2011-2012 - Region -AllFort WorthNon-Fort WorthTest
Schedules and scores
Football
Last 7 days
Today
Next 7 days
Baseball RSS
Home > Sports > Baseball
Posted Sunday, Feb. 19, 2012 Share
Colleyville Heritage expected to pack a punch on diamond
Article
Comments
.
A
By Brent Shirley
bshirley@star-telegram.com
Colleyville Heritage junior Cody Thomas loves football.
Anyone who saw Thomas deliver the football last season recognized his skill. He put up the best numbers of any quarterback in the area to land on the Star-Telegram Super Team. But there was one ability Thomas rarely showed: his speed.
Players to watch
Teddy Stankiewicz, Sr. P, Southwest Christian: Stankiewicz is one of the top prospects in the state after finishing his junior regular season 8-3 with a 0.95 ERA and 98 strikeouts in 66 innings pitched. He also hit .376 with 14 doubles, a triple, five home runs and 34 RBIs.
Hunter Hargrove, Jr. OF, Mansfield: As a sophomore, Hargrove hit .418 with 15 doubles, one triple, three home runs and 38 RBIs. He is a versatile player with speed. He scored 31 runs and stole 12 bases last year.
Trooper Reynolds, Sr. INF, Weatherford: Reynolds displayed his power hitting as a junior, finishing the season with 11 doubles and 10 home runs. He batted .413 with 50 total hits and 49 RBIs.
TeJay Antone, Sr. INF/P, Mansfield Legacy: Antone hit .432 with 10 doubles, two triples, six homers and 49 RBIs and had an on-base percentage of .500. He also finished 5-4 with a 3.91 ERA and 53 strikeouts.
Sheldon Neuse, Sr. INF/P, Keller Fossil Ridge: Neuse, also Fossil Ridge's quarterback, batted .448 with nine triples, 24 RBIs and 40 runs scored. He was 4-5 but had a 2.58 ERA and struck out 76 batters in just 57 innings pitched.
Teams to watch
Kennedale: The Wildcats lost many seniors off their 2011 Class 3A state championship team, including title-game MVP Hayden Elrod, who threw a complete game to beat Waco Robinson. Kennedale will still be fun to watch, but with a whole new lineup.
Fort Worth Arlington Heights: The Yellow Jackets made the 4A regional semifinals last year before losing to eventual state champion Wichita Falls Rider. Heights returns the district offensive player of the year, Vinny Balbo, and all-district outfielder Josh Davidson. They will have to hold off several talented Fort Worth teams to win another 6-4A title.
Hurst L.D. Bell: Senior Weston Sims (6-3, 2.0 ERA last year) will lead Bell's pitching staff, as the Blue Raiders try to improve on last year's regional finals run. First baseman Collin Gassaway (.430 35 RBIs) will pace Bell's offense that has to replace catcher Hunter Lockwood, last year's Star-Telegram Player of the Year who had 19 home runs and 57 RBIs. Senior Taylor Empkey, who batted .370, will take over behind the plate.
Weatherford: The Roos return several all-district selections. Infielders Trooper Reynolds and Tyler Davis, pitcher/infielder Braeden Butler, and designated hitter Hunter Ray, all seniors this year, made the all-4-5A list last season. Weatherford appears to be in position to make a deep run this year.
Southlake Carroll: The Dragons advanced to the 5A regional quarterfinals before losing to Plano. This year, Carroll is positioned to make a run at a 7-5A title -- with strong competition from Coppell, Keller Fossil Ridge and Keller -- and another strong showing in the playoffs.
Follow dfwvarsity on Twitter
Follow Brent Shirley on Twitter @bshirley08
On the baseball field, Thomas wows with his legs.
"He's probably the fastest kid in school," Heritage coach Alan McDougal said. "Easy. In football you don't see that. If I was coaching him in football, I would be scared of him running and getting hurt. There, his gift is his arm. He's not even sneaky fast. Put him on a watch, and he can run."
Thomas was the only sophomore to make the 2011 Star-Telegram baseball Super Team after batting .444 with 39 runs scored and 25 RBIs in the regular season.
"He is a special talent with a high ceiling in two sports," McDougal said. "He could have a tough choice coming up to play college football or professional baseball."
Thomas' biggest baseball moment last year came in a three-run, walk-off homer to beat Keller in the area round of the playoffs. But it's Thomas' quickness and speed, more than power, that sets him apart.
He can run down flies in right field and motor around the bases. He had 20 extra-base hits in the regular season. Just six were homers.
"Everyone thinks I'm just a tall lanky kid who can't run," said Thomas, smiling.
In one of Heritage's final scrimmages, Thomas tripled for the first time since last season. He had missed the feeling of sprinting to third.
"It's great," Thomas said. "I was a little out of breath because I hadn't run like that in a while."
Thomas did say his coach may have exaggerated a bit.
"There are probably a few kids in school who could beat me in a 100-meter dead sprint," Thomas said. "But I wouldn't be far behind. These long legs take a little while to get going. I could probably win a 200-meter race."
Heritage, which opens its season Thursday at the Baylor Medical Classic, is loaded with talented juniors.
Preston Palmeiro, son of former Texas Rangers great Rafael Palmeiro, had offensive numbers comparable to Thomas'.
And neither Panther earned newcomer of the year honors for the district. That award went to Christian Gonzales, also a junior this year.
"We have a lot back on the offensive side," McDougal said. "Our current junior class is a special group. Those three guys are going to be great for us."
Led by Thomas and Palmeiro, Heritage finished last season with 75 home runs.
The Panthers were knocked out of the playoffs by district rival Hurst L.D. Bell in the regional quarterfinals.
This year, Heritage is hoping for a deeper playoff run.
"It's nice to play at the high-school level with all the guys you have grown up with," Palmeiro said. "I think this year our hitting will take us a long way. If our pitching develops, I see another playoff run."
When Thomas slugged his walk-off homer against Keller, his teammates teased him because his moonshot went out in right, the shortest spot in host Lewisville's field.
"I was letting him have it," said Palmeiro, who plays summer baseball with Thomas. "But it was awesome. He got his pitch and won the game for us."
Thomas took the ribbing -- other Panthers said he hit the ball 306 feet over a 305-foot fence -- and was content with a win. Fans should get ready to see more of the same in 2012.
Brent Shirley, 817-390-7760
Twitter: @bshirley08
Read more here:
Colleyville Heritage expected to pack a punch on diamond | Baseball | DFWVarsity.com
