CFNN Reporters Kylie Holt and Hannah Spexarth
One of the Colts most successful teams has been our baseball team here at Cape Fear. For the past three seasons, the Colts have finished in the top three of the conference. Our returners are eager for the new season, and our new players are ready to showcase their skills to the fans.
“Workouts have been very good, we’ve had a ton of kids out there and have been putting in a lot of work,” said Seth Jackson, a junior who has been a starting varsity shortstop since his freshman year. Seth has been itching for the season to start.
Although this season has many obstacles to come, Seth believes that the team physically will be together, but is not so sure about mentally. “Our biggest competition this year I think will be ourselves, if we can all get on the same track and play the baseball we’ve been coached to play, I don’t see us getting beat.”
Ethan Wienand, a returning junior for the varsity Colts, says “I’m expecting a better season than last year defensively, and hitting wise” He has high expectations based on this season’s workouts so far. “Workouts are now really good because we’ve been doing live batting practice so we’re able to get live arms throwing to us, and I think that is a big contributor to the success of this season.”
Going into his 3rd season as the varsity baseball coach, Jarrod Britt has extremely high expectations for his team this season. Here is his outlook on this season:
What are you expecting for the upcoming season?
“We have a young team and will learn a lot about ourselves this year. I fully expect us to compete for a conference championship and make a deep run in the playoffs. I’m excited for some of the young players that are going to get a chance to play on varsity with us. We graduated 10 players from our team last year so there are a lot of positions up for grabs this season.”
How are workouts shaping your team this year?
“We are working on getting our pitchers’ arms in shape and making adjustments to our hitting and fielding mechanics. Perhaps our biggest focus during workouts is maintaining focus on the mental aspect of the game.”
What are you doing to prepare for the season?
“We structure our workouts very similarly to how we would run a normal practice. We focus on position players on specific days, throw bullpens to help our pitchers prepare for the season, and live scrimmage to give our players a taste of game speed and to promote competition.”
Who do you think is going to be the biggest competition this year and how are you preparing for the competitors?
“With the new conference alignment, I expect Grays Creek, Southview, Jack Britt, and Purnell Swett to all be very good baseball teams. Working on our game is the only way to prepare for big time competition. We can only control what we can control, so we focus on playing solid defense, executing at the plate and on the mound, and beating the game, not beating the other team.”
Which players are you relying on to really lead the team this year?
“We will lean heavily on our senior class this year. Adam Little will be a front-end guy in our rotation. He has a big arm and will set the standard for the rest of our staff. Biz Ortiz is one of our most talented hitters so I fully expect him to have a great year at the plate for us. Seth Jackson has already stepped into a leadership role and pushes guys each day to be the best versions of themselves on the field. Bruce Jackson will have a breakout year for us this year on the mound and in the field. John Brewington sets the standard for what a great teammate should be. He handles the pitching staff well and will be a huge part of our success.”
How is upcoming talent going to affect the team this year?
“We have a very talented freshman and sophomore class. I expect 4-5 guys from those two classes to get significant playing time this year. As there always is with young players, teachable moments will be abundant. But as these young guys learn and grow, they will provide a foundation for our program for the next 2-3 years that I’m very excited about.”
Wish the boys luck in tryouts on Monday and Tuesday and come out to support the Colts in their first scrimmage on the 19th at 1:30 pm at Pine Forest High School, where they will take on the Falcons and the Trojans!
Cape Fear News Network 