All-Area baseball team is experienced

 The 2008 Daily News All-Area baseball team has its fair share of experience.

Of the 38 players selected as Player of the Year or to one of the three teams, 18 are seniors and 14 are juniors.

Topsail senior right-hander Thomas Jones spearheads the list as the top player after he directed the Pirates to a 24-8 record and a berth in the NCHSAA 1-A championship series. The future North Carolina-Wilmington Seahawk was 8-3 on the mound with an ERA of 0.95 and recorded 133 strikeouts. Jones also batted .359 with 26 RBIs.

The all-area team was voted on by the coaches and The Daily News sports staff. Four other seniors landed a spot on the first team: Jacksonville's Erik Erlandson and Greg Knapp, White Oak's Christian Rosso and East Duplin's Joshua Kennedy.

Erlandson, an outfielder, batted .339 with 17 runs and 12 RBIs while Knapp, a shortstop, hit .377 with 20 runs and six RBIs. Their efforts helped the Cardinals qualify for the 3-A playoffs for the second consecutive season.

Rosso, who was predominately a designated hitter, is placed as an outfielder after batting .434 with 14 RBIs, while Kennedy, a right-handed pitcher, was 10-3 with one save and had an ERA of 2.20. He struck out 75 and also batted .361 with 23 runs and 14 RBIs.

Croatan left-handed pitcher Aaron Stull, Dixon catcher Chris Huie, Jacksonville first baseman Garrett Gibson, Topsail third baseman Brock Jaeger and Southwest shortstop Rich Campolong are juniors who made the first team.

Stull was 5-6 with a 1.75 ERA and 125 strikeouts and batted .345 to help the Cougars to the 2-A playoffs. Huie hit .493 with 38 RBIs and nine home runs to help lead the Bulldogs to the Coastal Plains 1-A Conference title.

Gibson hit .339 with 14 runs and 11 RBIs; Jaeger batted .409 with 33 RBIs; and Campolong, who made it as a designated hitter, hit .411 with 20 RBIs to help the Stallions to the 2-A playoffs.

Dixon's Patrick Batchelor, Croatan's Ryan Cranmer and Southwest's Chelton Carter are the first-team sophomores and joining them is Bulldogs freshman Rookie Davis.

Batchelor, a right-handed pitcher, went 7-2 with a 2.62 ERA and 59 strikeouts, and batted .493 with 36 RBIs. Cranmer, a second baseman, hit .486 with 34 RBIs and seven home runs; Carter, an outfielder, hit .367. Davis makes it at the utility position after hitting .493 with 30 RBIs.

The second team consists of Dixon senior right-handed pitcher Scott Duvall (7-5, 64 K's, 3.22 ERA), Southwest senior right-handed hurler Tyler Jackson (5-4, 4.02 ERA, .328 BA), Richlands senior right-handed pitcher Tyler Smith (6-6, 4.30 ERA, 50 K's), Wildcats senior catcher Chris Hoover (.271, 17 assists), East Duplin junior first baseman Brandon Thigpen (.370, 18 runs, 13 RBI), Stallions senior third baseman Will Alston (.367, 24 RBIs), Topsail junior shortstop Dan Redinger (.371, 33 runs), Northside sophomore outfielder Ryan Shaw (.411), Croatan junior outfielder Tyler Olkowski (.338), White Oak sophomore outfielder Jacob Fritter (.396, 12 RBI), Vikings senior outfielder John Bright (.407, 13 RBI), and White Oak designated hitter Tommy Lassitter (.382, 20 RBI).

The third team features Jones Senior junior right-handed hurler Ruffin Koonce (2.88 ERA), Jacksonville junior catcher Jake Powell (.306, seven runs, 16 RBI), Richlands senior first baseman Conner Koppa (.339, 13 RBI), Wildcats senior second baseman Jerry Bates (.339, 11 RBI), East Duplin junior third baseman Seth Sandlin (.364, 23 runs, 18 RBIs), Swansboro junior shortstop Tory Timmerman (.329, 23 runs, 16 RBI), Southwest senior outfielder Robert Parker (.321), Dixon senior outfielders J.J. Schoonover (.375, nine RBIs) and Bulldogs Charlie Allen (.292, 11 RBIs), East Duplin junior outfielder Joshua Albertson (.280, 10 runs, 10 RBI), and Jones Senior junior designated hitter Robbie Scott (.480, 30 stole bases).