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Gators baseball team replacing five seniors

Published Wednesday, May 06, 2009 1:12 PM

By Rob Gantt
The Gazette

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Senior shortstop Yamil Perez became the third player in school history selected to play in a South Carolina Coaches Association all-star game after batting nearly .400 for the Gators.

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First baseman Thomas Smith set a Goose Creek school record with 21 walks this season.

Goose Creek baseball coach Scott Durham would have liked the season to go further but when he looks back at it, he’s not that displeased considering how inexperienced the Gators were.

They finished 10-14 overall after starting out 2-9. They didn’t make the playoffs but did capture a tournament title over spring break by winning the Cane Bay Classic.

The season was the last for a number of seniors, including five starters.

Among that group is shortstop Yamil Perez, a SCBCA North-South All-Star selection, and pitcher Michael Berry.

Both were all-region selections, and Perez became the third player in the program’s history to make the coaches’ all-star game. He ranks second in school history in stolen bases and third in runs scored and walks.

He batted .397 with 13 stolen bases and the Gators were just 1-4 in his absence.

Berry, who finished 5-4 with a 2.31 earned run average this season, leaves as the school’s all-time wins and ERA leader. His top performance was a nine-inning victory over Berkeley in a region game.

The other seniors are catcher Anthony DeMeo (.297 BA, 4 HR, 16 RBI), centerfielder Jonathan Sechler (.292 BA, 11 RBI) and first baseman Elijah Nichols (.344 BA, 17 RBI), a recent Coker College signee.

“Most of our seniors stepped up and had the best seasons of their careers,” Durham said.

Perez and Sechler lettered for four years, while DeMeo and Berry are three-time lettermen.

“They will always be very special to me and this program,” Durham said. “They have all been here the entire time I have, and they have each contributed to our turning of this program in a positive direction.”

The Gators’ returning starters will be third baseman Dennis Large (.323 BA, 13 R), pitcher/outfielder Zack Lavery, first baseman/pitcher Thomas Smith, left fielder Ahmed Ravenel and second baseman Dalton Frankie, who figures to slide into the vacated catcher’s spot.

Lavery tacked on three pitching victories and Smith set a single-season school record by drawing 21 walks and didn’t make an error all season. Ravenel batted .295 with 12 runs scored.

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