VA/DC Scout Blog: Appomattox at Amherst
March 17, 2023
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We take a look at some video and notes on five players from Wednesday's matchup between the defending 2A State Champion Appomattox Raiders and the Amherst Lancers.
Appomattox
Alex Caruso RHP / OF / Appomattox , VA / 2023Caruso, a Hampden-Sydney commit, had a solid outing on the mound for the Raiders. Although he gave up five runs during his three innings of work, only one of them was earned and he was the unlucky recipient of some defensive miscues that resulted in a fair share of the runs. He allowed back to back hits, his only two of the night, in the third inning, which resulted in the one earned run. Caruso had the fastball and breaking ball working early, getting some weak contact with the 82-84 fastball. The breaking ball was slurvy at 74-76 mph and had some depth.
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Trey Shrock C / OF / Appomattox County, VA / 2023Shrock is one of the core members of this program. He is vocal, plays hard, and has a solid set of tools. Did not have much success at the plate on the night, with two groundballs to the right side and a soft lineout to short. The base started and finished narrow and somewhat upright. Hands were the primary driver and swing got a little steep down into the zone. Could benefit from getting into the lower half a little more and leveling out the plane, increasing adjustability and on-plane efficiency with the swing. Athletic catcher that is a good runner for the position and is an active thrower with accuracy at each bag. Hampden-Sydney commit.
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Wyatt Sisk LHP / 1B / Appomattox County, VA / 2023Sisk came in and worked a fairly clean two innings, allowing one hit, walking one, and striking out one. The Charleston (WV) commit worked in the low 80's and showed a 66-68 mph breaking ball with bigger 1/7 shape. Arguably his best pitch on the night was the two-seam/changeup. It was hard to decipher which one because he killed spin on the pitch and had some late hard fade to it, but the velo (77-79) was comparable to the fastball velo. He got some swings and misses to the arm side when facing right handers and it it an effective pitch in those matchups.
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Amherst
Nicholas Dawson 2B / OF / Amherst County, VA / 2023The Bridgewater recruit was outstanding on the night. Six innings of work, allowed only two hits, and struck out nine. Absolutely pounded the zone with roughly 70% strikes on the night. Used mostly a fastball-breaking ball combo to keep hitters off balance and get some early, weak contact. The fastball sat in the low 80's and he was able to use it effectively on both sides of the plate. The breaking ball got swings and misses in the zone, as well as chases off the plate. A very effective start for the senior and was the main reason Amherst pulled off the big opening night win.
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Dalton Wentz SS / RHP / Amherst County, VA / 2024It is always fun to watch Wentz play. A certain maturity to his game. Very vocal, great teammate, and very toolsy two-way player. Made his biggest impact on the night at the plate, where one of two pitches that he got to swing at, he barreled up for a double into right center field. There is a good chance that Wentz is not going to see a ton of pitches this year and it was refreshing to see him still display patience. Patience is something that I did not see in the few at bats I saw during their game versus JF last year. In that look he looked anxious and trying to do a little too much, at the plate and on the mound. A year older, more mature, and seems the game continues to slow down. Even when the zone expanded away just a touch tonight, he never went away from what his approach was. The South Carolina commit was almost always in plus counts and was looking for something on that inner half that he could do damage with. In the seventh I got to see Wentz work a quick inning of relief, closing out the Lancers victory. Pretty much exclusive fastballs, minus one breaking ball on the final batter. He sat 89-91 with mostly 90-91. First hitter or two he was in cruise control with all 90-91's. Towards the back end of that at bat and into the third and fourth hitters he tried to muscle a few, but velo maintained. He showed some command to the glove side with the fastball. Struck out three hitters in the seventh. Will see Wentz again at some point and in a more extended outing.
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