Powerhouse Ringgold ready to roar again in Region 6-AAA
The Ringgold Tigers have enjoyed a nice run of success in the past three seasons and this year’s senior class is looking to close out their prep careers in style.
Ringgold has won three consecutive Region 6-AAA titles, advanced to the second round of the state playoffs all three times and went to the Class AAA Elite Eight twice. They need 22 wins this season to give the Class of 2018 a total of 100 victories in four years.
And based on what they have coming back on paper, there seems to be little, if anything, that can stop Ringgold from adding on to its impressive resume.
Head coach Brent Tucker acknowledges that his team has talent, but he is also quick to point out that having talent and proving it on the field are two entirely different things.
“You can get humbled in baseball on any given day,” he said. “You can even get humbled in batting practice or taking ground balls. The main thing is to keep challenging them over and over and keep finding ways to put new pressure on them.”
As an example, he referenced a recent double play drill in practice. After timing speedster Andre Tarver from home to first base, the rest of the drill was spent trying to turn double plays and beat Tarver’s time down the line.
“You just have to find ways keep them challenged,” the veteran coach added. “A lot of it comes from within as well. Fortunately, we have a lot of guys that will play after high school and they want to keep getting better. Honestly, I feel like 90 percent of it comes from the player because they want to improve in all facets of the game.”
Five seniors will provided plenty of experience for the Tigers in 2018.
Ty Jones, a 2017 Underclassmen Honorable Mention AllAmerican by Perfect Game, projects as an outfielder when he gets to Lipscomb University, where he is already signed. But Jones will likely make a move to third base to plug in a gap this season. Another senior likely playing a different position this year is Lee University signee Gavin Hollis. Primarily a catcher, Hollis (.317 with 21 RBIs in 2017) will probably see a good deal of time at first base.
Louisiana-Lafayette signee Nathan Camp can play both middle infield positions and will be one of the top arms in the Tigers’ rotation. A two-time AllRegion selection and a second team All-State pick, Camp hit .355 with four homers, 28 RBIs and 16 stolen bases as a junior, went 7-2 on the mound with 56 strikeouts in 55 innings with a 1.96 ERA and had a fielding percentage of .980.
The final two seniors will be part of the Ringgold bullpen. Andrew Ghormley and Ammon Murphy gave the Tigers a lot of good innings late in games last year and will be expected to fill those roles again this year. Ghormley may also work in at second base.
Behind them is a large and very strong junior class.
Outfielder/pitcher Holden Tucker has pitched a lot of innings in the past couple of years and is coming off a second team AllRegion selection as a pitcher after going 7-3 with 72 strikeouts, a 1.76 ERA and five shutouts a year ago. He also batted .361 with 25 RBIs.
Catcher Dalton
Schley could also see a little time at third base. He’ll bring another left-handed bat to the middle of the order and a strong arm behind the plate.
Then there is Tarver, who has gotten bigger, stronger, faster and even more baseball savvy since last year. The Mississippi State baseball commit, who is also starting to rack up Division I football offers, will be back in the outfield and should help set the table at the top of the order. A first team All-Region and All-State pick last year, Tarver hit .405 with nine homers and 33 RBIs.
The remainder of the junior class includes first baseman/lefthanded pitcher Johnny Camilucci, who is coming off an excellent season with the JV team last year. Wyatt Tennant is another southpaw with solid stuff on the mound. Second baseman Logan Murphy will be seeing his first action on the varsity team and will bring a solid defensive glove to the field.
Casey Pate is yet another left-hander that can pitch, play first base or in the outfield, while Caleb Stephens will give the Tigers another option behind the dish.
Tucker is also excited about a pair of sophomore outfielders in Brayden Broome and Dylan Wright, who will both be pushing hard for playing time.
“Defensively, we’re very athletic, but offensively we’ve still got to figure out who we are,” Tucker added. “We’ve had some power hitting teams around here in the past, and I think we have some power this year, but we’re also going to be able to get on the bases and go. It’s going to be a little bit different style of offense than what people are used to seeing around here.”
With a deep pitching staff, plenty of returning experience and an extremely difficult non-region schedule that includes 10 ranked teams in 12 games, the Tigers should be battled-tested for what has become a very tough Region 6-AAA.
“The key to this season is for these guys to get that hard skin developed that baseball season creates,” Tucker continued. “We think we have a lot of depth in the pitching staff with six lefties and two righties. We know those guys are going to go out there and throw strikes and do what they do.
“The last three years we’ve won region championships, but we’ve also finished disappointed in the state tournament. Athletically, we’re good as anybody, but we just have to keep working on those small things and execute them correctly.”