2015 15 and Under - Season Preview
| 15U 2015 Season Preview |
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The 2015 version of the Americus Travelers 15U baseball club will begin play on Saturday, May 23, 2015 in LaGrange, Georgia at the USSSA Champs Wear The Rings tournament. Coach Tim Estes is excited about his squad and ready to begin the season. “We’ve gained some position guys and some pitchers that I am confident will help us be competitive at a high level” said Estes. This team has finished among the nation’s elite for the past two seasons and is hoping to continue that path of development this summer. The depth chart for the 2015 squad gives them at least two guys that can play each position. Schley County’s Jarrod Wall and Lee County’s Will Lang will handle the catching duties. Both of these guys are solid defensively and will be counted on to produce runs in the middle of the batting order. Lang will also see time at 3rd base along with Schley County’s Cameron Belcher. Crisp County’s Will Lanneau will begin this season as the full-time short stop. Schley County’s Camron Vanlerberghe will man second base and will move to short stop when Lanneau is called on to pitch. Lee County’s Gavin Paul will be at first base and Jarrod Wall will also see time over there. In left field, Sherwood Christian’s Jarrett Kemp and Wilcox County’s Josh Harrell will be counted on to cover that side of the field. Kemp may also play at 2nd base when Lanneau pitches and Vanlerberghe moves over to short stop. Schley County’s Reid Ragsdale is a mainstay in centerfield. Lee County’s Tyler Ross and Schley County’s Chance Hollomon will share the duties in right field. On the mound, this team is much deeper than in years past. Going into the season, pitching coach Jeff Fussell will have Cameron Belcher, Tyler Ross, Chance Hollomon, Will Lang, Will Lanneau and Jarrett Kemp all from the right side. Gavin Paul, Reid Ragsdale and Josh Harrell will give the squad three left handed options. “Hopefully these guys will pitch to contact and give us a lot of ground ball outs. The good fortune that we have this year is that when one guy isn’t on, we’ll have another one to turn to and hopefully we can build a staff where everyone has a place to contribute” said Fussell. The Travelers schedule is designed to introduce these players to a variety of environments. The first tournament in LaGrange is really an opportunity to get everyone together and start building some chemistry. The second tournament, May 29–31, is a college town event at Troy University. There will be some very good teams and several college coaches from that part of Alabama, South Georgia and North Florida in attendance at this event. On June 6–7, the team will participate in the Game On Showcase to be held at two area colleges. One of the days is held in Americus at Georgia Southwestern State University while the other day of the event is held at ABAC in Tifton. This tournament will have several college coaches in attendance from the Southwestern corner of the state. On June 12–13, the Travelers will participate in the Parkview Shootout in Gwinnett County. This long standing tournament features over 100 teams; some high school summer teams and others will be travel teams with the event played at Gwinnett area high school fields. Representatives from several professional baseball clubs and dozens of colleges will be at the various sites to see the teams. On June 27–28, the Travelers will host their own tournament at Georgia Southwestern State University. Area college coaches have been invited to attend this event as well. After a short break, the Travelers will head to Griffin, Georgia for an Open Class/Open Roster tournament as a tune up for their national tournament. On July 20–25, the team will participate in the Grand Slam World Series of Baseball in Panama City Beach, Florida. Teams from around the country will converge on the beaches to claim the top spot in Grand Slam Baseball. “We wanted to put together a schedule that could give our players some early exposure to the area college coaches. It’s unrealistic to think that a 15 year old player would be highly sought after but these types of events teach them how to handle themselves in this type of setting,” said Estes. “We’ll also be putting together a media guide to highlight each individual player and will get copies of those into the hands of college coaches throughout the Southeast. We’ve seen very positive results in the past from this and it builds for the future. This time next summer or even two years from now, a college coach may say …I remember that guy…and look back into our media guide and find him. This is an additional tool that could help a player down the road. All in all, we want to continue to teach these young men how to play the game correctly, how to compete at a varsity level of play and how to carry themselves when being evaluated for the next level. It’s a process, not a magic bullet. It also doesn’t break the bank of the parents that fund this process.” The 15U Travelers will again be led by Coach Tim Estes. He began this program 20 years ago and has overseen the development of dozens of players who advanced to the collegiate and professional ranks. Coach Jeff Fussell will return as the pitching coach for his second year. His staff was injury free in 2014 and finished the summer season with a 3.74 ERA and the fall season with a 4.11 ERA. Adam Fussell will be with the team for a third consecutive season as a hitting instructor and first base coach. Adam is a former All-American catcher for the Travelers who is completing his degree at Georgia Southern University. |
