Alabama High School Team Preview: Dale County Warriors
February 9, 2022
The 2022 high school baseball season is quickly approaching and as usual, excitement abounds throughout the state. Players and coaches have been working in preparation for the upcoming season and, as is the case each year, there are some very talented players and teams across Alabama.
Teams across the state have goals and aspirations to finish their seasons in Montgomery at the AISA or AHSAA state championships, but there is plenty of work to be done before that becomes reality. We hope to familiarize our readers with many of the teams across the state as we preview individual teams across Alabama. We will take you right up to first pitch this season with these team previews and by continuing our scheduled podcasts and releasing our preseason Top 10 in each AHSAA classification.
Please keep checking back throughout the season as we will be your one-stop shop for everything related to high school baseball across the state. Each week we will be releasing our players of the week, updating the Top 10 in each AHSAA classification as well as a Power 25. One thing that you especially don’t want to miss are our scheduled podcasts with guests from across the state as well as recaps and previews of big games across the state.
*Please note that all information is based on team preview questionnaires that were sent out and returned by the participating high school coaches.
High School Name: Dale County Warriors
Coach’s Name: Patrick Street
Classification: AHSAA 4A
Area Number: Area 2
No. of Returning Positional Starters: 5
No. of Returning Pitchers: 3
Team Strengths: Small Ball/Power Mix, Speed, Defense
Top Returning Players:
- RHP/OF Aiden Wright (2023)
- OF Christian Ross (2023)
Top 2022 Prospects:
- INF/RHP Cole Weed (2022)
- OF/RHP Carson Causey (2022)
- OF Derrion Crossley (2022)
Top 2024 & 2025 Prospects:
- RHP/INF Jessie Pelham (2024)
- C/RHP Grant Horne (2024)
- RHP/1B Aiden Cain (2024)
- RHP/INF Will Harzog (2024)
- INF/RHP Kade Smith (2025)
Team Outlook
The Dale County Warriors come into the spring of 2022 with high hopes of making it back to the Class 4A State Playoffs, where they found themselves last spring. The Warriors won their area and advanced to the 2nd round, but were unfortunately eliminated by Bibb County in two games. This spring, the Warriors have most of that team coming back in 2022.
The Warriors have a good mix of upperclassmen and underclassmen this spring, and most have some playing time under their belt from last year's team. RHP/OF Aiden Wright is a junior who is coming off a standout performance at the South AL Preseason All-State. Wright is a two-way prospect who can run his fastball into the upper-80's, and also hit .300 last spring with 18 RBI's and 21 runs scored. He'll obviously be a big part of the success the Warriors have this spring. Another junior coming off a stellar sophomore season last year is OF Christian Ross, who is also a standout football player for the Warriors. Ross should return as the leadoff hitter and starting center-fielder for Dale County after hitting .357 with two triples, a home run and 26 runs scored. Seniors like INF/RHP Cole Weed, OF/RHP Carson Causey & OF Derrion Crossley will be sure to provide some production and leadership this spring, as well.
The Warriors return five positional starters and three pitchers on the mound, but they'll be need some younger players to slide into bigger roles in order for them to have the type of success they want this spring. RHP/INF Jessie Pelham bring plenty of two-way potential to this team, as he's expected to hit towards the top of the lineup and also be one of the top arms in the rotation. C/RHP Grant Horne is another sophomore who is expected to take over a starting position behind the plate and hit in the middle of the order. A few other underclassmen to watch for this spring will be RHP/1B Aiden Cain, RHP/INF Will Harzog & INF/RHP Kade Smith. Keep an eye out for the Warriors in Class 4A this spring.
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