HS baseball notebook: Ardrey Kell in position for late season push

Sean Thomas had a tough job when he came to Ardrey Kell High School two years ago to coach the baseball team. He was replacing state championship and legendary coach Hal Bagwell, who was leaving to coach in South Carolina.

But Thomas has kept the tradition that Bagwell built. His first team was 20-7. His second, this season, is 14-3 — and 9-0 in the SoMECK conference. Since a 2-2 start, Ardrey Kell has won 13 of 14 games and faces Butler on Thursday, Olympic on Friday and traditional rival Providence on Saturday.

“When I came in, I just wanted to do the best job by my family, the players and the standard that the program is held to,” Thomas said. “Obviously, Coach Bagwell laid a phenomenal foundation here and you always want to follow that up as best as possible. For me, it is just about being able to enjoy our families and our players on a day-to-day basis.”

The Knights already have several key wins this season and several wins against teams in The Observer’s Sweet 16. They have two wins over South Mecklenburg, a win over Butler and a big win over Hough.

One key to the Knights’ success is the leadership of their senior class, including pitcher Jacob Kirby.

Kirby didn’t start off at Ardrey Kell, but his impact on the mound this season has been very important to the success of the team. Kirby comes from Pfafftown’s Reagan High School — another baseball powerhouse — and is committed to North Carolina.

“When I first moved here I didn’t know how big of a deal it was to play for Ardrey Kell,” Kirby said. “It is great that I can be a leader and be someone that the guys can look up to.”

Being committed to UNC, a school with a lot of baseball pedigree, gives Kirby confidence to know that he can go out there and compete with anyone, but it also adds extra incentive to want to beat the Knights’ opponents.

“I think that being at Ardrey Kell already puts a target on your back,” Kirby said. “I think with that extra title adds an even bigger target. I think it makes it a little more fun for me to compete against people.”

The Knights will be very busy as they will play their last seven games of the season within a two-week span. However, the games won’t be getting any easier for Ardrey Kell as its faces Butler twice, Providence twice and Olympic one more time before the end of the regular season.

“We definitely view these games as a challenge and view them as tough,” Thomas said. “But we also view them as exciting. In these last two weeks, we will actually play more than we practice. So, it is really about keeping up the physicality and staying healthy. For us, we are going to take it one day and one opportunity at a time.”

It can be easy for younger players to get excited when they see their record get better each week and rise in the rankings, but Kirby plans on being the leader they need and keeping them grounded in the Ardrey Kell process.

“We try to make sure they remember that it is a long season,” Kirby said. “Coach tells us to break it up into four seasons. The first season is the non-conference play; the second season is the conference games; the fourth season is the games after the conference; and the fourth season is the playoffs when you try to keep winning as many games as possible. We remind the younger guys it’s a marathon, not a sprint.”

Upcoming Games of Note

▪ Ardrey Kell faces Providence on Saturday, April 22, at 7 p.m. This has become one of the — if not the — biggest rivalries in the state. Both teams have a championship-level pedigree and should be an excellent matchup.

▪ Hickory Ridge will host Olympic on April 20 at 6 p.m. This will be an excellent test for both teams, as each school is in the top two of their respective conferences. Hickory Ridge is leading the Greater Metro 4A conference while Olympic sits in second in the SoMeck 4A conference.

▪ Top-ranked Hough travels to Kernersville to face the 17-1 East Forsyth Eagles. In 10 of the Eagles’ 17 wins, they have had 10 or more runs scored. This will be a great test for the pitching staff of Hough, which to their credit has also been outstanding this season. East Forsyth is the No. 1 ranked team in the 4A division of The Observer’s all-state rankings.

Results from last week

▪ The Providence Panthers got a dominant 16-2 win over the Stratford Knights out of Goose Creek, South Carolina. Providence has been rounding into its usual dominant form as of the last month and has its eyes set on another state championship run.

The Sweet 16 Baseball Poll

Dropped Out: Hickory Grove Christian (IND, 12-7). Also receiving consideration: Butler (4A, 11-8)