North Carolina Tar Heel baseball had to look down at two of its prized prospects in the metro area and smile.

The senior seasons for the Neighbor Area Player and Pitcher of the Year had to make them excited for what’s next.

Holy Innocents’ outfielder Skye Bolt and Lovett pitcher Jack Geraghty shined for the area’s two deepest playoff teams in 2012. The five-tool superstar Bolt hitting .418 with seven home runs, 40 runs scored, 31 RBIs, seven stolen bases and making just one error in center field. Geraghty went 8-0 with a 0.86 earned run average and struck out 80 hitters in 48.2 innings, nearly two a stanza.

Both signed letters of intent to play baseball for the Tar Heels.

Bolt had professional scouts at many practices and games watching him play and delivered.

“He does a good job for all of that,” Dylan Deal said, who coached Bolt all of high school before stepping down from the Holy Innocents’ position last week. “He was born for the limelight. He walks with a confidence and those that know him know it’s a confidence, not an arrogance.”

The Golden Bears won the Region 5-A championship and advanced to the Sweet 16 of the Class A playoffs.

Geraghty returned to the Lions March 23 from an injury and immediately excelled, but he pitched even better once the playoffs began. He won all four of his starts, including two elimination contests for the Lions, saved another game and allowed just two earned runs in 27 innings of work. Lovett reached the Class AA semifinals for the fifth straight season.

Easy to see, then, why coach Lance Oubs said of Geraghty, “Whenever he toes the rubber, we feel like we’ve got a pretty good chance to win the game.”

Offensively, also excelling this year were Holy Innocents’ catcher Jake Maziar, who hit .413 with seven home runs and 33 RBIs and had a team-best on-base percentage of .533. Third baseman Howard Joe led the Golden Bears with nine home runs while contributing 30 RBIs.

For Lovett, third baseman Sean Reagan (.385, three home runs, 22 RBIs), second baseman Robbie Blair (.318, 37 runs, 14 RBIs) and catcher Brant Wells (.292, two home runs, 28 RBIs) got it done at the plate.

North Atlanta outfielder Ryan Christian hit a sizzling .467 with four home runs, 27 runs scored and 16 stolen bases for the Warriors, and Riverwood outfielder Lee Miller had another standout year at the plate, hitting .390 with three home runs, 37 runs scored and 27 RBIs.

The Raiders, who made their eighth straight appearance in the Class AAA state playoffs by finishing third in Region 5-AAA, also got major years at the plate from shortstop Isaiah Dean (.390, 21 RBIs), outfielder Robert Beckley (four home runs, 26 RBIs) and catcher Nick Dias (.444, 19 RBIs). Westminster first baseman Raymond Monasterski hit .393 with 12 RBIs to lead the Wildcats, who advanced to the Class AA playoffs.

It was also a year of the pitcher for local teams, with particularly impressive numbers put up by Holy Innocents’ ace Will Small (9-2, 2.57 earned run average, 57 strikeouts in 65.1 innings), closer Alec Bicknese (3-0, six saves, 1.09 ERA, 32 strikeouts in 25.2 innings), Weber’s Ben Karlin (6-3, 2.40 ERA, 50 strikeouts in 52 innings) and Riverwood’s David Whitmer (5-2, 2.49 ERA, 44 strikeouts in 50.2 innings).

Editor’s Note: The All-Area team was primarily based on nominations from local coaches.

First Team

Name (Pos.) School

Jake Maziar (C) Holy Innocents’

Raymond Monasterski (1B) Westminster

Robbie Blair (2B) Lovett

Howard Joe (3B) Holy Innocents’

Isaiah Dean (SS) Riverwood

Skye Bolt (OF) Holy Innocents’

Ryan Christian (OF) North Atlanta

Lee Miller (OF) Riverwood

Will Small (P) Holy Innocents’

Jack Geraghty (P) Lovett

David Whitmer (P) Riverwood

Ben Karlin (P) Weber

Second Team

Name (Pos.) School

Nick Dias (C) Riverwood

Campbell Toye (1B) North Atlanta

Ricky Surum (2B) Riverwood

Sean Reagan (3B) Lovett

Court Granish (SS) North Springs

Robert Currie (OF) Lovett

Robert Beckley (OF) Riverwood

Matt Joseph (OF) Weber

Alec Bicknese (P) Holy Innocents’

Robbie Baker (P) Lovett

Austin Hedrick (P) North Atlanta

Chip Capper (P) Westminster

Third Team

Name (Pos.) School

Brant Wells (C) Lovett

Sam Lukens (1B) Holy Innocents’

Wells King (2B) North Atlanta

Andrew Fisher (3B) Riverwood

John Gabianelli (SS) Galloway

Ben Brown (OF) Galloway

Jake Johnson (OF) Westminster

Rivers Patterson (OF) Westminster

Ed Voyles (P) Holy Innocents’

Mitch Stallings (P) Lovett

Hunter Bryan (P) North Springs

Adam Stoumen (P) Weber

Player of the Year: Skye Bolt, Holy Innocents’

Pitcher of the Year: Jack Geraghty, Lovett