Spartans on familiar ground

Ask the South Caldwell players about their upcoming opponents and you're bound to hear some vagueries.

“They can play, we know that,” one says.

“They know how to swing the bats,” says another.

Some talk about the conference Weddington plays in, some talk about the common opponents. What you don't hear are a lot of are details.

It's not that the Spartans, now 23-1, aren't well-prepared. They just believe something overrides all else: If they play up to their own capabilities, no one will stop them from advancing.

“We just have to keep doing what got us here,” Spartan skipper Jeff Parham says. “That's what concerns us right now.”

Fresh off 17 straight wins, South Caldwell hosts Weddington (21-7) in the third round of the North Carolina 4-A playoffs tonight.

It's the first Charlotte-area opponent for South Caldwell, which defeated three (Myers Park, Providence, Butler) en route to the state title last year. Weddington, like those three, plays in the Southwestern Conference.

“It should be a fight to the death,” Spartan ace Jimmy Messer says. “That's what the playoffs are about.”

Messer, the University of North Carolina recruit, is 9-1 on the year. He is the Spartans' probable starter tonight.

Moving up the charts

With every week, the Spartans seem to be earning more and more respect on the national scene. South Caldwell has slowly and steadily worked its way up the rankings list, topping out this week at No. 5 in the country (according to both Baseball America and USA Today). Rivals.com has them pegged at No. 9.

All three polls have tabbed the Spartans as the team to beat in North Carolina.

“It's an honor and a reflection of where this team has come from,” Parham said. “But we only care about being No. 1 at the end of the year. That's the final poll, and it's the only one that matters.”

Inside school walls, the Spartan players say they hear plenty about where they stack up with other teams. Still, they say, it doesn't mean much of anything.

‘Rankings don't mean anything right now,” South Caldwell shortstop Dalton Hall says. “If you lose one game, you go home, no matter where you are ranked.”

No defense

for good defense

The Spartans have outscored their two playoff opponents (Ashbrook and Mount Tabor) 16-0 in the first two rounds, and it would be easy to assume they got it done with nothing but overpowering pitching and consistent hitting. That would leave one key element out of the equation, however: defense.

Two defensive plays, in particular, played large roles in South Caldwell's advancing this far. The first came in the form of left fielder Spencer Smith's line drive snare in Round 1. The second came when Dominic DiBernardi picked another well-hit ball off the turf in Round 2 with a sliding grab. Both plays ended innings with runners on base, and prevented multiple runners from coming home to score.

“With our outfield, nothing much is going to drop,” says Spartan pitcher Cody Penny, the beneficiary of DiBernardi's catch. “With Dom out there in center, Spencer in left and Zac in right, we're pretty well covered.”

Infielders Cody Prestwood, Lucas Jackson, Dalton Hall and the third base combination of Penny/Messer have been solid as well.

“Part of baseball is keeping that other team from scoring,” Jackson says. “So far, we've been able to do that. Hopefully, we keep it up.”

Parham says that his team's defensive play will have a lot to do with how far it goes in the playoffs.

“You can't give up any extra outs this time of year,” he says. “It's really important.”

Approaching history

South's ace pitcher and power-hitting catcher are on the verge of a couple South Caldwell milestones. Messer is only two wins from tying Madison Bumgarner's school record of 35 wins, while Brad Chavis is three shy of Bumgarner's career home run record (30).

Messer has won seven straight starts.

“If I break it, that's great, but if I don't, that's fine too,” he says. “That's something that Madison really earned.”

Chavis has nine homers on the year, but only one in his last six games. He smacked six bombs in four consecutive games between April 8 and April 22 , including three against Watauga.

Parham is happy for their accomplishments, but says they have bigger things to think about.

“It's a great honor to be recognized like that, but those guys are thinking more about the team right now that the individual stuff,” he says. “That's just the type of kids they are.”

DiBernardi already holds the Spartan record for steals, with 40 and counting.

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