Archives > Sports > Schools
Print
E-mail
Comment
Rate
RSS
Share
Baseball: Dotson opens district with no-hitter
By Justin Thomas, jthomas@starlocalnews.com
Any questions as to how Marcus’ baseball team would replace the losses of starting pitchers Colin Poche and Brandon Courville were answered Tuesday in the Marauders’ District 5-5A opener against Denton Ryan.
Junior Conner Dotson took the bump and promptly got Marcus (15-1) out to a 1-0 mark in district by firing a no-hitter with 15 strikeouts in an 8-1 victory. The only hiccup for the Marauders came in the bottom of the sixth inning when a pair of errors led to a run for the Broncos.
“Conner was really commanding his fastball and was throwing his off-speed pitches for strikes,” said Jeff Sherman, first-year Marcus head coach.
“It makes it easy for Conner when you can come right out and get three runs on the road,” Sherman said. “He was able to just go out there and throw strikes.”
Additional starters for the Marauders include Nick Lewis and Austin Ozee.
“Last year, Poche and Courville ate up a lot of innings,” Sherman said. “We’re kind of inexperienced this year, but we have a lot of good arms and I’m excited to see how we compete. Nick is going to be a big part of our success, but for the most part it could be three or four guys and we’ll just go game-by-game.”
Ozee could settle into a closer role, while lefty Erickson Lanning will contribute innings on the mound.
The Marauders have also featured variety in their lineup through non-district.
“We don’t have a ton of returning starters,” Sherman said, “but we have a lot of guys that have game experience. They’ve been on varsity and know the grind that it is. That makes it kind of easy for me.”
Matt Bernstein takes over behind the plate and provides the Marauders with a solid bat in addition to defense. He will also see time at third and designated hitter.
Matt Holcombe returns at first base and hits third for the Marauders with Ryan Vaughn at second, Lewis at shortstop and Brendan Venter at third. When Lewis is on the bump, Vaughn will slide to short with DH Blake Bitter shifting to the infield.
“[Holcombe] is a great hitter for us,” Sherman said. “And Ryan and Brendan have varsity experience, too. Blake is also a three-year letter guy and is leading us in hitting so far.”
Eric Spaulding will also serve as a defensive replacement at first.
Outfielders include Logan Sepanek in left field, Austyn Laird in center and Trey Mound in right. Spencer Gil and Dylan Rogers will also see time.
“We have five seniors in the outfield and they’re all playing well,” Sherman said. “I think they’ll all continue to play and kind of alternate during district. Right now, our strength is our confidence and the fact that everyone is playing well. We’re 15-1 because we’re confident and have been receiving good pitching and timely hitting.”
The Marauders also apply pressure on the bases.
“We have good team speed and are very aggressive,” Sherman said. “We already have 52 steals for the year.”
While things have been going well for Marcus, the Marauders are still seeking consistency within the game. But that could come easier during district when the team plays two of three games per week instead of over a two- or three-day stretch.
“We talk all of the time about staying focused for seven innings,” Sherman said. “And stringing together back-to-back hits more consistently. That’s going to be important with all of the power pitchers in this district.”
The Marauders are worried first and foremost about qualifying for the playoffs.
“We just want to get in and let the magic happen,” Sherman said. “We want to get better everyday and don’t want to look to far in the future or in the past.”
Marcus continues at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at Coppell before hosting Flower Mound at 7:30 p.m. Friday and playing at 1 p.m. Saturday at Hebron.
“We’re in the grind now,” Sherman said. “The good and the bad thing is that we play each team three times.”
The following are comments from the readers.
In no way do they represent the view of Starlocalnews.com
In no way do they represent the view of Starlocalnews.com
You must register with a valid email to post comments.
Only your Member ID will be posted with the comments.
Only your Member ID will be posted with the comments.
Registered users sign in here:
Become a Registered User
- Return to: Flower Mound Marcus «
- Home «
- Top of Page ^
