5 and 2-2 in a tough Region 5.
“Things are coming together,” Wyche said. “We’re 2-2 in the region with a loss to Lovett and a loss to Pace (Academy). Once this weather clears up and we get a little bit warmer weather, I can assess a little bit better. But we’re playing decent ball right now in the final part of March.”
The Raiders split with Lovett in early March and split with Pace in a low-scoring series this week, dropping both road games to those teams. The team played through challenging weather in each series. The 4-1 loss to Pace on Tuesday was in especially tough conditions, with the low temperatures and high winds keeping the offense at a minimum.
“The bats haven’t fully come around yet, I think because of the weather, but no excuses,” Wyche said.
While other programs deemphasize rankings and polls, Wyche said that high expectations come with the territory at Redan, the 2013 Class AAAA state champion.
“There’s pressure when you’re playing at Redan,” he said. “We’re used to the pressure. We want to stay up there at the top of those rankings.”
Wyche said his senior commits and signees are playing strong baseball so far. Taj Bradley, a recent South Carolina commit who throws 90-93 mph, threw a one-hitter in Redan’s 2-0 Wednesday win over Pace to even the series. Second baseman Lyndon Weaver, a leadoff man and Eastern Kentucky commit, is performing at high level as well, and Missouri commit and shortstop Kelvin Smith came into the season with the most hype from summer tournaments, Wyche said. Wyche also had high praise for Kentucky commit Orlando Adams, a catcher.
The Raiders are gearing up for another series with a West Paces Ferry private school, traveling to Westminster tonight and hosting the Wildcats on Tuesday.
AROUND THE COUNTY
In his first season as head coach, Matt Masce has his Tucker team at 10-7 and riding a 22-game region winning streak over the past two seasons. The Tigers recently swept Region 4-AAAAAA opponents in Drew and Mt. Zion-Jonesboro, winning each of the four games by at least three runs. The Tigers have recovered swiftly from an 0-6 start. Masce coached the Tucker JV team for seven seasons and has helmed the softball team as well. The Tigers continue Region 4 play tonight with M.L. King at home, first of a two-game series with the return trip on Tuesday
Arabia Mountain has lived just outside of the Top 10 this season in Class AAAAA in the AJC/Score Atlanta poll, zooming out to a 12-3 record, 6-0 in Region 5. The Rams continue with region play tonight in the second of a home-and-home with Miller Grove.
Chamblee is thriving in Region 5-AAAAA play as well, sitting at 14-5 overall and 5-0 in league. Chamblee gets Clarkston tonight and has a two-game showdown with Arabia Mountain next week.
Decatur is having another strong season at 12-5 overall and 6-1 in Region 6-AAAAA, with wins over DeKalb foes Arabia Mountain, Columbia, Tucker, Lakeside and Druid Hills. The Bulldogs look to sweep the regular season from Lithia Springs tonight.
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