Five High School Teams To Watch

Last season, Corona (Calif.) High righthander Michael Hobbs took the ball in the first round of California’s CIF Southern Section tournament and promptly threw a no-hitter against No. 1 seed Marina High (Huntington Beach, Calif.).

Last Friday in the 2017 first round, Hobbs—a St. Mary’s commit—did it again, no-hitting Orange (Calif.) Lutheran High to push Corona into the second round.

@LesLukach @latsondheimer Corona 7 OLU 0 Hobbs throws no hitter #I.E. pic.twitter.com/Txs6a2wVoH

— quietstorm (@gnice523) May 19, 2017

“Last year, we were the runners-up in our league,” Corona coach Andy Wise said, “So we were the two seed and we had to go face a one on the road. And that one was Marina High School, in Huntington Beach, the winner of the Sunset League—with Huntington Beach and some really good teams in that league. So they were heavily favored, and Michael Hobbs just really went out and threw. He’s got the stuff to do it almost any time, like a lot of these guys do. It’s just a matter of mentally being able to repeat it . . . give yourself the best chance to have that success.

“He was very locked in and relaxed with it. I think he felt good as the underdog, where he’s second fiddle. And just stayed focused, and pitched a heck of a game. Everything went his way and it’s a no-hitter. Kind of the same situation (this year).”

Hobbs struck out five batters and walk two, utilizing a four-pitch mix that includes a fastball in the upper 80s, a curveball, slider and changeup. According to Wise, the offspeed offerings that Hobbs has are the most reliable part of his repertoire, with his fastball command usually the deciding factor between solid and excellent.

“Every day he commands his offspeed stuff,” Wise said. “Every time. That’s 10 out of 10. And it’s seven out of 10 that he commands his fastball. If he’s ever off, it’s because he doesn’t have his fastball command. It’s probably because he’s trying to do too much. Probably trying to overthrow his fastball, play it up, and it doesn’t. When he just dials it down a little bit, and relaxes and gets comfortable he’s very good.

“That’s what he’s been doing in the last two playoff games.”

Now into the second round, Hobbs is looking for another playoff start, which will come if Corona can get passed Vista Murrieta High (Murrieta, Calif.) and make it to the third round. On the bump for Corona in the second-round game is another senior righthander, in Jeremiah Priddy, who is looking for some redemption from last season.

“(Priddy) threw a good game in the playoffs last year and we came up short, 2-1, in eight innings on the road at Hart (Newhall, Calif) last year,” Wise said. “So he’s itching to really get back on the mound and contribute.”

Priddy and Hobbs—along with Brendan Beck—lead the team with 10 appearances this season. Hobbs is 6-3, 1.02 with 65 strikeouts and 16 walks in 55 innings. Priddy is 4-3, 2.20 with 45 strikeouts and 12 walks in 54 innings.  In total, Covina’s experienced pitching staff has a 1.78 ERA.

Wise didn’t lose any of his pitchers from the 2016 season, and the only contributor in the field he’s missing from last year’s team is shorstop Samad Taylor, who signed with the Indians in the 10th round of the 2016 draft.

Beck, a Stanford commit, four-year starter and brother of Stanford Preseason All-American Tristan Beck, has picked up the slack in Taylor’s absence, serving as the team’s primary shortstop and closer. Behind the dish, Corona has another senior in Anthony Czerwinski, who’s started every game at catcher and also hit a team-high .385 in the middle of the Panther lineup.

“I think you’re looking at a focused team right now,” Wise said. “We’re not trying to prove it to anybody, this is just a team that really learned how to lock it in and get focused. We’re experienced, we’re big, physical guys, we’ve already had success. And now these guys are really just trying to finish the job.

“This is a program I took over eight years ago, kind of slumping a little bit. And we’ve really come around over the last few years, got to get ourselves involved in the Boras Classic over the last couple years and we’re trying to put ourselves on the map somewhat out here. So we’d really like to give a good showing.”

Four more:

• Continuing with last week’s theme, we’ll take a look at some of the more interesting state playoff action, starting this time in North Carolina, where T.C. Roberson (Asheville, N.C.) is the last remaining No. 1 seed in the 4A tournament (the state’s highest designation). T.C. Roberson is the team that knocked off North Davidson (Lexington, N.C.) and No. 9 prospect Austin Beck in the third round, and has a handful of interesting prospects in its own right. Senior shortstop Garrett Blaylock is a Vanderbilt commit who hit two home runs in the win against North Davidson, while junior Aaron McKeithan (Class of 2018) shows promise defensively behind the plate. T.C. Roberson advanced to the semifinals after beating Providence (Charlotte, N.C.) 11-5, and plays No. 2 seed Lake Norman (Mooresville, N.C.) on Wednesday for a crack at the 4A state championship.

• The Georgia 7A state championship begins Thursday with a pair of No. 2 seeds facing off on the biggest stage in Georgia’s prep baseball scene. Fittingly, Georgia’s top position player prospect, No. 33 MLB Draft Prospect Drew Waters and his Etowah (Woodstock, Ga.) team will take on rival Woodstock (Ga.) for the 7A crown. The two schools are less than 10 miles apart and finished with the same 7-8 record in Georgia’s 4-7A region. Their overall records were similar as well, with Woodstock going 26-15 and Etowah going 26-16. Woodstock holds the head-to-head advantage this season, 2-1, and all three games have been lopsided, featuring a pair of 11-2 Woodstock wins and a 9-1 win for Etowah. All the bragging rights will be determined in the championship though.

• Florida’s 9A regional finals begin Tuesday night, including a matchup between University (Orange City, Fla.) and West Orange (Winter Garden, Fla.). University is coming off of a 2-0 win over Mandarin (Jacksonville, Fla.) in the regional semifinal in which Logan Allen—our No. 130 MLB Draft Prospect—threw a complete-game shutout. He allowed just two hits while striking out 11 batters and walking one, on 81 pitches. On the season, Allen is 11-0, 0.42 with 126 strikeouts in 67 innings thanks in part to a fastball reported to sit in the low 90s.

• The final playoff game to look at this week is another Florida matchup, in the 4A semifinals, where No. 4 Calvary Christian (Clearwater, Fla.) continues its pursuit of a perfect season against American Heritage (Delray Beach, Fla.). This game features a number of interesting prospects, as Calvary Christian has a handful of Division I commits, including outfielder Eric Kennedy (Class of 2018 Alabama commit), catcher Matheu Nelson (2018 Florida State commit) and shortstop and reliever Graham Hoffman (Class of 2017 South Florida commit).