Prep Baseball Report

Preseason Team Countdown: No. 42 Lincoln-Way Central



By Sean Duncan
Executive Director

Leading up to the start of the high school season, we will count down the top 75 preseason teams every day as part of our comprehensive season coverage: 

Team: Lincoln-Way Central
Preseason Rank:
42
2013 Record:
16-14
Conference:
Southwest Suburban Red
IHSA Class: 4A
Head Coach: Scott Gardner
Playoff Run: Lost in Regional Final (Lincoln-Way North)
2013 Final Rank: Not Ranked

Returning Starters: 3
Returning Pitchers:
2

TOP PLAYERS
Brad Bass, RHP, 2014 (Notre Dame)
Kevin Mampe, RHP/INF, 2014
Pat Michalak, OF, 2014
Sean Barry, 1B, 2014
Tyler Autero, OF, 2014

X-FACTOR
Brad Bass.
The 6-foot-6 right-hander is the No. 2-ranked prospect in Illinois’ 2014 class and is one of the premier draft prospects in the Midwest. Few players can dominate a game like Bass. As a junior, he struck out 72 in 53.1 innings and had a 1.57 ERA.

NEWCOMER TO WATCH
TJ Papousek, INF, 2015

STAT RAT
Junior OF Sean Studer had a .462 on-base percentage and batted .382 as a sophomore last spring.

OUTLOOK
The Knights can be an extremely dangerous club, especially when Bass is on the mound. They proved that last year when they pushed Lincoln-Way North to the edge, but ultimately fell 1-0 in the Regional Final. Behind Bass, look for two-way player Kevin Mampe to make an impact. Without any discernible middle-of-the-order power threat, Central will need to scrap runs together in order to compete for the conference championship.

BOTTOM LINE
The Knights can beat any team in the state when Bass is on the mound. Only problem is, he can’t pitch every game, and even when he does throw, they will need to scratch across some runs. They will be highly competitive in the Southwest Suburban Red, but they will need to play better than last year’s disappointing 16-14 mark to make any serious run this spring.

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Season Countdown

+ Preseason Team Rankings

+ Updated Illinois 2014 Player Rankings

+ June Event Schedule

 

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