[Stardust]

ASHLAND — East Carter baseball coach Jeremiah Shearer is re-adjusting his approach to the game — at least a little.

The Raiders won the 62nd District last year, and the five returning starters are the most since East won the 16th Region in 2009.

“It is a little different,” Shearer said. “We’re probably going to have to play small ball.”

Shearer says that because of the one thing all high schools and college teams share — metal bats cannot create as much of a trampoline effect when a ball is hit, which means the player will have to supply more of the power. Shearer likes the change.

“It takes baseball back to a more pure form,” Shearer said.

Junior Cole Boggs and seniors Connor Robinson and Dylan Genung should be the top three pitchers. Robinson (.455 batting average with 10 doubles, five triples and two home runs in 2011) and Genung (.410 average, 31 stolen bases) are four-year starters.

“(Boggs) has turned into a power pitcher,” Shearer said. “Robinson has a real good curveball, Dylan has really good movement, good command. (Robinson) led in every offensive statistic we had.”

Juniors Chandler Duncan and Conner Staten are the other two pitchers. “They have more live arms,” Shearer said. “Chandler throws pretty hard. Conner does, too, but he has a really good curveball.”

Two more seniors, catcher Brett Carra and second baseman Seth Greenhill, hit around .380. Shearer said sophomore Austin Wells would spend more time catching when he’s not the designated hitter, and Carra would play a lot of first base.

West Carter second-year coach Brad Bloomfield thinks the Comets’ improvement is coming slowly, and he’s right. To many, a 12-15 record is depressing. In Olive Hill, it’s a blessing — last year was the first since at least 2003 a West Carter team notched double-digit wins, including two over Lewis County and Bath County and one over Raceland.

Bloomfield’s formula was at least part psychological.

“The main thing I focused on was expectations,” Bloomfield said. “I always knew there was talent.”

Bloomfield said pitching is the strongest part of this year’s team, though most can only throw in the 70 mph range. The exceptions: senior Zeb Brown and sophomore Spencer Phillips, whom Bloomfield said can reach 80 by May.

“(Brown) throws harder than anybody else on the team,” Bloomfield said. He added that Phillips has added three types of curveball — flat, 12-to-6 and sweeping.

Senior centerfielder Derek Lawson, who’ll bat third, may be the fastest afoot. “He was making plays in right field from center field,” Bloomfield says.

Bloomfield also expects senior catcher Mackenzie McGlone to hit at least .350 from his fourth spot in the batting order, with Brown playing first base when he’s not pitching.

“We definitely want (Lawson) at the plate in the first inning,” Bloomfield said. “(Lawson and Brown) have been the catalysts. They’ve been the best players on the team since they were freshmen.”

New Elliott County coach Bobby Adams isn’t sure what the Lions’ 2011 record was — the Kentucky High School Athletic Association lists it as 0-14, but some of Adams’ players insist they beat Rose Hill. Adams is certain of one thing: his team will be young.

Adams said he took the job because he played high school ball at Fleming-Neon (in 2005 the school was consolidated with Letcher and Whitesburg to form Letcher County Central) in eastern Kentucky and coached Little League for 14 years.

“I wanted to give (Elliott County players) every opportunity they can get,” Adams said.

Adams mentions three players in particular: junior catcher/pitcher Luis Loza, sophomore shortstop/pitcher Dominic Thompson and sophomore infielder/pitcher Zach Martin.

Adams said just getting his players on the field is a sound strategy to getting the most he can. “Just throw them out there and let them play and let their natural instincts take over from there.”

Morgan County doesn’t have a lot of experience — infielders Chandler Adams and Ryan Gevedon and catcher-infielder Wade Joseph are the only seniors.