Today, our primary focus is on a North Carolina high school team that has won.  And won.  And won.  Try eight state titles with three coming the last five years.  And a colorful coach who’s won 10 North Carolina state titles in his 24 years in the dugout.  Also, we have a letter from a disgruntled Florida softball fan who thinks the state gets short-changed when it comes to the MaxPreps.com All-American teams…

 

*****

HIGH SCHOOL PROFILE: ALEXANDER CENTRAL (N.C.)

In our Preseason FAB 50 High School Rankings, we have Alexander Central of Taylorsville, N.C. ranked No. 6 and for good reason—they’ve won eight 4A state titles and are loaded again after going 33-1 last year and winning the third championship in the last five years.

The team is loaded with talent, too, as nine current players have either signed or verballed or have college offers.

Here’s a profile of the team as told by legendary Head Coach Monte Sherill, who has coached 24 seasons and won 10 state titles. 

Coaches, players and parents will want to read closely as his philosophies and approaches have proved to win and may just work for you too!

***

At Alexander Central (AC), we take pride in the slogan describing us as the “Biggest Little Softball Town in America.” It’s a speck on a map where seven small North Carolina communities –Taylorsville, Stony Point, Hiddenite, Ellendale, Wittenburg, Bethlehem and Sugarloaf – come together to produce players that love the game of softball.

Our high school softball program is supported like most schools support their football teams. It’s a small place to raise a family where kids dream of putting on our uniform pants that bundle at the shoe, the smear on eye black, the full block caps, and button up cap sleeve jerseys.

We want and strive to be different at Alexander. Our program is a cross between Vince Lombardi toughness and Dr. Phil’s empowerment of the players.

We expect big things every year at Alexander Central and 2014 is one group very blessed with talent.

With all that being said, our greatest attribute as a team is the “WE ARE AC.”  The terms ‘hard working,’ ‘dedicated,’ ‘passionate,’ etc. are used in most coach’s definitions of some of their players, but every Alexander Central softball player fits not only all these terms, but many more.

In this day and age when a fair percentage of all athletes, and even more parents, in general are selfish and stats watchers, we are “AC True Blue.” The only stat that really matters is the final score.

As an AC born and bred person, I know who we are as a county. We are a county of “Semper Fi” (always faithful) people who believe that it’s a given that we are going to work hard and expect nothing in return.

Our payoff is the satisfaction that we did the right thing. We are a county that just epitomizes self-sacrifice, hard work and dedication to the united cause. Our heritage as a county is why we win in softball. We outwork teams. We out-smart teams. When it comes down to it, our team is our county. WE ARE AC…

Practice is where the rubber meets the road in our program. Practice is built into a no-nonsense, all out, pressure packed, three-plus hours Monday thru Saturday.

Our kids respond to the tough love in the way that kids responded back 40 years ago. The skills and drills that are coached at practice, matched with Marine Corps discipline, have produced a streak that may never be matched in North Carolina sports.

We start each day with a combination of various things to empower our kids. They range from player-lead motivational sessions in our locker room, to former AC players from yesteryear encouraging and building on our tradition, to NASCAR drivers speaking on the small details that separate the champions from the want-to-be-champions, to opposing former high school coaches who once were against our ball club.

Our program is built on the ownership of the players. This empowerment carries over to the field where our seniors, with the help of the coaches, are in charge of the underclassmen’s skill development as well as their learning the way our program runs, on and off the field.

Practice transforms into a different phase of boot camp when our club enters the defensive side of practice, where no mistakes are tolerated without proper instruction and advancement of the skill.

We build intense pressure in practice so that mistakes are made only there “in practice.” We go back to the military training theme of, “the more you sweat in peacetime, the less you bleed in war time.”

In other words, we earn our victories in practice.

No stone is left unturned; we are prepared in every way. Just as I expect my players to adjust, I believe coaches need to continually upgrade their own coaching and empower the kids without losing the ironclad backbone of discipline.

I have learned so much and adjusted my practices from watching practices at Arizona(five years attended Coach Mike Candrea’s clinics), Coach Lu Camper at Georgia, Coach Lisa Navas when she was at NC State, Scot Thomas at Virginia Tech, Tennessee, and more.

I look forward in the near future to coach in college. I love watching college coaches.

My time at Central Cabarrus coaching with Charlie Blackwelder immensely helped me in the short game. I am blessed to have a dedicated staff at AC that stays long hours, knows the nuisances of the game and has a passion to coach at Alexander.

I am blessed to have an unbelievable group of assistant coaches who give of their time and energy. My wife has always been supportive of my passion in softball. I am blessed by the Lord in many ways.

No matter what level of success I have on field or a total in the win column, my greatest victory has been in Jesus Christ. His is the moral compass that I want to follow.

In closing, I love Alexander Central. I bleed it and live it. I am proud to be from AC.

 

***

*** Here’s a player-by-player look at the Alexander Central (N.C.) team with comments by Head Coach Monte Sherrill:

— SS/2B Taylor Wike (2014, North Carolina)
“Taylor was the North Carolina State 4A Player of the Year.   It seems Taylor has been playing at the high school for a decade and that’s a great thing for us! Next year she will be playing for the light blue team in Chapel Hill. Taylor is very aggressive at the plate and the field.  She does a lot of exceptional things at the plate, but one of the best things is her ability to hit the ball where it is pitched. In doing this, she puts the fat part of the bat on the ball. I look for her to have another banner year and drive in a lot of runs for our team. On defense, Taylor is rock solid and never backs down from any ball. She is a gamer and is a possible Gatorade POY.”

— 3B Averi Miller (2014, Lenior Rhyne.)
“Averi really has carried our team at times with her play. She can have some monster at bats and really settled in to be a complete hitter. She hits the ball with a lot of force and to all sides of the field. On defense she reminds me of another great third baseman at AC a few years ago named Kylie Cockrell with her soft hands and sure play. If the ball is hit to third base, the player is out. She has excellent knowledge of the game. One of the best things about Averi is her commitment to continue to get better, evident by her sprint speed improving by .3 on her home to first times. This shows a player who is very good but wants to be great!

— OF Amanda Sports(2014, King University)
“Amanda is the prime example in that you do not ever know where and when an opportunity may arise. She hit lights out in an Atlanta Legacy summer tournament and hit the jackpot with colleges. Amanda is an incredible young lady and has all the skills you want in a complete player.  I am sure she will have a fantastic senior season and will depend on her to be a force in the batting order. She is very close to being a 5 tool player which is very rare at the HS level. She has speed, 60 mph arm. Great power.

— 1B Bailey Sherrill (2014, uncommitted)
“Bailey has really grown stronger and faster and should be a force at the plate this season. Bailey epitomizes a team player and only cares about the betterment of her team and team mates. She is the glue that binds our team.  I am proud to be her dad. Whether she goes 90 for 90 or 0 for 90 I will be forever be proud of her for the young Christian lady she has become.  She gives every play her very best and that’s what I look for as her coach.  She is solid at first and is very acute at the finer parts of the game. She had one of the best batting averages on the team last year, so I feel confident that she will be a force at the plate and hit with some pop.

— C Christina Krider (2014, Finlandia University)
“Christina does a great job of handling the pitchers and receiving the ball. She has great ‘pop times’ meaning stealing a base against us is a very high risk, so she almost forces the opponent to bunt for an advancement of their runners. This is huge because it gives our defense a free out for teams who need to advance a runner to scoring position.  Christina blocks the ball in the dirt very effectively.  In the State Finals, Christina threw out the tying run trying to steal second in the 5th and 6th innings of the first game, and then picked off a runner off second with no outs in the 1st inning of the second game that proved pivotal. She is a tremendous asset to our team behind the plate.”

— OF Mia Blochaviak  (2014, Erskine College)
“Mia had a great State Championship Series at the plate and made three very fine defensive plays in left field.  Mia is a smart player and knows the small parts of the game that will help her be a great coach later on in life. Her best attribute is she plays the game to her strengths. She does what she does very well, and adapts her game to the weaknesses of the defense at the plate. She is solid defensively and usually positions herself to be the right place at the right time. She can hit for average and has major pop at the plate.”

— OF Alysia Winkler (2014, uncommitted)
“A true team player and always has a positive attitude. She is a defensive standout and tracks the ball very well, many times catching balls that others would not due to her perfect angles to the catch point. Alysia will always bring a positive outlook and does whatever is expected of her to help the team.”

— 2B/SS Vada Sherrill  (2015, uncommitted)
“Vada is an exceptional hitter who has a keen eye at the plate. She scored 40 runs last year and I look for much of the same this year. Vada is showing power at the plate. She was clocked by the radar at 2.93 (standing start to 1st base) this fall, which is flying and ran a 2.63 on slap contact. Her arm speed over 60 mph. Tianna and Vada will burn on the bases. I really like her poise under pressure and she is tough, tough, tough. She hates to lose and loves competition.  Vada played rec league football growing up and has a unique ability to hit the ball over the fence from her normal right side or from the left.  It seems Vada has the ability to play her best against the best.  She’s a possible Gatorade POY.”

— OF Tianna Batts (2016, uncommitted)
“Tianna is a rare player who is very fast with a 2.65 slap to first.  She has elevated her defensive game to have the unique ability to cover her two gaps in the outfield. Last year was a learning year for Tianna and did she ever soak up the info and apply it into her skill set. We have a lot of Alexander Central players who will run into a fence to catch a ball at the fence, but Tianna will run through the fence to catch a ball. She has the drive to excel and The Lord’s gift of talent. Her arm has really improved, so we should be set with the top CF in the State for the next three years. Offensively, Tianna will put the ball in play and must make the defense honor her hard slap. She could hit in the two slot for us, but will probably hit in the nine hole, so we can turn over the batting order and set the table. When on base the question is will not be, ‘Is she going to steal, but when?’”

— P/DH Bailey Rhoney   (2015, UNC- Charlotte)
Bailey is clutch on both sides of the ball. She is very strong in every area of the game. She is athletically sound and matches that in being very smart in all parts of the game. I love watch her hit. She has a plan at the plate and can make needed adjustments to outwit pitchers with line drive power to all fields. She has a 26-game hit streak going now and can flat out run. As a pitcher, she continues to improve her game. Pitching is always about adjustments, and using your strong pitches to attack a hitter’s weakness. Bailey understands this and has to hit her spots. She features a hard and slow curve, a very nice rise that will be used a lot this year, a hard screwball and a nice drop.  Bailey has gained strength and muscle mass which will pay dividends on the mound.

— P/DH Kiana Millsaps (2015, Pfeiffer University)
“Kiana was the North Carolina State 4A Pitcher of the year with a 24-0 campaign in 2013. She has advanced into a top flight pitcher and was highly effective last year due to her placement and spin count on her drop ball. While she did not strike out a lot of hitters, no one hit the ball hard against her. Hitters usually beat the ball into the ground and into the teeth or strength of our defense. At one point last year, on average Kiana was forcing 8 of 10 hitters to hit soft grounders to our infield. At the plate, Kiana is a beast!  When she gets pitches in her wheelhouse, she is as strong as any hitter in the state with enormous power to all fields. In the off-season, she has really worked hard on her sprint speed. She will have a banner year on both sides of the ball for us.”

— MIF/C Makenzie Pennell (2017, uncommitted)
“Makenzie throws over 60 mph and this kid will not back down from any ball hit. She is fearless and her toughness is exceptional. ‘Mak’ is going to be a great hitter and continues to impress the coaches. Some kids are just meant to be ball players and Makenzie is one of them!”

***

More from Coach Sherill on the 2014 team…

Regarding this year’s team, we have so many weapons to throw at the opponent. This squad may be one of the fastest teams I have ever coached as a unit, so we should really be a threat to run any player on the bases. A few obvious players have exceptional speed. Defense should be another real strong point with so many players returning to their positions, but I am really excited about Tianna Batts in centerfield. She is a two gap player and will allow our corner outfielders to play closer to the lines so it will be hard to find a fly ball that does not catch leather.

Let’s talk hitting: our 399 hits as a team last season was a state record. The best part about that was we were going head to head against the best pitchers and teams in the State in the old NW 3A/4A conference.

Our toughest games of the year were our conference games. We are rock solid with our sticks in the lineup and have the unique ability to rollover our lineup on teams.

After the first pitch is thrown, most people would not be able to tell the top or the bottom of our order, there are only quality hitters who can hit with power to all fields and attack with speed.

We use the Rightview Pro System Analysis which I feel like really helps our kids fine turn their technique. We go to the plate with an attitude that we are great hitters based on the knowledge we streamline our swings to maximize the bat speed at the contact point.

We teach to load the backside and push forward with a hard linear move before transferring the swing into a rotational phrase. We try our very best to tweak our swings of the incoming freshman rather than rebuild. We want to always build on the positive.

We are definitely of the Pat Murphy philosophy of YES, YES, YES, No on our aggression on pitches. We are in the box to hit and if the pitcher leaves anything on the plate, we will hit it in the screws. We take hitting personal and want to have quality at bats.

Each player who hits receives an overall grade for the at-bat. We take into consideration the angle of the ball off the bat, the placement of that contact on the sweet spot of the bat, along with added/subtraction of points based on the overall quality of the pitch selection. Each at bat serves as an overall indicator of what the hitter’s quality at bat is. Batting averages mean nothing. We want to hit the ball hard!

Everyone knows that the game starts in the circle. In the circle, we will have the combo of Kiana Millsaps and Bailey Rhoney. It’s hard to beat one being 24-0 / NC 4A Pitcher of the Year and the other being the State Championship MVP, so we are definitely strong in this area. We teach the 6/12 rise that the famous “King and His Court” star Eddie Feigler threw in his barnstorming days and Coach Robby Wilkinson has perfected a great off speed pitch that gets hitters on their foot plus changes in planes.

In the battery, Christina Krider will start behind the plate with Mackenzie Pennell also seeing some time there. Catching is such a critical spot on our team, because we work so many sections in the hitter’s zone. Christina is a great receiver of balls in the dirt and has a strong arm behind the plate.  Like I said earlier, her ability to throw our runners will force the opposition to bunt the runners into scoring position.

Our middle infield is the best in the state in a variety of ways with Taylor and Vada. Looking back to last year’s stats, they had 100 and 107 assists respectively and that is amazing stats in itself.  They both have great range and are smooth fielders with strong arms.

On offense, they have lead our team in many of the statistical categories, but one that stands out is that the two combined have scored over 150 runs in the last two years. They will be difference makers on our team and are interchangeable.  Our solid corners will have Bailey Sherrill at 1st and Averi Miller at 3rd. Bailey has soft hands and is very good at catching balls in the dirt. Averi is one of the most solid third baseman there is in the South East. Both hitters have power and can hit for average.

Amanda Sports, Tianna Batts, Alysia Winkler and Mia Blochaviak will fill the outfield spots. As a group, very few teams can match this group as they are strong defensively and are solid hitters. Like I said earlier, Tianna gives us an opportunity to play 2 steps closer to the line than we have in the past with her speed. A great thing is we have speed in the corner outfielders as well as all of them getting great jumps on tracking the ball.

 

*****

LETTER TO THE EDITOR: MAXPREPS PRESEASON ALL-AMERICANS

Yesterday we ran the MaxPreps.com 2014 Preseason All-American team and got a response from a Florida person who feels the Sunshine State gets slighted…

***

Brentt:

This writer year after year slights the Florida players for this AA team, both pre and the end of the year one.  

No way we should only have one player on this AA team.  I get that Cali probably plays at a slightly higher competition level in high school, but no way Connecticut, New Jersey, Arkansas, Kansas, etc. play at a higher than level than us.  

I’ve seen high school ball up north, it’s atrocious at best.  

We play 25 games during the regular season and only four of them are cupcake games.  Up North 90 percent of them would be and I’m low balling.  

You put Meghan King, Lele Ocasio, or any other top pitcher from Florida up there and they would have video game like stats.   He has something against Florida in my opinion.

***

Thoughts?  What do you folks in the Northeast think? Agree, Florida fans?  Let’s get some dialog going on here!  E-mail me your thoughts: brentt@studentsports.com

 

*****

RECRUITING NEWS:

*** Kelsey Saucier, a 2014 pitcher with the Concord Raiders Gold team, has verbally committed to play softball next year at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) also in Worcester, Mass.

Kelsey has been the starting pitcher for her high school the last three seasons and is a two-year captain..

She was a preseason ESPN Boston selection at pitcher/1B and is also a two-time Worcester Telegram Super Team selection at pitcher/ 1B as well as a two-time Central Massachusetts Conference All- Star.

*** More verbals:

— C Madison Ambush (2015, Hofstra)… plays for Heartbreakers Gold
— P/IF Madison Grimm (2015, Hofstra)… plays for Heartbreakers Gold
— C Michala Maciolek (2017, Syracuse)… plays for New Jersey Nightmare Gold
— OF Carli Shaw (2015, Central Connecticut State)… plays for New Jersey Nightmare Gold

 

*****

Players, parents and coaches:  want to know the best way to get us info on your favorite player?  Fill out our Recruit Form link and complete.  It comes directly to me (Brentt) and you very likely could see the info used somewhere on our site!

*****

If you’d like to submit information, forward to brentt@studentsports.com.  Also, follow us on twitter at @SS_Softball.