Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Baseball Season Underway

Gurdon's Diamond Devils have started their 1997 season, after weather delays.

Coach John Pace returns six from the 1996 crew, but lost 10. Pace said this year's team will be young, and will have no one swinging of pitching from the south side. There will be three seniors, two juniors and eight sophomores taking to the diamond.

Pitching will again be the key for the Devils, as they have had little time to practice outside because of the weather, and, therefore, the hitting hasn't come around yet.

Jared Toland, Tonio Gatlin, Adrian Meeks and Lewis Crane will be the likely rotation on the hill for the Diamond Devils.

Behind the plate, Gatlin, Josh Griffin or Jeff Rhodes could anchor the second part of the battery.

Pace said Paul McMillan, a junior, will be on first base, while Justin Griffin could be the team's second baseman.

When not on the hill, Gatlin or Toland could be in the middle of the double-play zone at short.

Josh Griffin or Terry Joe White will spend time at the hot corner on third.

Gurdon's outfield could be the best part of its defense, with Josh Griffin, Kenny Hughes, Crane and Brandon Gattis spending time out there.

Pace said Hughes is by far the fastest in the field, but Griffin and Rhodes aren't slouches either.

Toland will be the number one starter on the hill, with Pace saying good things are expected from him. "He's shown signs of being a good pitcher."

Gatlin will be next in the rotation. he pitched in most of the team's "B" games last season, and saw action with the varsity crew. "He has several pitches," Pace said, "and needs to use them effectively."

Meeks and Crane will fill the 3-4 spots as pitchers, but not necessarily in this order.

Gurdon is in a new baseball conference as well, this year, and will face league foes such as Stamps, Nevada and Stephens. The conference will be a double round robin, with all games counting toward the league record.

Pace said the district tournament will be held in Stamps this year and Gurdon next year.

"We have a chance to be good," Pace said, "but haven't got in a lot of practice. We've had to work out in the gym."