If nothing else, the baseball players at Ardrey Kell (Charlotte) are quick learners.
In just the third year of the school's existence, the Ardrey Kell baseball team captured the North Carolina 4A state championship with a sweep of Sanderson in the state finals.
Paced by tournament MVP Ryan Butler, the Knights finished the year 27-8 and begin the season ranked No. 1 in the state by the Charlotte Observer. Ardrey Kell dropped two games to start the season, but three straight wins, including victories over Rocky Mount (Rocky Mount) and Marvin Ridge (Waxhaw), have put the Knights at 3-2 in the young season.
Alex Baker, Ardrey Kell
Photo by Alyson Boyer
Besides Butler, who has a 13-3 career record as a pitcher for the Knights, Ardrey Kell will rely on pitchers Ashton Lover and Alex Baker, and infielders Cody Shelton (3B), Jack Reinheimer and Logan Ratledge.
According to the Observer, Hopewell (Huntersville) (20-6) and Providence (Charlotte) (24-5) figure to give Adrey Kell plenty of competition in the 4A ranks. Hopewell returns all-conference pitcher Hunter May and all-conference catcher Daniel Whitecavage while Providence will rely on catcher Brett Austin, pitcher Kurt Semeniuk and outfielder Mike Dunn.
Class 3A
There won't be a repeat champion in Class 3A because defending champion Lake Norman (Mooresville) is now a 4A school. Hickory begins the season ranked No. 7 in the Observer Sweet 16 rankings while Marvin Ridge (Waxhaw) is right behind at No. 8.
The Hickory Red Tornadoes are off to a 4-1 start for the season and have an all-state player returning in Bransen Christopher. Tyler Poole also had an outstanding first outing in a 10-0 win over Hibriten, striking out 12 and giving up two hits.
Marvin Ridge, meanwhile, is 3-1 with the lone loss coming against Ardrey Kell. Byron Haag is the top returning player for Marvin Ridge. He was an all-region utility player last season. The team will miss Shane Basen, who was the region MVP. Other returners include infielder J.C. Howze, pitcher Matt Walser and outfielder Josh Ferguson.
Class 2A
McMichael (Mayodan) won the state championship last year, but it is Patton (Morganton) that starts the season with high expectations. After going 27-9 last season, Patton starts the year ranked No. 3 in the Observer Sweet 16. Patton returns Aaron Attaway, the Catawba Valley 3A/2A player of the year who batted .437 with eight home runs and 32 RBI last season. He's joined by designated hitter Dykota Spiess, and catcher Chris Fine, both of whom were all-region picks last year.
East Rutherford (Forest City) (16-10) and West Stanly (Oakboro) (23-3) will also likely challenge for the title. Demetrus Ingram (P, OF), Kevin Van Asch (P, SS) and Josh Cochran (C, 1B) are all veterans for West Stanly. Drew Reynolds, an all-state pick last year, returns for East Rutherford.
Class 1A
Cherryville (Cherryville) (20-8) and defending champion South Stanly (Norwood) (19-7) are the only 1A teams to make the Observer preseason Sweet 16.
Cherryville returns all-area junior pitcher Thomas Bess, who had a 6-4 record last year with 35 strikeouts. Ryan Craft, a junior pitcher/catcher, also returns along with junior outfielder Blake Mosteller.
South Stanly defeated Topsail for the championship last year and returns one of the division's top players in Colten Burris, who had 41 RBI with eight home runs.
Independent
The top team in the state of North Carolina could be the Charlotte Christian (Charlotte) Knights. Although a season-opening loss to Marvin Ridge mars the schedule, the Knights have won five straight to raise their record to 5-1. Charlotte Christian is ranked No. 2 in the Observer's Sweet 16 preseason rankings.
Charlotte Christian has arguably the state's top player in Ty Linton, a senior outfielder who ranks among the top players in the country.
