Sun Herald preseason Top 10: Watch out for George County, Harrison County schools

When the high school baseball and softball seasons open in earnest this weekend, South Mississippi should have several teams feeling good about their post-season potential.

Softball

Harrison Central’s softball team once again returns an impressive lineup as the Red Rebelettes look to win yet another Class 6A state championship.

There are some programs that would rather not appear on any rankings. Jimmy Parker’s HCHS squad instead embraces the No. 1 preseason ranking. His Red Rebelettes have come to expect it.

“I like having it because it means you have had success,” Parker said. “We use it as motivation. Everybody is after you. When we weren’t the team that just won, we were chasing the people who had won.

“For years we were chasing Pascagoula. It took us years to catch them. They were the team to beat.”

Parker said he constantly reminds his players they have a bull’s eye on their backs.

“When you play everybody you’re going to get their A-game. And you want it that way,” he said. “You try to worry about what you can take care of.”

East Central will be a team to watch in Class 4A. The No. 3 Lady Hornets boasted a 20-win season in 2016. While they lose their ace from a year ago in Madie Sparks, coach Kyle Long is confident sophomore Taylor Lawson can help lead his team in the circle.

“She’s going to be good,” he said. “She pitches to contact and gets ground balls. She won’t blow it by anyone, but she’ll get weak contact which translates to outs.”

East Central also returns several middle-of-the-order bats, like left fielder Madison Wall, who hit .420 with 17 extra-base hits and 22 RBIs last year.

“She’s kind of a different type of player. She swings the bat with some pop so you’d expect her to be a bigger kid but she’s athletic and can run,” Long said. “She can really go get it in the outfield.”

Maranda Busby, a William Carey signee, and center fielder Kayla Collins are two more returning impact players on ECHS.

No. 2 St. Patrick, No. 4 West Harrison, No. 5 Ocean Springs, No. 6 Pass Christian, No. 7 George County, No. 8 St. Martin, No. 9 Picayune and No. 10 Poplarville round out the Sun Herald’s preseason top 10. Pearl River Central and Long Beach also received votes.

Baseball

For the second consecutive year George County claimed a South State title. One year after representing 5A South in the state championship game the Rebels represented 6A South against juggernauts Oxford and Madison Central. Can the Rebels, who are tied with West Harrison for the top spot in the Sun Herald’s preseason rankings, make it three trips to Pearl in three years? They’ll certainly try —but they’ll have to do so without St. Louis Cardinals draft pick Walker Robbins.

The Rebels return a number of starters like Jathan Staton, Bryson Scott and Trevor McDonald, and should see a boost from improved playing time by sophomore Logan Tanner. Coach Brandon Davis also has high hopes from newcomer Fisher Ray, who is signed with Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College.

The Hurricanes may have one of the deepest lineups in South Mississippi with Kasey Donaldson, along with brothers Brandon and Tate Parker, setting the table. West Harrison bowed out early in the playoffs last season. Looking to test his team early, coach David Marsland has scheduled up in the non-region slate with 6A opponents.

“We’re looking to compete. Playing Gulfport and Biloxi, we should get an excellent look with how we’ll stand in our own division because it’s pretty strong,” he said. “If we can stay with them, because they’re going to throw out quality arms, I like our chances.”

One of the better 1-2 tandems on the mound this season belongs to No. 3 Ocean Springs. The Greyhounds will send out right-hander Cooper Brune and left-hander Garrett Crochet for big matchups. The tandem combined to go 6-1 last season with 0.88 and 0.51 ERAs respectively.

“Tuesday and Friday nights with those two on the mound, we’ll be highly competitive,” OSHS coach Brian Rea said. “We feel like we’ll have a great chance to win. Of course we’ll have to do more than just that — there’s eight other positions out there. But it tends to begin and end on the bump.

Look for junior Britt McKay to help the Greyhounds in a number of ways. The catcher takes over for Tate Pepper behind the plate and should add something to the team’s offense as well.

“He’s ready to step in,” Rea said. “He played in the outfield last year for us so we could get his bat in the lineup as a sophomore. Britt is a physical specimen behind the plate. He blocks, receives and throws it great.

“I sleep well at night knowing Britt is behind the plate.”

No. 4 Harrison Central returns one of the top pitchers on the Coast in senior Jordan Harris. An All-South Mississippi selection a year ago, Harris was 5-2 with a 1.67 ERA.

“He just goes out there and battles. He wants to win,” HCHS coach Pat Olmi said. “He has some swagger, where when he goes out on the mound he’s going to win — and the kids believe it, too.”

No. 5 Pearl River Central, No. 6 Pascagoula, No. 7 Biloxi, No. 8 Gulfport, No. 9 D’Iberville and No. 10 Hancock rounded out the Sun Herald’s preseason baseball rankings. St. Stanislaus, East Central and Long Beach also received votes.

This story was originally published February 20, 2017 at 3:02 PM with the headline "Sun Herald preseason Top 10: Watch out for George County, Harrison County schools."