THOMASVILLE — Summer has come and gone but competition has just started to heat up for positions on next year’s Thomas County Central baseball team.

The Yellow Jackets concluded summer ball last week and coach Chad Parkerson appreciated the competitiveness he got from his players.

“It’s going to be interesting to see how hard people work in the off-season with spots kind of in the back in their mind,” Parkerson said. “Maybe it’ll be a little extra drive to work hard.”

The outfield, in particular, is an area that’s wide open.

“You’ve got Taylor (Payne) who was all-region last year in left field,” Parkerson said. “He’s going to be versatile for us, when it’s said and done. A lot of the guys, they have played more than one position fairly well. That kind of frees us up on what we can do with people. I’m excited about the competition.”

The pitching staff was an area of concern for Parkerson entering the summer. The skipper is feeling a lot better about his rotation now, however.

“We don’t have the Gary Smith power package, power pitcher,” Parkerson said, “I think we’re going to have some Tyler Wooten-type kids, just get up there and compete and throw strikes. I was really pleased with the pitching these last couple of weeks. They threw strikes, got strikeouts when they needed them and really competed.

“Frank Burton, I thought, had a really good summer on the mound. Kelly Maddox kept us in every ball game he threw. Taylor Payne had two really good outings.”

Parkerson is also continuing his effort to get catcher Mitchell Herring on the mound.

“He is dominant when he throws strikes. He is human when he doesn’t,” Parkerson noted. “He knows and we know that we’re just going to have to be patient with him and get him to toe the rubber a little bit more.

“I thought it was a very productive summer. I think it was productive in that it showed us the areas we need to work on. It kind of showed the kids that there is going to be competition out there for spots.”

Central finished 19-12 last year.