Around Iredell Sports

2008 Mar-01

Veteran Vikings coach turns the reins over to Ramsey

New South Iredell baseball coach Trey Ramsey (center) monitors Friday’s practice.

By Brad Norman
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BARIUM SPRINGS - When the skies clear and the weather turns warm, Bobby Deal knows he’s going to miss coaching baseball.

Then there are other instances, like the time last week when Deal left his office to go home while a storm was brewing outside.

“When I left at 5 p.m., I looked over at the field and the coach was out there running them in the rain,” Deal said with a chuckle.

Deal, who was hired as South Iredell’s baseball coach in 1990, stepped down after last season to assume full-time duties as the school’s athletic director.

He was a co-athletic director with soccer coach David Basinger last year, with Deal handling AD responsibilities in the fall and Basinger taking over in the spring.

“I feel like I’ve got to give people an equal opportunity and a fair shot,” Deal said. “We were wanting to make it one AD instead of splitting it. I was the one that wanted to do it. But if I do it full-time, I don’t think it’s fair to other (spring sports) if I’m down on the baseball field all the time.”

Being on the baseball field all the time now falls on first-year skipper Trey Ramsey, who was 6 years old when Deal first assumed head coaching duties.

Ramsey has been at the baseball field every day for the last month, either leading practice or coming in on non-practice days to prepare the field for play.

“It’s been great,” utility player Rowdy Harris said. “He’ll get out here and run sprints with us, keep us going. I think we’re going to have a really productive season.”

The first thing most notice about Ramsey is his youth. He’s fresh out of college, and just a few years older than some of his senior players.

“One thing we talked about in my interview here was about being young and how they’d be going out and taking a risk on me,” Ramsey said. “My response to that was that I use my youth to my advantage and use it as enthusiasm.”

The first-year coach will rely on a versatile pitching staff and experience in his first year.

Lane Marlowe, the team’s top pitcher last year, hopes to return for conference play after offseason surgery.

Harris, Parker Carranco and sophomore Chris Dula will help man the rotation until he returns.

“We’ve got a pretty mature pitching staff,” Ramsey said. “Rowdy Harris is going to be pretty effective for us. Parker Carranco throws strikes and makes the other team put the ball in play, and Chris Dula has great arm strength.

“We should be able to put them in some pretty good roles.”

The product on the field should be good for the Vikings this year. South nearly made the playoffs last year after a late-season surge, and played in plenty of close games against the Southern Piedmont 1A-2A’s top teams.

“That should help us in close ballgames this year,” Harris said. “When you’ve had experience in close games, you can keep the younger guys calm.”

Then there’s the school’s baseball facilities, a priority for Ramsey. They should see a major overhaul during his tenure.

Ramsey and the Vikings raised approximately $4,700 during a recent fundraiser, money Ramsey is pouring mostly into the cosmetic aspect of the baseball field.

Ramsey and his staff have plans to improve the batting cages and catcher’s area, plant new grass and Turface, add new windscreens to the outfield wall and fly flags of every conference team.

“It’s going to be a much better place to drive into and a much better place to play at,” Ramsey said. “I want to have pride in what we have here. When they see how hard we’ve worked and how hard they’ve worked to get this field in shape, they’ll have more pride in what they do.”

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