Local players selected to area all-star teams

Seven area baseball players were named to the state’s two all-star baseball events, including a pair of Socastee teammates to the top series.

Braves pitchers Dylan Thompson and Austin Schmitz were the lone local players named to the N.C.-S.C. Select games, the sport’s version of football’s Shrine Bowl of the Carolinas. Carolina Forest’s Cameron Cauble, Myrtle Beach’s Praise Thorsen and Hunter Todd, Waccamaw’s Will Golden and Carvers Bay’s DaXavier LaSane were named to the North-South All-Star series.

Both all-star events are made up of the state’s top seniors.

Barring a late addition to the Select roster, Schmitz and Thompson are the only teammates named to the team. For Thompson, it could also be the first of many possible appearances at Coastal Carolina’s Springs Brooks Stadium, where the Select series will be played June 11-12. He signed with CCU in November, although his draft position is speculated to be improving and could end up being high enough divert him from the college route.

Thompson was 5-1 this year with a 1.28 ERA and 58 strikeouts in 43.2 innings.

Meanwhile, Schmitz had a 1.29 ERA and 56 strikeouts in 43.2 innings. His 3-4 record was a product of two one-run losses, including one in the playoffs.

Aynor’s Chad Sarvis and Georgetown’s Ben Waddle will serve as coaches for the South Carolina squad.

The annual North-South series will be played June 12-13 at The Ripken Experience in Myrtle Beach.

Thorsen, Todd and Golden will all suit up for the AAA/AA South team, while Cauble and LaSane will play for the AAAA/A South squad.

Each team will play its counterpart from the north, with the winners and losers of those two games facing off against each other on the second day.

Thorsen lines up to see a start in one of those game. The Lander signee was named the Region VII-AAA Player of the Year this spring after going 7-3 with 83 strikeouts and a 0.57 ERA. He and Todd led the Seahawks to the region championship and a spot in the district finals.

Golden, who primarily played third base while also stepping in at short and in the outfield, hit .316 for the Warriors. Waccamaw advanced to the Class AA Lower State tournament and won at least 20 games for the first time in coach Jeff Gregory’s decade with the team.

Lasane was a key component in leading Carvers Bay to the Class A, District VI finals after a third-place region finish.

This story was originally published May 21, 2015 at 5:21 PM with the headline "Local players selected to area all-star teams."