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Prep Roundup
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• Public Schools • North Iredell High School
2008 Apr-24
BASEBALL
Raiders set sights on big finishBy Brad Norman
North Iredell’s baseball team is in need of wins as the conference season comes to a close. The Raiders faced the same scenario last year and hope the end result is better this time around. That has been the case so far. Even with Tuesday’s tough-to-swallow 3-2 loss to West Iredell, the Raiders are in the thick of the playoff race. North is currently 6-8 in North Piedmont 3A play and tied for fifth place with Carson, Lake Norman and West Rowan. Four games remain in the regular season, and only two of those teams will qualify for the 3A playoffs. “We’re playing up to our ability,” North coach Matthew Poole said. “You’d like to have a couple more superstars, but we’re playing well. This whole conference is up and down. Nobody really dominates, except for East Rowan, so you never know what’s going to happen.” The Raiders’ play down the stretch is quite the opposite from last season, when North started NPC play with a 4-2 record and appeared well on its way to advancing to the playoffs for the first time since 1987. But the Raiders lost their final eight conference games and tumbled out of the playoff race in the process. “I don’t think we even won a game in the second half of the season last year,” catcher Tyler Christenberry said. “This year, the seniors have really been playing good and we’ve been hitting the ball a lot better the second half of the year.” North has its first game in that crucial season-ending stretch tonight. North hosts Carson, one of the team’s it is tied with in the standings, so the winner will get a big leg up in the playoff picture. Sophomore Nick Burwell is in line to get the start. After being called up late in the season last year, Burwell has settled into a groove recently. “Burwell, he’s had good control and he’s just kind of effectively wild enough to keep them off balance,” Poole said. “And he’s just a sophomore, too. He really shut (Carson) down the first game, and he came in with no outs and the bases loaded against West Iredell and got three outs.” Burwell has added some velocity to his fastball since last season and has fooled hitters several times with his sweeping curveball. “Last year I was kind of nervous,” Burwell said. “This year I’ve had a different mindset. I’ve started to pitch real well.” Burwell, along with ace Aaron Johnson and Brett Earnest, have done well on the mound and kept the Raiders in most of their games.
But with four big games ahead, North will have to find a way to win the close ones — four of its losses this year have been by one run.
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