Halie Wetherington
reporter@greenepublishing.com
Madison is home to several talented athletes in various sports, most of whom play over the summer in different travel leagues or clubs to continue honing their skills. In some instances, the Madison players stick together when playing travel ball and can be found on the same team or under the same organization. The Madison County High School baseball team is no exception, as 13 players can be found on both the high school team and on Premier Baseball. Ranging from 14 and under to 17 and under, this group of boys have been playing with each other well past the school ball season, and have performed well this summer.
Premier 14U
The Premier 14 and under team has went 6-6 through three tournaments and placed second in the ProspectWire Father’s Day Classic in Port St Lucie, Fla.
Dalton McNutt is batting .276, with a .447 on base percentage and a slugging percentage of .345. McNutt has two doubles, three runs batted in, seven runs scored and nine walks. He is third on the team in on base percentage and second in on base plus slugging while leading in walks. He is also second in stolen bases going six for six. As for pitching, McNutt received pitching MVP Honors at the ProspectWire Father's Day Classic. McNutt pitched 5.2 innings, allowing only four hits, one earned run, three walks and having nine strikeouts. He currently leads the team with 14 strikeouts through 13.2 innings pitched. He also plays shortstop, third base and outfield.
Alden Richie earned Top Performance Honors at the ProspectWire Memorial Day Classic by pitching a complete game and only allowing three hits, one earned run, one walk and dealing four strikeouts. He is second on the team in strike outs with eight in 9.2 innings pitched and third in earned run average with 3.621. He also leads the team walks and hits per inning pitched with 1.448. Opponents are only hitting .176 when he pitches.
Premier 15U
Through four tournaments, the Premier 15 and under team has a 9-7-1 record. They also won the ProspectWire Father's Day Classic in Port St. Lucie, Fla.
Kannon Plain won MVP honors at the Father’s Day classic. He’s batting .440, with a .520 on-base percentage and a .860 slugging percentage. Plain has four doubles, one triple, 12 runs batted in and eight runs scored for the season, all of which are at or close to the top of the team. For pitching, he carries a .000 ERA with seven strikeouts.
JJ McDaniel plays center and left field. He has played errorless baseball through all of his games. McDaniel recently hit a three-run home run, being the only player on his team with a home run on the season. He also leads the team in walks and is near the top in stolen bases.
Markevian Stephens pitches, plays outfield and first base. He has only one error so far this season. He currently has two doubles, six runs batted in, four runs scored and a stolen base.
Will Latner pitches and plays infield. He has pitched seven innings and has a 2.57 earned run average, one of the top ERA's on the team. He also has five strikeouts and opponents are batting below .200 against him. Latner has had stellar defense over the course of the season. He also has five stolen bases, another top statistic.
Premier 16U
The Premier 16 and under team has gone 5-9-1 through four tournaments.
Mason Plain pitches and plays outfield. Hitting, he leads the team in doubles (2) and runs batted in (10). Pitching he carries a 2.21 earned run average with 12.2 innings pitched. Plain is second on the team with 13 strikeouts to only six walks. Opponents are only batting .218 against him.
Luke Hanners pitches and plays third base. He is batting .278 which is fifth on the team. He is also one of only five players on the team with a triple. As a pitcher, he has eight innings pitched with eight strikeouts.
Wesley Borgert pitches and plays second base. He has 7.2 innings pitched with a 3.65 earned run average. He leads the team in hitting with a .500 batting average, .727 on-base percentage, .500 slugging percentage and 10 walks. He is third on the team in runs scored. He made Second All Tournament Team during the ProspectWire Memorial Day Classic.
Premier 17u
The Premier 17 and under team has gone 7-8-1 through four tournaments, and made it to the semi-finals at the Perfect Game Elite tournament.
JD Bryan pitches and hits. He has made First Team All Tournament in both Prospect Wire Tournaments, and earned MVP Pitching Honors in the Father’s Day Classic. He has been at or near the top on the overall leaderboard in strikeouts in all four tournaments.
He has 26.2 innings pitched, three complete games, three wins, one earned run, 55 strikeouts, 11 walks and has a 0.262 earned run average. Opponents are only batting .080 against him.
Jackson Kendrick plays outfield and pitches. He has not committed a single error this year. He has pitched in relief, with 2.1 innings pitched and a 0.00 earned run average.
Gavin Bass plays first base, left field and pitches. He had a great tournament at Perfect Game Elite going 4-15 with one double, three runs batted in and three runs scored. Bass's outings defensively have been top tier, with zero errors committed throughout the entire season. He also has 2.2 innings pitched with a 0.00 earned run average.
Kyler Richie plays second base, shortstop, outfield and pitches. He made All Tournament Second Team at the ProspectWire Memorial Day Classic. He bats .282 but leads the team in triples (2), runs batted in (10) and walks (12). He is second on the team in hits (11), runs (9) and stolen bases (6). Richie is third in slugging percentage (.410). He has pitched three innings in relief.