A trip out to Kinston marks the beginning of the baseball season for Southside. Things are looking good for the Seahawks, especially when one considers the depth they have on the mound.

Southside will be able to provide plenty of different looks from the rubber. They’ve got the pinpoint accuracy of Paul Radford, a strong southpaw in Brantley Cutler and a handful of others that coach Kevin McRoy is confident in.

The trick will be getting the other phases of the game up to speed, but McRoy doesn’t thinks that the beautiful weather during the preseason will help his team get off to an all-around strong start on Tuesday. Here’s what he had to say.

 

What kind of advantage Southside has with its pitching depth:

“I’ve got a number of guys that I feel like I can put on the mound at any time, and that they’re going to be consistent and throw strikes for me. You’ve got Paul (Radford) returning for his senior year. He’s crafty. You’ve got Brantley (Cutler) coming in from the left side.

“I’ve got some guys I’m looking to step up this year — Marshall (Medlock), Dhalton (O’Neal), Will Warren. With those three guys, I’ve got five or six I feel like I can put in in any situation and they’re going to be able to handle it. Especially with the new pitch count, it’s a good thing to have, and I haven’t had this in the past.”

 

When roles will be defined for pitchers:

“We’re going to figure it out and play it by ear. Not really right now, but we’re going to see who’s better in the starting role and who’s better coming in for relief. We’re going to take the first couple of weeks with non-conference games and kind of trial by error.”

 

Who will lead the Seahawks this season:

“The team is a lot more mature and a lot more experienced than I’ve had in the past. This group of seniors, you look at Hunter (Sparks), Dahlton, Paul and Marshall, they have been pretty much starters since they were freshmen. They’ve had a lot of game experience.

“The juniors, I feel like by playing on JV last year and a couple of them played on varsity, that that got them some game experience. Now it just seems they’re a lot more experienced, a lot more mature. I think everybody knows their role and knows their expectations.”

 

What he’s hoping to see Tuesday at Kinston:

“I’m hoping just to get out there and get some good reps in, get everybody some experience and get those first-game jitters out of the way. My plan is to get a number of pitchers on the mound.

“Offensively, I’m looking to put the bat on the ball early in the season. It’s getting that timing down. We’ve been working on it a lot during the offseason, but it’s still nothing like game speed. It’s just making contact, putting the bat on the ball and putting it in play.”

 

What the rest of the 1-A Coastal Plains looks like:

“There’s going to be a couple of good teams in conference. … I feel like we’re going to be competitive in just about every game. Realistically, Bear Grass is going to be strong. East Carteret lost a lot, but they’re going to continue to be strong. Northside, I think they lost one starter.

“… We could go anywhere from No. 2 to No. 4. I’m looking at us just being competitive with every team in conference — battling and not being a rollover, easy win for anyone in conference. I want us to come out, battle, and compete. I think we can hang with just about anyone in conference.”

 

How great the weather has been for preseason workouts:

“I was telling coach (Milton) Ruffin that I feel like I’m ahead of the game. The weather has been so nice. Because the weather has been so nice during offseason workouts, we were able to get so much in, get out there on the field and do stuff, I feel like I’m ahead of where I normally am each year. We’ve been rolling.”