The end result longtime Kinston Post 43 coach Ronnie Battle is trying to reach remains the same. But the formula for getting there has changed.
Battle, who is in his 16th season with the hand-picked American Legion summer baseball club, has a roster loaded with pitching. But its biggest question mark heading into tonight’s season opener at 7 at Kinston High School versus Duplin/Sampson County is how it plans on scoring runs.
The latter hasn’t been an issue for Post 43 in the past.
“My expectations are that … we will hold up to the traditions that we’ve established the last few years. We’ve begun to show signs of being a good program here, and we want to continue to show that success,” Battle said.
“I just don’t have the hitters this year.”
The 18-man, 19-and-under roster has four solid projected starters in Garrett Blackburn, Matt Hinson, Ben Brann and Caleb Kearney. There are also several others with pitching experience. But Battle will be looking for some bats to go with his stockpile of arms.
North Lenoir products and offensive juggernauts Chastin Radford and Brian Hardy turned 19 just before the age cut-off date, so their bats will be greatly missed this summer. Battle has some power in North Lenoir’s Dylan Puchalski and Tyler Smith and South Lenoir’s Grant Tyndall and Garrett Holland, but the batting average overall will be down.
The area, as a whole, saw a decrease in hitting during the prep baseball season.
“I almost had (Radford and Hardy) penciled down in the middle of my lineup then I found out I do not have them, and I don’t have anybody on the roster that can replace these guys unless they surprise me,” Battle said. “More than likely we’re going to count on a lot of speed, too, and manufacture a couple runs here and there.
“The county and area didn’t have a lot of big hitters this year, so that kind of speaks to why the roster is kind of the way it is.”
Since Post 43 won’t be able to slug its way to wins, it’ll have to get them the hard way.
Good thing Kinston has plenty of speed.
The lineup is so speedy this summer that players like Will Deters of Kinston and Parrott Academy graduate Wesley Melvin, who would normally hit in the top-half of the order, figure to be at the bottom for a 1-through-9 threat.
‘Those are two guys that should be leadoff batters,” Battle said, “but they’ll be down there to hopefully disrupt some things.
“Speed will definitely be as asset on the offensive side.”
With the lineup not set 100 percent — and the offense remaining a complete mystery — Battle knows exactly what he’s going to get from his pitching.
Blackburn, who figures to be Battle’s ace, threw four scoreless innings and struck out six in limited action as a freshman at Mount Olive College this season. Fellow 2012 graduate Hinson went 0-1 with an 8.49 ERA in six appearances at Hampden-Sydney College in Virginia.
Green Central’s Ben Brann, a left-hander who has signed to pitch at Barton College, went 8-1 with a 1.27 ERA and threw five shutouts in 11 games this season for the Eastern Plains 2A Conference co-champion Rams. And Kearney, who also graduated in 2012, went 1-0 with a 6.75 ERA in 11 games for Lenoir Community College.
With a solid crop of relievers in Taishu McLawhorn, Garrett Holland, Deters, Tyler Smith, Wyatt Janning and Wesley Melvin, Battle figures to win a lot of low-scoring, close games.
“If (the starters) can give us anywhere from five to six to seven innings like we expect, then I think the bullpen and everything will take over from there,” he said. “If we can score just a handful of runs and pitch well and play good defense then we still have an opportunity to win some ballgames — a lot of close ballgames I’m thinking.”
One other change this season will be the league alignment for Post 43. Instead of being a part of the Area I East South Division, the team is one of nine teams that will comprise the Area I East.
Since New Post Post 24 failed to field a team this year, the league decided to group all teams together instead of having two separate divisions.
Joining Post 43 will be former division rivals Wayne County Post 11 and Pitt County Post 39, as well as Rocky Mount Post 58, Edenton Post 40, Elizabeth City Post 84, Ahoskie Post 102, Wilson Post 13 and Windsor Post 87.
Ryan Herman can be reached at 252-559-1073 or Ryan.Herman@Kinston.com. Follow him on Twitter: @KFPSports.
Kinston Post 43 Roster
No. Name School
1 Sammy West NL
2 Ben Brann GC
3 Ryan Cobb LCC (GC)
4 Taishu McLawhorn KHS
5 VeQuain Joyner KHS
6 Caleb Kearney LCC (NL)
7 Grant Tyndall SL
8 Garrett Holland SL
9 Matt Hinson Hampden-Sydney (APA)
10 Will Deters KHS
11 Crayshawn Belcher Hunt
12 Tyler Smith NL
14 Dylan Puchalski NL
15 Brett Davis SL
16 Wyatt Janning SL
17 Wesley Melvin Pitt CC (APA – did not play college ball)
18 Garrett Blackburn Mount Olive (SL)
20 Marc Hamilton ECU (NL – did not play college ball)
Kinston Post 43 schedule
May 29 — Duplin/Sampson Co., 7
May 30 — at Jacksonville post 265, 7
May 31 — Edenton Post 40, 6 (DH)*^
June 1 — Jones Co. Post 154, 7
June 2 — Elizabeth City Post 84, 4*
June 3 — Jacksonville Post 265, 7
June 9 — at Jones Co. Post 154, 7
June 10 — at Rocky Mount Post 58, 7*
June 11 — Pitt Co. Post 39, 7*
June 13 — Wayne Co. Post 11, 7*
June 14 — Ahoskie Post 102, 7*
June 15 — at Ahoskie Post 102, 7*
June 18 — at Wayne Co. Post 11, 7*
June 19 — at Wilson Post 13, 7*
June 20 — at Windsor Post 37, 7*
June 23 — at Elizabeth City Post 84, 4*
June 24 — Wilson Post 13, 7*
June 25 — at Pitt Co. Post 39, 7*
June 27 — Windsor Post 37, 7*
July 1 — Rocky Mount Post 58, 7*
*Area I game
^—Postponed. No make-up date announced.