Defense behind mound key to Devils’ success

By using the month of March to “get back in the mode of playing baseball everyday”, South Fulton High School’s Head Baseball Coach Jeremy McFarland plans a big push in April to align a position for his Red Devils to compete in the District Tournament.

Working off a strong field of veteran players, seven starters from last year, McFarland has no seniors or freshmen on his roster, but two juniors, eight sophomores and an eighth grader.

His challenge? To keep everyone healthy and monitor pitch counts so pitchers remain effective.

As it stands, Jack Roney and Greg Davis are hurt, with Roney one of the Devils’ pitchers and Davis in the outfield. Both Roney and Davis hit .216 and .326, respectively in the 2018 baseball season.

Davis, Roney, Brock Brown and Eli Carlisle will be four members of the team looked to in a leadership capacity, will all four having played “a lot of baseball” and tagged as “most experienced” on the team.

Joining Roney on the mound this season will be Brown, Carlisle, Janson Cook, Bryce McFarland, Drew Barclay, Blake Rodehaver and Dylan Ruddle.

“Potentially, we have a good opportunity to keep us in games if we play good defense behind them,” McFarland said.

Regarding that defensive effort, the Head Coach singled out Roney, Brown, Carlisle, McFarland and Davis among the best.

Roney, Brown and Garrett Slaughter will share duties behind the plate at catcher, and along with Davis, it will be Beau Britt, Conner Allen and Rodehaver rotating the outfield.

Playing infield, McFarland will use Carlisle, McFarland, Brown, Barclay, Cook, Ruddle, Slaughter, Roney, Riley Alexader and Jaden Knott.

It was Brock Brown who recorded the highest batting average for South Fulton in 2018, at .393 and McFarland rounded out the top four in that department with a .301, with Davis and Roney between the two.

To parallel the hit makers, navigating the baseline will be a few Red Devils who don’t mind giving the opposition a run for their money with a dive, slide or stolen base, including Roney, Brown, McFarland and Beau Britt.

Early on, the power hitting could be a hurdle, as 10 of the 14 listed on the roster have come directly from basketball season.