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optimism to ETBU
Saturday, April 12, 2008
Winning is contagious.
Junior college transfers Matt Hale, of Jefferson, and Cody Jones, of Hallsville, know all about winning baseball.
Both are products of highly successful high school and JUCO programs and apparently some of that winning is rubbing off on East Texas Baptist University's baseball team.
The Tigers, following a 5-4 decision over Central Baptist, of Conway, Ark., in the first game of a Saturday doubleheader at Woods Field, improve to 14-21 overall (2-13 in the American Southwest Conference) with five games remaining on the schedule this season.
ETBU has already surpassed last year's total of 11 victories in head coach Sam Blackmon's first year as Tiger skipper.
With a youthful roster comprised of many players from the Dallas and Houston areas, success has been ignited by home-grown talents such as Hale and Jones, who cut their collegiate baseball teeth playing in the Texas JUCO circuits.
Hale was a member of the 2007 Tyler Junior College team that won the National Junior College Athletic Association Division III national title a year ago while Jones honed his skills the past two seasons at Panola Junior College in Carthage.
Entering play this weekend, Hale was tied for the lead in homers with four and Jones sat atop the runs batted in department (30) for the Tigers.
Both have been swinging the bat well for ETBU — Hale is hitting .350 (28 for 80) with Jones checking in at a .319 clip (37 for 116) — as Hale has been getting the nod at first base for the Tigers while Jones, after opening the year in the pitching rotation, now makes his home in left field.
The duo had a successful Saturday against the Mustangs (7-20), members of the National Christian College Athletic Association, as Hale singled to right in his first trip to the dish in game one and then added another one-base hit, this one to the opposite field, as a part of the three-run fourth frame for the Tigers.
Jones stroked a single up-the-middle in the bottom half of the opening frame in the second game of the afternoon, driving in two Tigers in the process — he went on to score later in the inning as ETBU plated six in the first segment.
After a bit of a slow start to open the season, Hale has burned the midnight oil to refine his swing with his extra efforts paying off for ETBU in games now.
"I have been working hard on it (hitting)," he said. "Early on I struggled and it took me some time to get things right. I stayed in the (batting) cages a lot and now I am seeing the ball well. All year my hitting has just seemed to get better and better with the more at bats I get."
For some athletes accustomed to being a part of successful teams — Hale was also a two-time all-district choice at Tatum High School where he was coached by his father Scott Hale (now athletic director and head football coach at Jefferson High School) — playing on non-winning outfits can be a challenging experience.
"Yes, it has been difficult at times (after coming from Tyler Junior College)," Matt Hale said. "The coaches tell us every day we are a young team and there are going to be growing pains. I think me coming over from a winning team will help and hopefully I can help show some of the other guys what it takes to win and that can help to make us a better team."
Matt Hale speaks optimistically of ETBU's chances on the diamond in the near future and feels many of the key elements are already in place for continued improvement.
"I definitely think we have a bright future," Matt Hale said. "Look out here today, our two middle infielders are freshmen and we have lots of guys coming back next year. It is just going to keep getting better."
Matt Hale plans to continue to stay on top of his game this summer by either playing summer collegiate baseball in Colorado or Wyoming or hopefully closer to home as a member of the Pumpjacks — Kilgore's first-year entry in the Texas Collegiate League.
"I will continue playing this summer, maybe up in Colorado or Wyoming," Matt Hale said. "I would really like to be able to play for Kilgore's new team in the Texas Collegiate League."
Jones, coached by long-time Bobcat mentor Scott Mitchell at Hallsville, took an impressive baseball score sheet to Panola, having been named All-State First Team as a first baseman and also a member of the All-District Team in both his junior and senior years.
As a Pony, Jones batted .315 with five home runs and 21 runs batted in, playing in 37 contests, for Panola last year.
Jones is the son of Marshall and Tracy Jones and hopes to one day be a baseball coach.
ETBU closes out the season by traveling to LSU-Alexandria Tuesday followed by a trip to the metroplex to face the University of Texas Dallas next weekend in a three game ASC Eastern Division series.
Contact sports writer Jay Neal at jneal@coxmnm.com or by phone at 903-927-5968.
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