Baseball: Pitching leading Coppell early

Coppell's baseball team kicked off District 5-5A competition Tuesday with the first of three consecutive road games when the Cowboys traveled to face Hebron (results not available as of press time).

Coppell was coming off a strong showing last weekend, where they went 3-0-1 at the Frisco Tournament of Champions, including victories over McKinney Boyd (9-1), Frisco Wakeland (2-1) and Haltom (10-0) with a 5-5 tie against Allen. The stretch improved the Cowboys to 9-2-1 for the season.

The scary thing for Coppell's district foes, however, is that head coach Kendall Clark doesn't believe the team is hitting consistently at this point.

"We're playing pretty well," he said. "We're getting good pitching and are playing sound in the field. But our hitting kind of comes and goes. It's not been constant, so we've been spending a lot of time on it lately. But we've seen a lot of good pitching, so maybe that goes into it a little bit."

With the bats up-and-down, Coppell has leaned more on a pitching staff that is very deep.

Leading the charge is senior Jake Elliot, who is 1-0 this season.

"He's been great, he just doesn't have the wins to show for it right now," Clark said. "Earlier, we had a nine-inning game where he pitched seven shutout innings but didn't get a win."

Victories have come more easily for Austin Gardner and Davis Oliver, who are each 3-0, while Matt Delaney, Drew Hanson and Jeremy Mortensen have also been throwing well.

"We have others that are throwing well, too," Clark added. "We're really deep on pitching and they're all guys that we trust to bring in. It's going to be tough, but we're going to try and find ways to get all of them innings."

When not on the bump, Delaney handles the staff at catcher. In addition to his defensive ability, he brings gap power to the lineup.

Jackson Cramer, who has signed with West Virginia, returns at first base.

"He's your prototypical first baseman," Clark said. "He's a big, strong kid who hits well and can really stretch out and play solid defense. He's one of many guys we have that can play at the next level."

Cal Hernandez provides solid defense at second, while Air Force signees Tyler Zabojnik and Tyler Jones round out the infield at short and third, respectively.

"Cal is very good defensively and makes plays a lot of guys would have trouble with," Clark said. "And Zabojnik and Jones have been swinging the bat well."

Around the outfield are Trevor Inman in left, newcomer Daniel Jones in center and Mortensen in right.

"We're very good defensively in the outfield," Clark said. "Daniel has shown to be a very tough out and has really been getting on base."

Coppell's designated hitter primarily depends on who is on the mound.

"Even with the new bats that don't have nearly as much pop, I still think we are a power hitting team," Clark said. "We have guys that can hit it out and should be able to hit a lot of doubles. We just need to find a lot of consistency. And we've had some days where it seems like we are hitting it well but everything is right at someone."

Clark said Coppell's top performers at the plate thus far include Jones, Cramer, Mortensen and Zabojnik.

"They've been our most steady guys so far," he said. "They haven't had too many lulls."

Coppell is seeking a ninth consecutive playoff appearance out of 5-5A.

"It's a tough district and we have to bring our A-game every week," Clark said. "There are no gimmies, but if we make it, we'll be prepared. That's the caliber of team in this district. There's going to be a very good team that doesn't make it."

If Coppell can advance out, anything can happen in the playoffs.

Clark noted that last year's state champ (Houston Cypress Ranch) finished third in its district.

"Strange things seem to happen every season," Clark added. "We just want to get in and see where it takes us. With our pitching, I think we are suited well to play a 2-of-3 series. We want to be playing our best at the end of district."

Current Rating: 0 of 0 votes!

Rate File: Select Rating: * ** *** ****

 Plano Apartments
 Plano Attorneys
 Plano Auto Dealers
 Plano Auto Parts
 Plano Auto Repair
 Plano Beauty Salons
 Plano Car Rental
 Plano Dentists
 Plano Doctors
 Plano Flowers
 Plano Hotels
 Plano Insurance
 Plano Loans
 Plano Mortgages
 Plano Movers
 Plano Pizza
 Plano Realtors
 Plano Restaurants
 Plano Storage
 Plano Tax Preparation
 Plano Travel
 Featured
 More...