The battle for the top spot in American Legion League IV could very well come down to the two teams in The T&D Region -- at least that’s what some of the league’s coaches seem to be thinking.

Orangeburg Post 4 and St. George American Legion Post 105 will likely field the two most experienced squads in the league this year.

“Right now, I’d have to say that St. George is the team to beat,” said Post 4 head coach Frank Leysath. “They’ve got some bonafide pitchers, and I don’t know that we have that.”

St. George and Orangeburg open their season Monday against each other in a League IV showdown. Dalzell-Shaw and Summerville also play Monday, and Walterboro opens its play in League IV against Summerville on Tuesday.

Following is a look at the teams that will make up the league this season.

St. George

Head Coach -- Carlton Peele

Season Outlook -- St. George seems to be the favorite among the league’s coaches, and with good reason. Post 105 enters the season with a strong group of pitchers -- Walt Quattlebaum, Brandon Purvis and BradyPeele -- than any other team in the league. And, that’s just the beginning of the possibilities for Post 105 when it comes to pitching. Wesley Buchanan, Tyler Looper, Patrick Murray and Hunter Hall can also throw when called on. St. George is also the most experienced team in theleague. “We have seven or eight 19-year-olds,” Peele said in an earlier interview with The T&D. “Three of those kids -- Brady (Peele), John Gibbs and Nick Chinners -- played college ball.

Orangeburg

Head Coach -- Frank Leysath

Season Outlook -- Leysath’s team has done well against St. George as of late, but the coach still favors Post 105 to win the league this year. If they don’t, it could very well be Leysath’s Post 4 team that does. Post 4’s biggest obstacle is a lack of depth in the pitching department. The team is young -- for the most part -- but is chock full of local talent such as Edisto’s Josh Strock and Brad McDaniel. Orangeburg Prep’s Brad Felder, Calhoun Academy’s Trez Wienges and Bamberg-Ehrhardt’s Brandon Bamberg and Cory Brooks are coming off strong seasons.

Walterboro

Head Coach -- John Hayes

Season Outlook -- Walterboro is rejoining the American Legion after a layoff of more than a decade. Hayes, the head coach of the Colleton County Cougar baseball team, has mostly led travel teams the past few years, but this year helped spearhead the movement to rejoin Legion. “We just hope to see good pitching and baseball,” said Hayes. “We want to give our kids a chance to get better over the summer.” Hayes’ roster took a hit by the fact that several players that could have played for Walterboro this year had been going to St. George Post 105 to play in the past. “A lot of our older players are playing in St. George,” he said. “That’s the facts. That’s where we are. We have some older guys that are going to be playing there, and they couldn’t get a release. I just wish they would have had the opportunity to choose where they wanted to play. So, the majority of our team is young,” he continued. “I’ve got four or five that are 17 and two, Ryan Broach and Brad Long, that are 18. But, I have good baseball players, and I have some good talent. Our kids will play hard, and I am interested to see how everything works out." The majority of Hayes’ players come from his Colleton County Cougar baseball team and the school’s neighboring SCISAA counterpart, Colleton Prep. “We’ve got Jeffery Kinard and Trey Young from Colleton Prep,” Hayes said. “And, we have Bradley Grayson from Bluffton. The rest are from Colleton County,” he continued. “We’ve got Gunner Bowen, Kevin Bazzle, Jamel Paige, Darryl White, Ryan Fisk and Chad Bloodworth.” Hayes’ best player at Colleton County High School -- Zach Singleton -- will be on the roster, but will not play the whole season because of previous engagements. The 6-foot-2, 200-pound power hitter is an excellent defender with a strong arm, and is a candidate to be picked in next year’s Major League Baseball Draft. “He’s going to be on the roster,” said Hayes. “We don’t know how much he is going to be able to play, but we will see.”

Summerville

Head Coach -- Burt Bazzle

Season Outlook -- Bazzle has produced some pretty good baseball teams at Summerville High School, but his Legion team may not be the best on the block this year. “We are young and inexperienced to put it bluntly,” he said. “This is my first year doing seniors because I’ve done juniors the last two years. A lot of the kids that play seniors now for me could probably play juniors again.” Bazzle’s team has already played two games, losing two, 10-run rule games, to Goose Creek. “Goose Creek has a good team,” Bazzle said. “I just think the more we play together and the more I learn the kids the more competitive we will be. We are going to be facing some guys that are a lot more mature, and some guys that have played collegeball.” Summerville will be led by junior catcher Brett Wheeler, who hit a home run against Goose Creek and first baseman Aaron Bouronich. One of the team’s top pitchers figures to be Josh Nobles, a Pinewood Prep graduate, and member of the Limestone College baseball team. “I think defensively, we are going to be alright,” he said. “Offensively, it’s going to be tough. The pitching we are going to see is going to be -- I think -- pretty darned good. We may struggle to score some runs.” Bazzle said he is happy to see Legion gaining ground again in the areas surrounding Summerville. “Hopefully, we can keep the seniors ahead and keep it on board,” he said. “I’ve been watching Legion ball since I was a kid, and it is certainly something thatI appreciate. I know it has been around, but it is an outstanding brand of baseball. Travel ball has taken a bite out of it, but I see that running its course and those kids are coming back.”

Dalzell-Shaw

Head Coach -- Patrick McDonald

Season Outlook -- One thing McDonald -- the second-year head coach of Dalzell-Shaw -- can look forward to is -- it can’t get much worse. Dalzell-Shaw only won one game a season ago. “I know everybody was probably happy to see us move into League IV,” McDonald said with a laugh. “But, it’s kind of hard to tell what we have. We have a lot of new guys, and until they compete under pressure -- it’s just hard to tell what type of team we have.” So far this year, McDonald’s team has had some success, winning a pair of postseason scrimmages. “Just about every year, our problem is pitching depth,” he said. “We’ve got to find some guys that are consistent on the mound. I think we are pretty average defensively. But, we have got some speed, and we are a decent hitting team,” he added. “We are nothing special. I think we will put the ball in play and see if we can use our speed to our advantage.” At least their most consistent pitcher has a famous name -- Dusty Baker. “He’s from Robert E. Lee,” McDonald said. “We don’thave a lot of returners, and in the past we haven’t gotten that many kids from Robert E. Lee, but this year we have eight so there are some new faces.” Charlie Taylor will also be one of Dalzell-Shaw’s best players, McDonald said. “He redshirted last year at Florence-Darlington Tech,” he said. “He’s a good player, and he will play first base and pitch some.”

T&D Sports Writer Brian Linder can be reached by e-mail at blinder@timesanddemocrat.com or by phone at 803-533-5553.

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