LVC baseball preview: Parkland, Liberty, Whitehall, Emmaus among the contenders

http://www.mcall.com/sports/varsity/mc-lvc-baseball-preview-20130320,0,899230.story

FROM THE MORNING CALL

Three of the usual suspects — Parkland, Liberty and Emmaus — are expected to contend for the Lehigh Valley Conference baseball title this spring.

None of them has to worry about starting out as the team everyone in the league is after.

Parkland and Liberty both lost their top two starting pitchers to graduation, leaving questions about their pitching depth. Emmaus has a bunch of players returning, but it missed out on the LVC playoffs a year ago.

The apparent lack of a dominant team should make for an intriguing 2013 season. Whitehall and Northampton are two of the teams that could push the Parkland-Liberty-Emmaus trio for spots in the four-team league tournament.

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Below are capsule looks at all 12 LVC teams.

WEST DIVISION

Allen

•Coach: Rob Leskosky (first year).

•Last year: 4-15 overall, 4-10 LVC.

•Top returnees: Sr. P-IF Brady Yocum (.240); Jr. P-C Leo Mendez (.314).

•Key newcomers: Sr. P-OF Zach Miller; Jr. P-IF Felix Martinez; So. P-IF Justin Kratz; Jr. 1B-C Tajae Botz; Jr. IF Jomar Perez; Jr. IF Donato Caceres; Jr. IF Zach Blose.

•Outlook: The Canaries lost 16 of their 18 players from a year ago and have a new coach in Leskosky. Their lack of experience, especially on the mound, could make it tough for them to compete in the West Division.

Central Catholic

•Coach: Matt Garza (ninth year, 84-82).

•Last year: 13-8 overall, 8-6 LVC (West Division champion).

•Postseason: Lost to Liberty in LVC semifinals; lost to Blue Mountain in District 11 3A quarterfinals.

•Top returnees: Sr. P-OF Mike Kammerer; Sr. 2B Stefan Lechmanik; Sr. 2B-P Walt Roland; Sr. SS Justin Schalles; Sr. P-OF Andrew Smith; Jr. IF-DH Zach Tobash.

•Key newcomers: Sr. OF Anthony Beck; Sr. 1B-3B Stephen Kotch; Jr. C Ryan Basta; Jr. 2B Dalton Buskirk; Jr. C Ryan Gutshall; Jr. 1B Zach Krause; Jr. P-OF Danny Lloyd; Jr. OF Jon Nicklas; Jr. 2B Sean Robbins; Jr. OF-P Vinny Romano; So. SS-2B Eric Sipp; Fr. C Noah Adams.

•Outlook: The Vikings broke through to win the West Division title last season but graduated much of their offensive punch. Their pitching should allow them to hang with most teams. How their hitting develops will determine their postseason fate.